Intro to Validating Assessments for RTOs

Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) manage multiple tasks post-registration, like yearly reports, AVETMISS compliance, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, validating assessments is notably challenging. While validation has been covered in several discussions, let's return to the basics. The Australian Skills Quality Authority identifies assessment review as a quality review of the assessment procedure.

Essentially, assessment validation 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 2015 Standards for RTOs, 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 standards mandate two types of validation. The first type of validation of assessments guarantees adherence to the requirements of the training package within your organisation's scope. The subsequent validation ensures that assessments follow the principles of assessment and rules of evidence. This implies that validation is performed both before and after the assessment. This article will focus on the first type—validation of assessment tools.

Two Types of Assessment Validation

- Assessment Tool Validation: Commonly called pre-assessment validation or verification, concerns the initial part of the regulation, aimed at ensuring all unit requirements are met.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Deals with the execution, ensuring RTOs conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

When Should Assessment Tool Validation Be Conducted?

The goal of assessment tool validation is to make sure that all elements, criteria for performance, and evidence of performance and knowledge are included by your evaluation tools. Therefore, whenever you acquire new learning resources, you must carry out validation of assessment tools before allowing students to use them. There's no need to wait for your next 5-year cycle validation schedule. Review new materials immediately to confirm they are suitable for student use.

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

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

What Training Products Require Validation

Keep in mind that this validation ensures compliance of all educational resources before student use. All RTOs must validate resources for each course unit.

Resources Needed to Start 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.
- Student Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if guidelines are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also verify if directions for trainers are sufficient and if clear criteria for each assessment item are provided. Clear criteria are crucial for reliable assessment outcomes.
- Other Related Resources: These may include checklists, registers, and evaluation templates designed separately from the learner workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the assessment task and meet course unit requirements.

Panel for Validation

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

Collectively, your validation panel must have:

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

Assessment Principles

- Equity: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Flexibility: Are there multiple ways to demonstrate competence, accommodating different needs and preferences?
- Validity: Is the assessment an accurate tool for evaluating the required skills and knowledge?
- Consistency: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?

Rules of Evidence

- Appropriateness: Is the evidence appropriate to the requirements of the unit of competency?
- Adequacy: Is the evidence sufficient to cover all the required skills and knowledge?
- Originality: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Timeliness: Are the assessment tools based on current units of competency and up-to-date industry practices?

Specific Considerations for Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the verbs in the unit requirements 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:

- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- Respond appropriately to baby Assessment tool validation Australia signs and cues
- Get babies ready for sleep and settle them
- Supervise and support age-appropriate physical activities and motor development

Frequent Errors

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 theoretical understanding (i.e., knowledge evidence), students should be carrying out the tasks.

Watch Out for the Plurals!

Pay attention to the numbers. In our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care 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 won’t cut it.

All or Nothing Competence

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

Provide Specific Details

Each assessment task must have clear and specific standard answers to guide the evaluator’s decision on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your instructions do not baffle students or assessors.

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, “Don’t learning resource developers offer audit guarantees?” However, with these assurances, you must wait until an audit to address noncompliance. This impacts your compliance record, 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 reliable with the standards established by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.