{Assessment Validation Tools pertaining to Vocational Education Centres within Australia's training sector —

Introduction

Training Organisations handle many duties following registration, like annual statements, AVETMISS compliance, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, validation of assessments is notably challenging. While we've discussed validation in many posts, let's revisit the fundamental principles. The Australian Skills Quality Authority identifies validation of assessments as granular review of the assessment procedure.

Basically, validation of assessments is focused on identifying which parts of an RTO’s assessment procedures 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, meet the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

The regulations specify two forms of validation. The first type of validation of assessments ensures compliance with the training package assessment requirements within your RTO's scope. The subsequent validation guarantees that assessments follow the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence. This implies that we perform validation in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will focus on the first type—validation of assessment tools.

Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Also referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, is concerned with the first part of the regulation, ensuring ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Pertains to the conduct, ensuring that RTO assessments align with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Conducting Validation of Assessment Tools

Optimal Timing for Assessment Tool Validation

The purpose of validating assessment tools is to ensure that all elements, performance standards, and performance and knowledge evidence are covered by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you purchase new educational resources, you must carry out validation of assessment tools before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Check new resources immediately to confirm they are fit for student use.

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

- Modify your resources
- Expand with new training products on scope
- Assess your course with training product updates
- Detect your learning resources as a risk 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 conformity of all training materials before use. All RTOs must validate resources for each subject unit.

Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation

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

- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It indicates which assessment tasks meet course unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if instructions are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also verify if instructions for evaluators are sufficient and if clear standards for each assessment task are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Additional Resources: These may include lists, logs, and forms created separately from the student workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the evaluation task and meet course unit requirements.

Panel for Validation

Standard 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 mandate all read more educators and assessors to participate, sometimes including sector experts.

Collectively, your validation panel must have:

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

Principles Guiding Assessment

- Equity: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Adaptability: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Relevance: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Reliability: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?

Evidence Rules

- Validity: Does the evidence demonstrate that the candidate has the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency and associated assessment requirements?
- Completeness: Is there enough evidence to ensure that the learner has the skills and knowledge required?
- Genuineness: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Relevance: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?

Important Factors in Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the tasks in the unit requirements 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:

- Perform diaper changes
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- 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., evidence of knowledge), students should be performing the tasks.

Mind the Plurals!

Pay attention to the frequency. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers 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 does not fulfill the requirement.

All or Not Competent

Pay attention to lists. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s not compliant. Each assessment task must meet all specifications, or the student is not competent, and the assessment method is not compliant.

Provide Specific Details

Each evaluation 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 guidelines do not confuse students or trainers.

Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions

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

Ensuring Audit Compliance

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

By following these guidelines and understanding the assessment principles and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are reliable with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.