{Assessment Validation Guide pertaining to Vocational Education and Training within the Australian landscape —
{Assessment Validation Guide pertaining to Vocational Education and Training within the Australian landscape —
Blog Article
Overview of Assessment Validation
Training Organisations are responsible for multiple responsibilities after becoming registered, including annual declarations, AVETMISS reporting, and marketing adherence. Among these tasks, assessment validation often stands out. While validation has been covered in several articles, let's revisit the fundamental principles. ASQA describes validation of assessments as granular review of the evaluation process.
In essence, assessment review is designed 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 types of validation. The initial type of assessment review guarantees adherence to the training package assessment requirements within your RTO's scope. The other type ensures that assessments adhere 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 primary type—assessment tool validation.
Two Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, deals with the initial part of the clause, aimed at compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Involves the conduct, making sure RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
When to Validate Assessment Tools
The purpose of validating assessment tools is to make sure that all elements, criteria for performance, and performance and knowledge evidence are covered by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you get new training materials, you must conduct validation of assessment tools before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Validate new tools right away to confirm they are appropriate for students.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only reason to conduct this type of validation. Do assessment tool validation also when you:
- Improve your resources
- Introduce new training products on scope
- Evaluate your course with training product updates
- Detect 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.
What Training Products Require Validation
Note that this validation ensures compliance of all training materials before use. All RTOs must validate training products for each course unit.
Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation
To start assessment tool validation, you will need the complete set of your training materials:
- Mapping Resource: The first document to review. It indicates which evaluation items meet subject requirements, aiding 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.
- Assessor Guide: Also check if directions for assessors are sufficient and if clear benchmarks for each assessment task are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include lists, registers, and evaluation templates designed separately from the learner workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they match the evaluation task and address 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 and assessors to participate, sometimes including sector experts.
Collectively, your validation panel must have:
- Vocational Skills and Current Industry Skills relevant to the validated unit.
- Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Education.
- Either of the following credentials for training and assessment:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.
Principles Guiding Assessment
- Impartiality: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Flexibility: Does the assessment offer various options to demonstrate competence based on different needs and preferences?
- Validity: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Consistency: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?
Rules of Evidence
- Relevance: Is the evidence relevant to the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency?
- Completeness: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Originality: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Currency: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?
Key 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:
- Change diapers
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- 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
Asking students to describe the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months old does not 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 numbers. In our example, one of the unit requirements of get more info CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care requires 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 does not fulfill the requirement.
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 evaluation tool is non-compliant.
Can You Be More Specific?
Each assessment task must have clear and specific standard answers to guide the assessor’s judgment on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your directions do not confuse students or evaluators.
Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them
Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for assessors to accurately evaluate student competence.
Audit Guarantees
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don't resource developers provide audit guarantees?” However, with these promises, you must wait until an audit to address noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a proactive and compliant approach.
By following these recommendations and understanding the assessment principles and evidence rules, you can ensure that your assessment methods are reliable with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.