Overview

Registered Training Organisations handle multiple responsibilities upon registration, which include yearly declarations, AVETMISS data submission, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, assessment validation frequently stands out. While validation has been reviewed in multiple discussions, a review of the basics is necessary. The Australian Skills Quality Authority identifies assessment validation as granular review of the assessment process.

At its core, assessment review is focused on identifying which parts of an RTO’s assessment methods are effective and which need improvement. With a proper grasp of its key aspects, validation becomes less daunting. According to Clause 1.8 of the 2015 Standards for RTOs, RTOs must ensure their assessment systems, including RPL, adhere to the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

The regulations mandate two forms of validation. The first type of assessment validation checks conformity with the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The other type guarantees that assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence. This indicates that we perform validation both before and after the assessment. This article will concentrate on the primary type—validation of assessment tools.

Understanding Assessment Validation Types

- Assessment Tool Validation: Referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, is concerned with the primary part of the rule, focusing on compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Involves the conduct, guaranteeing that RTO assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Conducting Validation of Assessment Tools

When to Validate Assessment Tools

The purpose of validating assessment tools is to make sure that all components, performance standards, and evidence of performance and knowledge are included by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you obtain new training materials, you must conduct validation of assessment tools before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Check new resources as soon as possible to ensure they are fit for student use.

Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to do this type of validation. Conduct validation of assessment tools also when you:

- Revise your resources
- Integrate new training products on scope
- Evaluate your course with training product updates
- Note your learning resources as a risk during your risk assessment

The Australian Skills Quality Authority employs a risk-based approach for regulating RTOs and expects regular risk assessments. Therefore, student complaints about learning resources are an ideal time to conduct assessment tool validation.

Training Products Requiring Validation

Bear in mind that this validation ensures conformity of all learning resources before being used. All RTOs must validate training products for each unit.

Resources Needed to Start Assessment Tool Validation

To start assessment tool validation, you will need the complete set of your training materials:

- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It identifies which assessment items meet unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also verify if guidelines for evaluators are sufficient and if clear standards for each evaluation item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Other Related Resources: These may include checklists, evaluation registers, and templates created separately from the student workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment task and comply with subject requirements.

Assessment Validation Panel

Standard 1.11 specifies the requirements for panel members. It states assessment validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually ask all trainers and assessors to participate, sometimes including field experts.

Collectively, your validation panel must have:

- Workplace Competencies and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.

Principles Guiding Assessment

- Equity: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Versatility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Accuracy: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Consistency: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?

Rules of Evidence

- Appropriateness: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Sufficiency: Is there enough evidence to ensure that the learner has the skills and knowledge required?
- Genuineness: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- Currency: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?

Important Factors in Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the tasks in the unit criteria and ensure they are addressed by the assessment task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Caring for Babies and Toddlers, one performance criteria asks students to:

- Change diapers
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills

Frequent Errors

Asking students to describe the nappy-changing process for website babies under 12 months old does not meet the unit requirement. Unless the unit specification is meant to evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., knowledge-based evidence), students should be performing the tasks.

Be Careful with Plurals!

Pay attention to the numbers. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care requires the students to complete the tasks at least once on two different babies under 12 months of age. Having students complete the tasks listed twice on just one baby does not fulfill the requirement.

All or Nothing Competence

Pay attention to itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s not compliant. Each assessment task must address all specifications, or the student is not yet competent, and the evaluation tool is non-compliant.

Can You Be More Specific?

Each assessment task must have clear and specific standard answers to guide the evaluator’s decision on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not mislead students or trainers.

Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them

Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately evaluate student competence.

Audit Guarantees

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don't resource developers provide audit guarantees?” However, with these promises, you must wait until an audit to address noncompliance. This impacts your compliance record, so it's better to take a preventative and compliant approach.

By following these instructions and understanding the assessment principles and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your assessment tools are valid with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.