{Tools for Assessment Validation for Vocational Education Institutes within the Australian context —

Introduction

Registered Training Organisations are responsible for multiple responsibilities upon registration, like annual statements, AVETMISS compliance, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments is particularly challenging. While we've discussed validation in many publications, let's revisit the fundamental principles. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) describes assessment validation as quality assurance of the assessment process.

Basically, assessment validation is designed to identify 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 Standards for RTOs 2015, 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 regulations specify two forms of validation. The first type of assessment review ensures compliance with the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The other type ensures that assessments follow the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence. This indicates that validation is carried out pre- and post-assessment. This article will concentrate on the primary type—validation of assessment tools.

Exploring the Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Also referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, concerns the primary part of the regulation, aimed at ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Pertains to the implementation, ensuring RTOs conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

When to Validate Assessment Tools

The purpose of assessment tool validation is to ensure that all elements, criteria for performance, and performance and knowledge evidence are included by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you acquire new learning resources, you must conduct validation of assessment tools before students use them. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Review new tools immediately to confirm they are suitable for student use.

Nevertheless, this isn't the only reason to conduct this type of validation. Do assessment tool validation also when you:

- Amend your resources
- Introduce new training products on scope
- Compare your course with training product updates
- Flag 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.

Which Training Products Should You Validate?

Keep in mind that this validation ensures compliance of all educational resources before use. All RTOs must validate resources 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 Tool: The first document to review. It indicates which assessment items meet unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- 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.
- Assessor Guide: Also verify if directions for trainers are sufficient and if clear criteria for each assessment item are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, logs, and forms designed separately from the student workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the evaluation task and address subject requirements.

Assessment Validation Panel

Standard 1.11 specifies the requirements for panel members. It states assessment validation can be performed by one or more people. However, RTOs usually ask all educators and assessors to participate, sometimes including sector experts.

Collectively, your panel must have:

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

Principles Guiding Assessment

- Impartiality: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- Versatility: Does the assessment offer various options to demonstrate competence based on different needs and preferences?
- Relevance: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Consistency: Will the assessment produce consistent results every time?

Rules of Evidence

- Appropriateness: Does the evidence demonstrate that the candidate has the skills, knowledge, and attributes described in the unit of competency and associated assessment requirements?
- Completeness: Is there enough evidence to ensure that the learner has the skills and knowledge required?
- Originality: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Relevance: Is the evidence up-to-date with current industry practices?

Key Considerations for Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the verbs in the unit specifications and ensure they are addressed by the assessment task. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Caring for Babies and Toddlers, one performance criteria asks students to:

- Change nappies
- Feed babies with bottles and clean equipment
- Prepare solid food and feed babies
- Respond to baby signs and cues properly
- Prepare and settle babies for sleep
- Observe and promote suitable physical activities and motor skills for babies

Common Pitfalls

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

Mind the Plurals!

Pay attention to the quantities. 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 does not fulfill the requirement.

Full Competence or Not Competent

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

Provide Specific Details

Each more info assessment item 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 baffle students or evaluators.

Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions

Not using double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for evaluators to accurately evaluate 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 assist with noncompliance. This affects your compliance history, so it's better to take a preventative and compliant approach.

By following these guidelines and understanding the principles of assessment and Rules of Evidence, you can ensure that your assessment methods are compliant with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.