Assessment Validation Overview

Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) handle numerous obligations after becoming registered, like annual statements, AVETMISS compliance, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments is particularly challenging. While validation has been covered in multiple publications, let's return to the basics. The Australian Skills Quality Authority identifies assessment review as quality assurance of the assessment procedure.

Fundamentally, validation of assessments is intended to identify 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 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 rules mandate two forms of validation. The first type of assessment validation guarantees adherence to the training package assessment requirements within your RTO's scope. The subsequent validation guarantees that assessments are conducted according to the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This suggests that we perform validation both before and after the assessment. This article will concentrate on the first type—assessment tool validation.

The Two Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Also called pre-assessment validation or verification, relates to the primary part of the rule, ensuring compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Is related to the execution, ensuring RTOs conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Steps to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation

Scheduling Assessment Tool Validation

The purpose of validating assessment tools is to ensure that all aspects, performance standards, and performance and knowledge evidence are addressed by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you get new training materials, you must carry out assessment tool validation before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next five-year validation cycle. Check new materials 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. Conduct assessment tool validation also when you:

- Update your resources
- Add new training products on scope
- Audit your course with training product updates
- Flag 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.

Which Training Products Should You Validate?

Remember that this validation guarantees adherence of all educational resources before being used. All RTOs must validate resources for each course unit.

Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation

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

- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It indicates which assessment tasks meet course unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also ensure if guidelines for trainers are sufficient and if clear standards for each assessment task are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include lists, evaluation registers, and templates designed separately from the workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment task and address course unit requirements.

Assessment Validation Panel

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

Collectively, your assessment validation panel must have:

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

Assessment Principles

- Impartiality: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- 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?
- Reliability: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?

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?
- Originality: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Timeliness: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?

Important Factors in 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 Caring for Babies and Toddlers, one performance evidence requirement asks students to:

- Change diapers
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- Respond appropriately to baby signs and cues
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Observe and promote suitable physical activities and motor skills for babies

Frequent Errors

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

Be Careful with Plurals!

Pay attention to the numbers. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 requires the students to complete the tasks at least once on two different babies under 12 months of age. Having students ASQA assessment validation guidelines complete the tasks listed twice on just one baby won’t cut it.

Full Competence or Not Competent

Pay attention to lists. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s out of compliance. Each assessment task must meet all requirements, or the student is not yet competent, and the evaluation tool is not compliant.

Provide Specific Details

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 guidelines do not confuse students or assessors.

Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them

Avoiding 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, “Do resource developers offer guarantees for audits?” However, with these assurances, you must wait for an audit before they help rectify noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, 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.