{Tools for Assessment Validation concerning Vocational Education Institutes across the Australian landscape :

Intro to RTO Assessment Validation

Training Organisations are responsible for numerous tasks upon registration, which include annual declarations, AVETMISS data submission, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, assessment validation often stands out. While validation has been covered in many discussions, a review of the basics is necessary. ASQA defines assessment validation as a quality review of the evaluation process.

Primarily, assessment validation is designed to identify which parts of an RTO's assessment 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 Standards for RTOs 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 mandate two forms of validation. The initial type of assessment review guarantees adherence to the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The second validation guarantees that assessments are conducted according to the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence. This implies that validation is performed pre- and post-assessment. This article will concentrate on the initial type—validation of assessment tools.

The Two Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Also called pre-assessment validation or verification, concerns the first part of the regulation, focusing on meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is concerned with the execution, ensuring RTOs conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Conducting Validation of Assessment Tools

Scheduling Assessment Tool Validation

The purpose of validating assessment tools is to make sure that all components, criteria for performance, and evidence of performance and knowledge are included by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you acquire new learning resources, you must carry out validation of assessment tools before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Check new resources right away to ensure they are fit for student use.

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

- Revise your resources
- Add new training products on scope
- Evaluate your course with training product updates
- Identify potential risks in your learning resources 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 Needing Validation

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

Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation

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

- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It indicates which evaluation items meet subject requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if directions are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also check if directions for evaluators are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Other Related Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, logs, and forms created separately from the workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment task and comply with subject requirements.

Panel for Validation

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

Collectively, your panel must have:

- Workplace Competencies and Up-to-date Industry Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Education.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.

Principles Guiding Assessment

- Fairness: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Flexibility: 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?

Guidelines for Evidence

- Relevance: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Sufficiency: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Relevance: 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 action words in the unit criteria and ensure they are addressed by the assessment task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care, one performance criteria asks students to:

- Change diapers
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- 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-based evidence), students should be carrying out the tasks.

Be Careful with Plurals!

Pay attention to the frequency. 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 cut it.

Full Competence or Not Competent

Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s non-compliant. Each assessment task must cover all requirements, or the student is incompetent, and the assessment method is not compliant.

Can You Be More Specific?

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

Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions

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

Audit Guarantees

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

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