{Assessment Validation concerning Educational Institutions in the context of Australia —
{Assessment Validation concerning Educational Institutions in the context of Australia —
Blog Article
Assessment Validation Overview
Registered Training Organisations handle many responsibilities following registration, which include annual declarations, AVETMISS reporting, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments often stands out. While we've discussed validation in multiple posts, let's return to the basics. The Australian Skills Quality Authority describes assessment review as granular review of the assessment process.
Principally, 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 regulations, 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 regulations specify two types of validation. The first type of assessment validation guarantees adherence to the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The second validation ensures that assessments follow the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This indicates that validation is performed in both pre- and post-assessment stages. This article will focus on the initial type—assessment tool validation.
Types of Assessment Validation
- Assessment Tool Validation: Often termed pre-assessment validation or verification, involves the primary part of the clause, ensuring meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Relates to the execution, verifying that RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
Guide to Conducting Assessment Tool Validation
When to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
The goal of validating assessment tools is to ensure that all components, performance criteria, and evidence of performance and knowledge are covered by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you get new training materials, 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. Validate new resources immediately to ensure they are appropriate for students.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only reason to perform this type of validation. Do validation of assessment tools also when you:
- Amend your resources
- Introduce new training products on scope
- Evaluate your course with training product updates
- Note 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.
Selecting Training Products for Validation
Bear in mind that this validation guarantees adherence of all educational resources before being used. All RTOs must validate training products for each course unit.
Necessary Resources for Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your evaluation tools, you will need the complete set of your training materials:
- Mapping Tool: The first read more document to review. It identifies which evaluation items meet course unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner/Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an evaluation tool during validation. Check if directions are clear and input fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also ensure if guidelines for trainers are sufficient and if clear criteria for each assessment item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include checklists, evaluation registers, and templates developed separately from the workbook and marking guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment activity 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 assessors to participate, sometimes including sector experts.
Collectively, your validation panel must have:
- Vocational Competencies and Current Professional Skills relevant to the validated unit.
- Current Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following certifications for training and assessment:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.
Principles Guiding Assessment
- Impartiality: Does the assessment process offer equal opportunity and access to everyone?
- Adaptability: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Accuracy: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Dependability: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?
Guidelines for Evidence
- Validity: Is the evidence relevant to the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency?
- Completeness: Does the evidence adequately demonstrate the required skills and knowledge?
- Authenticity: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Currency: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?
Key Considerations for Assessment Validation
Pay attention to the action words in the unit specifications and ensure they are addressed by the evaluation task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers, one required performance evidence asks students to:
- Change diapers
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Prepare and give solid food to babies
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- Prepare and settle babies for sleep
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills
Typical Mistakes
Describing the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months does not fulfill the unit requirement. Unless the unit requirement is meant to assess theoretical understanding (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 CHCECE032 Nurture babies and toddlers 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.
All or Not Competent
Pay attention to itemized requirements. 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 not yet competent, and the assessment tool is out of compliance.
Be Specific!
Each evaluation task must have clear and specific benchmark answers to guide the assessor’s judgment on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your guidelines do not confuse students or evaluators.
Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them
Not using double-barrelled questions makes it easier for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately evaluate student competence.
Assurance During Audits
Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Do resource developers offer guarantees for audits?” However, with these guarantees, you must wait for an audit before they help rectify noncompliance. This influences your compliance status, so it's better to take a safe and compliant approach.
By following these recommendations and understanding the Principles of Assessment and evidence rules, you can ensure that your assessment methods are reliable with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.