{Assessment Validation Process concerning VET Providers in Australia An Ultimate Guide

Overview of Assessment Validation

Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) are responsible for many obligations following registration, like annual declarations, AVETMISS data submission, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments is particularly challenging. While validation has been covered in many publications, let's return to the basics. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) describes assessment review as a quality review of the evaluation process.

In essence, assessment review is designed to identify which parts of an RTO's assessment process 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 regulations, RTOs must ensure their assessment systems, including RPL, meet the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

The regulations specify two types of validation. The primary type of assessment validation checks conformity with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The second validation guarantees that assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence. This suggests that we perform validation both before and after the assessment. This article will concentrate on the initial type—validation of assessment tools.

Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Also known as pre-assessment validation or verification, involves the primary part of the clause, ensuring compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Pertains to the execution, guaranteeing that RTO assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Methods for Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

When Should Assessment Tool Validation Be Conducted?

The purpose of validating assessment tools is to verify that all components, performance criteria, and evidence of performance and knowledge are covered by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you acquire new educational resources, you must perform validation of assessment tools prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Check new resources right away to verify they are suitable for student use.

Nevertheless, this isn't the only reason to perform this type of validation. Conduct assessment tool validation also when you:

- Upgrade your resources
- Expand with new training products on scope
- Evaluate your course with training product updates
- Identify potential risks in your learning resources during your risk assessment

ASQA uses a risk-based approach for regulating RTOs and requires regular risk assessments. Therefore, student complaints about learning resources are an ideal time to conduct assessment tool validation.

What Training Products Need Validation?

Bear in mind that this validation ensures compliance of all learning resources before use. All RTOs must validate materials for each course unit.

Resources Needed to Start Assessment Tool Validation

To validate your evaluation tools, you will need the complete set of your training materials:

- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It shows which evaluation items meet unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also check if instructions for evaluators are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment task are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include lists, evaluation registers, and templates created separately from the student workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the assessment activity and comply with unit requirements.

Panel for Validation

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

Collectively, your assessment validation panel must have:

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

Assessment Principles

- Impartiality: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Adaptability: Does the assessment offer various options to demonstrate competence based on different needs and preferences?
- Validity: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Reliability: Will different assessors make the same decision on this site skill competence?

Guidelines for Evidence

- Appropriateness: Does the evidence demonstrate that the candidate has the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency and associated assessment requirements?
- Sufficiency: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Genuineness: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Currency: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?

Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the action words in the unit criteria and ensure they are addressed by the evaluation task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers, one performance criteria asks students to:

- Change nappies
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare and settle babies for sleep
- Observe and promote suitable physical activities and motor skills for babies

Frequent Errors

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

Watch Out for the Plurals!

Pay attention to the numbers. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care calls for 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 not competent, and the evaluation tool is not compliant.

Can You Be More Specific?

Each assessment item must have clear and specific reference answers to guide the assessor’s evaluation on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your instructions do not confuse students or trainers.

Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them

Not using double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately judge student competence.

Ensuring Audit Compliance

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don't resource developers provide audit guarantees?” However, with these assurances, you must wait for an audit before they assist with noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a safe and compliant approach.

By following these guidelines and understanding the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence, you can ensure that your assessment tools are valid with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.