{Tools for Assessment Validation for Vocational Training Bodies throughout the Australian context An Authoritative Guide

{Tools for Assessment Validation for Vocational Training Bodies throughout the Australian context An Authoritative Guide

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Introduction

Registered Training Organisations have multiple responsibilities upon registration, which include yearly reports, AVETMISS data submission, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments frequently stands out. While validation has been reviewed in several discussions, let's revisit the fundamental principles. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) describes assessment review as quality assurance of the assessment process.

In essence, assessment review is dedicated to identifying which parts of an RTO’s assessment procedures 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, comply with the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

The rules mandate two forms of validation. The first type of assessment validation ensures compliance with the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The subsequent validation ensures that assessments are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This indicates that validation is carried out in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will focus on the primary type—assessment tool validation.

Overview of Assessment Validation Types

- Assessment Tool Validation: Sometimes called pre-assessment validation or verification, is concerned with the initial part of the clause, ensuring ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is related to the conduct, making sure RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Steps to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation

When to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation

The goal of validating assessment tools is to verify that all aspects, performance standards, and evidence of performance and knowledge are addressed by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you acquire new learning resources, you must perform validation of assessment tools prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. 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. Perform assessment tool validation also when you:

- Upgrade your resources
- Include new training products on scope
- Compare your course with training product updates
- Spot 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.

Identifying Training Products for Validation

Remember that this validation ensures compliance of all learning resources before use. All RTOs must validate resources for each course unit.

Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation

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

- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It indicates which evaluation items meet unit requirements, aiding in faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also ensure if instructions for evaluators are sufficient and if clear criteria for each assessment item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Additional Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, logs, and templates designed separately from the workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the assessment activity and meet course unit requirements.

Assessment Validation Panel

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

Collectively, your panel must have:

- Vocational Competencies and Current Professional Skills relevant to the validated unit.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment 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: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Dependability: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?

Evidence Rules

- Appropriateness: 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?
- Authenticity: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Timeliness: 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 requirements and ensure they are addressed by the assessment item. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Caring for Babies and Toddlers, one performance criteria asks students to:

- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development

Common Pitfalls

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

Watch Out for the Plurals!

Pay attention to the quantities. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler awesome site Care 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 cut it.

Full Competence or Not Competent

Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s non-compliant. Each assessment item must meet all criteria, or the student is not yet competent, and the assessment method is not compliant.

Be Specific!

Each evaluation task must have clear and specific standard answers to guide the evaluator’s decision on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your instructions do not mislead students or evaluators.

Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them

Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately judge student competence.

Audit Guarantees

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don't resource developers provide audit guarantees?” However, with these assurances, you must wait for an audit before they assist with noncompliance. This influences your compliance status, so it's better to take a preventative and compliant approach.

By following these recommendations and understanding the assessment principles and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are compliant with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.