{Guide to Assessment Validation regarding Vocational Schools within the Australian context —
{Guide to Assessment Validation regarding Vocational Schools within the Australian context —
Blog Article
Overview of Assessment Validation
Training Organisations have various obligations upon registration, which include yearly declarations, AVETMISS data submission, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation frequently stands out. While validation has been covered in several articles, let's return to the basics. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) defines validation of assessments as quality assurance of the assessment process.
Essentially, validation of assessments is concerned with identifying which parts of an RTO’s evaluation 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, adhere to 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 first type of assessment validation guarantees adherence to the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The second validation ensures that assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence. This suggests that we perform validation pre- and post-assessment. This article will focus on the first type—validation of assessment tools.
Overview of Assessment Validation Types
- Assessment Tool Validation: Commonly called pre-assessment validation or verification, is concerned with the first part of the rule, focusing on ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Deals with the conduct, guaranteeing that RTO assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Steps to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
When Should Assessment Tool Validation Be Conducted?
The aim of assessment tool validation is to make sure that all elements, performance standards, and evidence of performance and knowledge are addressed by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you get new training materials, you must carry out 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 ensure they are suitable for student use.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to conduct this type of validation. Perform validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Enhance your resources
- Expand with new training products on scope
- Assess your course with training product updates
- Flag 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.
Training Products to Validate
Bear in mind that this validation guarantees adherence of all learning resources before being used. All RTOs must validate resources for each subject unit.
Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your assessment tools, you will need the complete set of your educational resources:
- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It identifies which assessment tasks meet 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: Also verify if guidelines for assessors are sufficient and if clear standards for each evaluation item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Additional Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, registers, and templates designed separately from the learner workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the assessment activity and comply with subject requirements.
Panel for Validation
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 educators and assessors to participate, sometimes including field experts.
Collectively, your assessment validation panel must have:
- Workplace Competencies and Current Professional Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- 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: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?
Evidence Rules
- Validity: Is the evidence relevant to the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency?
- Completeness: Is there enough evidence to ensure that the learner has the skills and knowledge required?
- Authenticity: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- 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 criteria and ensure they are addressed by the assessment item. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers, one required performance evidence asks students to:
- Perform diaper changes
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed here babies
- Respond appropriately to baby signs and cues
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development
Typical Mistakes
Describing the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months does not fulfill the unit requirement. Unless the unit criteria is meant to assess theoretical understanding (i.e., knowledge-based evidence), students should be performing the tasks.
Be Careful with 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 does not fulfill the requirement.
All or Nothing Competence
Pay attention to enumerated tasks. 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 yet competent, and the assessment tool is non-compliant.
Provide Specific Details
Each assessment 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 mislead students or trainers.
Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions
Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for assessors 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 for an audit before they assist with 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 valid with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.