Assessment Validation Overview

Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) manage many responsibilities following registration, like yearly declarations, AVETMISS data submission, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, assessment validation is particularly challenging. While validation has been reviewed in multiple posts, let's return to the basics. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) identifies assessment validation as a quality review of the evaluation process.

At its core, assessment review is about 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 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 standards require two forms of validation. The initial type of assessment review checks conformity with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The second validation ensures that assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This indicates that validation is performed in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will discuss the initial type—validation of assessment tools.

What are the Two Types of Assessment Validation?

- Assessment Tool Validation: Also referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, relates to the primary part of the clause, ensuring meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Relates to the execution, ensuring that RTO assessments align with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Steps to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation

When to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation

The goal of assessment tool validation is to make sure that all aspects, criteria for performance, and performance and knowledge evidence are included by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you obtain new educational resources, you must conduct assessment tool validation before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Check new tools as soon as possible to confirm 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:

- Enhance your resources
- Add new qualifications to scope
- Audit your course with training product updates
- Identify 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.

Training Products Needing Validation

Keep in mind that this validation guarantees adherence of all training materials before being used. All RTOs must validate training products for each unit.

Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation

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

- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It indicates which assessment items meet course unit requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also verify if directions for assessors are sufficient and if clear standards for each assessment task are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Additional Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, registers, and forms developed separately from the learner workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment task and address subject requirements.

Validation Panel

Standard 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 industry experts.

Collectively, your validation panel must have:

- Vocational Skills and Current Professional Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following credentials for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Training and Assessment Certificate IV or its successor.

Assessment Principles

- Fairness: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Adaptability: 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: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?

Evidence Rules

- Relevance: Does the evidence demonstrate that the candidate has the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency and associated assessment requirements?
- Sufficiency: Is there enough evidence to ensure that the learner has the skills and knowledge required?
- Originality: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- Relevance: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?

Important Factors in Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the verbs 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
- Feed babies with solid food
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills

Common Pitfalls

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 evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., knowledge evidence), students should be performing the tasks.

Mind the Plurals!

Pay attention to the numbers. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 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 won’t cut it.

All or Not Competent

Pay attention to itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s out of compliance. Each assessment item must address all requirements, or the student is check here not competent, and the evaluation tool is not compliant.

Provide Specific Details

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

Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions

Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately assess student competence.

Ensuring Audit Compliance

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Do resource developers offer guarantees for audits?” However, with these promises, 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 rules of evidence, you can ensure that your assessment tools are compliant with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.