{Assessment Validation Process for Vocational Training Bodies within Australia's training sector —

{Assessment Validation Process for Vocational Training Bodies within Australia's training sector —

Blog Article

Intro to Validating Assessments for RTOs

Registered Training Organisations have many responsibilities after becoming registered, including annual declarations, AVETMISS data submission, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments is particularly challenging. While we've discussed validation in several articles, let's return to the basics. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) identifies assessment validation as quality assurance of the assessment procedure.

Primarily, assessment validation 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 SRTOs 2015, 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 initial type of assessment review guarantees adherence to the training package assessment requirements within your RTO's scope. The subsequent validation guarantees that assessments are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This indicates that we perform validation pre- and post-assessment. This article will focus on the initial type—assessment tool validation.

The Two Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, involves the first part of the rule, aimed at ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Concerns the implementation, ensuring RTOs conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Process of Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

Scheduling Assessment Tool Validation

The goal of assessment tool validation is to verify that all components, criteria for performance, and performance and knowledge evidence are covered by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you get new training materials, you must perform assessment tool validation before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Review new tools immediately to verify they are fit for student use.

Nevertheless, this isn't the only time to do this type of validation. Do assessment tool validation also when you:

- Improve your resources
- Include new training products on scope
- Assess 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.

What Training Products Need Validation?

Note that this validation ensures compliance of all training materials before student use. All RTOs must validate training products for each subject unit.

Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation

To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set of your learning resources:

- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It identifies which evaluation items meet subject requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Student 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 ensure if directions for trainers are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each evaluation item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include checklists, logs, and templates designed separately from the workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment task and meet subject requirements.

Assessment Validation Panel

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

Collectively, your panel must have:

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

Assessment Principles

- Fairness: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Flexibility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Validity: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Dependability: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?

Rules of Evidence

- Validity: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Completeness: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Relevance: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?

Key Considerations for Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the tasks in the unit specifications and ensure they are addressed by the assessment item. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers, one performance criteria asks students to:

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

Common Pitfalls

Having students describe the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months old doesn’t directly meet the unit requirement. Unless the unit requirement is meant to evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., knowledge evidence), students should be performing the tasks.

Mind the Plurals!

Pay attention to the quantities. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers demands 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 is not sufficient.

All or Nothing Competence

Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s out of compliance. Each assessment item must address all criteria, or the student is incompetent, and the assessment method is non-compliant.

Be Specific!

Each evaluation task must have clear and specific benchmark answers to guide the assessor’s evaluation on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not baffle students or assessors.

Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions

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

Assurance During Audits

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don’t learning resource read more developers offer audit guarantees?” However, with these promises, you must wait for an audit before they assist with noncompliance. This impacts your compliance record, so it's better to take a safe and compliant approach.

By following these recommendations and understanding the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence, you can ensure that your assessment methods are valid with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.