Intro to Validating Assessments for RTOs

RTOs manage multiple responsibilities following registration, including yearly declarations, AVETMISS data submission, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments often stands out. While validation has been covered in many posts, a review of the basics is necessary. The Australian Skills Quality Authority identifies assessment validation as quality assurance of the assessment procedure.

Essentially, validation of assessments is aimed at 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 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 standards require two types of validation. The primary type of assessment validation ensures compliance with the requirements of the training package 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 in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will discuss the primary type—validation of assessment tools.

Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Commonly called pre-assessment validation or verification, is related to the initial part of the regulation, focusing on ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Concerns 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 assessment tool validation is to verify that all components, performance criteria, and evidence of performance and knowledge are included by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you purchase new learning resources, you must perform assessment tool validation before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Validate new materials as soon as possible to confirm they are appropriate for students.

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

- Modify your resources
- Introduce new training products on scope
- Assess your course with training product updates
- Identify 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 Requiring Validation

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

Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation

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

- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It shows which evaluation items meet subject requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if instructions are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also ensure if guidelines for evaluators are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include lists, evaluation registers, and forms designed separately from the learner workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the evaluation task and comply with course unit requirements.

Validation Panel

Regulation 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 trainers and assessors to participate, sometimes including field experts.

Collectively, your validation panel must have:

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

Principles Guiding Assessment

- Equity: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Adaptability: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Relevance: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Consistency: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?

Evidence Rules

- Appropriateness: 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?
- Timeliness: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?

Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the action words in the unit specifications and ensure they are addressed by the assessment task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 click here Baby and Toddler Care, one performance criteria asks students to:

- Change nappies
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- React suitably to baby signals and cues
- Prepare and settle babies for sleep
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development

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 criteria is meant to evaluate underlying knowledge (i.e., evidence of knowledge), 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 Baby and Toddler Care calls for 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.

All or Not Competent

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

Be Specific!

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

Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them

Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for trainers to accurately assess student competence.

Assurance During Audits

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don't resource developers provide audit guarantees?” However, with these guarantees, you must wait for an audit before they assist with 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 regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.