{Assessment Validation Tools for VET Providers in the Australian context :
{Assessment Validation Tools for VET Providers in the Australian context :
Blog Article
Overview of Assessment Validation
Training Organisations manage multiple tasks following registration, including yearly reports, AVETMISS data submission, and promotional compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments is notably challenging. While validation has been covered in many articles, let's revisit the fundamental principles. The Australian Skills Quality Authority describes assessment review as a quality review of the assessment process.
Essentially, assessment validation is concerned with 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 2015 Standards for RTOs, 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 standards require two types of validation. The first type of assessment validation guarantees adherence to the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The subsequent validation guarantees that assessments adhere to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence. This indicates that validation is performed both before and after the assessment. This article will focus on the first type—assessment tool validation.
Understanding Assessment Validation Types
- Assessment Tool Validation: Also referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, relates to the initial part of the regulation, focusing on ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Involves the execution, making sure RTOs conduct assessments according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.
How to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation
Scheduling Assessment Tool Validation
The goal of validating assessment tools is to make sure that all aspects, criteria for performance, and performance and knowledge evidence are included by your assessment methods. Therefore, whenever you acquire new educational resources, 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 appropriate for students.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only reason to conduct this type of validation. Perform assessment tool validation also when you:
- Revise your resources
- Incorporate new training products on scope
- Assess your course with training product updates
- Identify potential risks in your learning resources 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?
Remember that this validation ensures conformity of all training materials before student use. All RTOs must validate materials for each course unit.
Resources Needed to Start Assessment Tool Validation
To validate your evaluation tools, you will need the complete set of your training materials:
- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It indicates which assessment tasks meet unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Marking Guide: Also verify if guidelines for assessors are sufficient and if clear standards for each assessment item are provided. Clear benchmarks are crucial for reliable assessment results.
- Additional Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, evaluation registers, and templates created separately from the learner workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they fit the assessment task and meet 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 mandate all educators and assessors to participate, sometimes including field experts.
Collectively, your panel must have:
- Vocational Competencies and Current Professional Skills relevant to the unit under validation.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Training.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40116 or its successor.
Principles of Assessment
- Fairness: Is the assessment process fair and equitable for all candidates?
- website Versatility: Is the assessment adaptable to different needs and preferences of candidates?
- Relevance: Does the assessment evaluate what it is intended to evaluate?
- Dependability: Will different assessors make the same decision on skill competence?
Rules of Evidence
- Relevance: 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?
- Originality: Is the evidence genuine and truly representative of the candidate's abilities?
- Timeliness: Does the evidence reflect current skills and knowledge?
Specific 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 Nurture babies and toddlers, one required performance evidence asks students to:
- Change diapers
- Feed babies with bottles 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
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 underpinning knowledge (i.e., evidence of knowledge), students should be doing the tasks.
Watch Out for the Plurals!
Pay attention to the frequency. 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 complete the tasks listed twice on just one baby is not sufficient.
Full Competence or Not Competent
Pay attention to enumerated tasks. As mentioned earlier, if students perform only half the tasks listed, it’s out of compliance. Each assessment task must address all specifications, or the student is not competent, and the assessment tool is out of compliance.
Provide Specific Details
Each evaluation task must have clear and specific benchmark answers to guide the assessor’s evaluation on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your guidelines do not baffle students or assessors.
Avoid Double-Barrelled Questions
Avoiding double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for trainers to accurately judge 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 preventative and compliant approach.
By following these guidelines and understanding the assessment principles and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your assessment methods are compliant with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.