{Process of Assessment Validation for Vocational Education Institutes in the Australian context —

{Process of Assessment Validation for Vocational Education Institutes in the Australian context —

Blog Article

Overview

Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) have many obligations post-registration, including annual statements, AVETMISS data submission, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments is particularly challenging. While validation has been reviewed in multiple discussions, let's revisit the fundamental principles. The Australian Skills Quality Authority defines validation of assessments as quality assurance of the assessment procedure.

Fundamentally, validation of assessments is aimed at identifying 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 Standards for RTOs 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 specify two forms of validation. The initial type of assessment validation guarantees adherence to the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The second validation verifies that assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This suggests that we perform validation pre- and post-assessment. This article will discuss the primary type—assessment tool validation.

Two Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Also referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, concerns the first part of the rule, focusing on ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Concerns the conduct, ensuring Registered Training Organisations conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Conducting Validation of Assessment Tools

Optimal Timing for Assessment Tool Validation

The goal of assessment tool validation is to verify that all components, performance standards, and evidence of performance and knowledge are covered by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you obtain new training materials, you must perform assessment tool validation before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Validate new tools immediately to verify they are appropriate for students.

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

- Upgrade your resources
- Introduce new training products on scope
- Review your course against training product updates
- Identify potential risks in your learning resources 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.

Identifying Training Products for Validation

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

Resources Needed to Start Assessment Tool Validation

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

- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It indicates which assessment items meet unit requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if instructions are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also verify if guidelines for assessors are sufficient and if clear standards for each assessment item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- 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 address unit 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 require all trainers and evaluators to participate, sometimes including sector experts.

Collectively, your panel must have:

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

Principles of Assessment

- Impartiality: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Versatility: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Accuracy: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Reliability: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?

Rules of Evidence

- Relevance: Is the evidence relevant to the here skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency?
- Completeness: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Originality: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- Currency: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?

Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the action words 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 nappies
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- Respond appropriately to baby signs and cues
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills

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 criteria is meant to assess theoretical understanding (i.e., knowledge-based evidence), students should be carrying out the tasks.

Be Careful with Plurals!

Pay attention to the numbers. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 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 non-compliant. Each assessment item must cover all specifications, or the student is incompetent, and the assessment tool is non-compliant.

Can You Be More Specific?

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

Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions

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

Ensuring Audit Compliance

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Do resource developers offer guarantees for audits?” However, with these assurances, you must wait for an audit before they help rectify noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a preventative and compliant approach.

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