{GUIDE TO ASSESSMENT VALIDATION FOR EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF AUSTRALIA —

{Guide to Assessment Validation for Educational Institutions in the context of Australia —

{Guide to Assessment Validation for Educational Institutions in the context of Australia —

Blog Article

Overview of Assessment Validation

RTOs manage multiple duties post-registration, which include annual statements, AVETMISS data submission, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments is particularly challenging. While validation has been reviewed in many posts, a review of the basics is necessary. ASQA defines validation of assessments as granular review of the assessment process.

Fundamentally, validation of assessments is intended to identify 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, 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 initial type of assessment review ensures compliance with the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The second validation ensures that assessments are conducted according to the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This implies that validation is carried out pre- and post-assessment. This article will discuss the first type—assessment tool validation.

Exploring the Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Also known as pre-assessment validation or verification, deals with the primary part of the clause, ensuring meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is concerned with the execution, ensuring Registered Training Organisations conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Conducting Validation of Assessment Tools

Best Time for Conducting Assessment

The purpose of assessment tool validation is to ensure that all aspects, performance standards, and evidence of performance and knowledge are included by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you acquire new educational resources, you must conduct validation of assessment tools prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Validate new resources as soon as possible to verify 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:

- Improve your resources
- Integrate new training products on scope
- Check your course against training product updates
- Note 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 to Validate

Bear in mind that this validation ensures conformity of all training materials before student use. All RTOs must validate materials for each course unit.

Resources Needed to Start Assessment Tool Validation

To start assessment tool validation, 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, helping with faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if directions are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also verify if guidelines for assessors are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment task are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Additional Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, evaluation registers, and templates designed separately from the student workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the evaluation task and meet unit requirements.

Panel for Validation

Standard 1.11 specifies the requirements for panel members. It states assessment validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually ask all trainers and assessors to participate, sometimes including industry experts.

Collectively, your validation panel must have:

- Vocational Skills and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the validated unit.
- Updated Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Education.
- 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: 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?
- Consistency: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?

Evidence Rules

- Relevance: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Completeness: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Relevance: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?

Specific Considerations for 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 Caring for Babies and Toddlers, one performance evidence requirement 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

Typical Mistakes

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 carrying out the tasks.

Watch Out for the Plurals!

Pay attention to the quantities. 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 won’t check it out cut it.

All or Not Competent

Pay attention to itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each evaluation task must address all requirements, or the student is not competent, and the evaluation tool is not compliant.

Be Specific!

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

Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them

Not using double-barrelled questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for trainers to accurately assess student competence.

Audit Guarantees

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

By following these instructions and understanding the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are compliant with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.

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