Intro to Validating Assessments for RTOs

Registered Training Organisations manage various tasks following registration, including yearly declarations, AVETMISS data submission, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, validation of assessments is particularly challenging. While validation has been reviewed in several articles, let's revisit the fundamental principles. The Australian Skills Quality Authority defines assessment review as a quality review of the assessment process.

Primarily, assessment review is dedicated to 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, comply with the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

The standards specify two types of validation. The initial type of assessment review checks conformity with the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The subsequent validation guarantees that assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This indicates that we perform validation in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will focus on the first type—validation of assessment tools.

Overview of Assessment Validation Types

- Assessment Tool Validation: Referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, is concerned with the first part of the clause, focusing on meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Relates to the execution, making sure RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Guide to Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

When Should Assessment Tool Validation Be Conducted?

The purpose of assessment tool validation is to make sure that all components, performance standards, and performance and knowledge evidence are included by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you purchase new educational resources, you must perform validation of assessment tools prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Review new tools as soon as possible to confirm they are fit for student use.

Nevertheless, this isn't the only occasion to perform this type of validation. Perform validation of assessment tools also when you:

- Improve your resources
- Introduce new training products on scope
- Compare your course with training product updates
- Spot 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 Requiring Validation

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

Resources Needed to Start Assessment Tool Validation

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

- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It indicates which assessment tasks meet subject requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- 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: Also verify if guidelines for evaluators are sufficient and if clear criteria for each evaluation item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Additional Resources: These may include checklists, registers, and evaluation templates developed separately from the student workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the evaluation task and address unit requirements.

Panel find it here for Validation

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

Collectively, your panel must have:

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

Principles Guiding Assessment

- Fairness: 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?
- Relevance: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Consistency: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?

Evidence Rules

- Relevance: Is the evidence relevant to the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency?
- Sufficiency: Is there enough evidence to ensure that the learner has the skills and knowledge required?
- Genuineness: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Currency: Are the assessment tools based on current units of competency and up-to-date industry practices?

Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the verbs in the unit specifications and ensure they are addressed by the assessment task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Caring for Babies and Toddlers, one performance evidence requirement asks students to:

- Perform diaper changes
- 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

Typical Mistakes

Having students describe the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months old doesn’t directly meet the unit requirement. Unless the unit requirement is meant to assess underpinning knowledge (i.e., knowledge-based evidence), students should be doing the tasks.

Be Careful with Plurals!

Pay attention to the frequency. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers 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 lists. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each assessment item must address all requirements, or the student is not yet competent, and the assessment tool is non-compliant.

Provide Specific Details

Each assessment item must have clear and specific benchmark answers to guide the assessor’s judgment 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 assessors to accurately judge student competence.

Audit Guarantees

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

By following these guidelines and understanding the principles of assessment and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your assessment methods are reliable with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.