{Process of Assessment Validation for the Vocational Training Bodies across the context of Australia -

{Process of Assessment Validation for the Vocational Training Bodies across the context of Australia -

Blog Article

Introduction

Training Organisations are responsible for multiple tasks following registration, including yearly reports, AVETMISS reporting, and advertising compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments often stands out. While validation has been reviewed in many articles, let's revisit the fundamental principles. ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) identifies validation of assessments as a quality review of the evaluation process.

Primarily, assessment review is focused on identifying which parts of an RTO’s evaluation process 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, comply with the training package requirements and are conducted according to the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

The regulations mandate two forms of validation. The primary type of validation of assessments guarantees adherence to the training package assessment requirements within your organisation's scope. The subsequent validation ensures that assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence. This indicates that we perform validation pre- and post-assessment. This article will discuss the first type—assessment tool validation.

Understanding Assessment Validation Types

- Assessment Tool Validation: Referred to as pre-assessment validation or verification, is concerned with the primary part of the clause, focusing on meeting all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Concerns the implementation, ensuring RTOs conduct assessments in line with the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Process of Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

When to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation

The purpose of assessment tool validation is to verify that all elements, criteria for performance, and performance and knowledge evidence are covered by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you acquire new educational 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. Validate new resources immediately to verify they are suitable for student use.

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

- Update your resources
- Add new qualifications to scope
- Review your course against training product updates
- Identify 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.

Selecting Training Products for Validation

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

Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation

To start assessment tool validation, you will need the complete set of your learning resources:

- Mapping Document: The first document to review. It identifies which evaluation items meet course unit requirements, assisting in faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment resource during validation. Check if instructions are clear and response areas are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide/Marking Guide: Also verify if guidelines for evaluators are sufficient and if clear standards for each assessment item are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include evaluation checklists, evaluation registers, and evaluation templates created separately from the learner workbook and evaluation guide. Validate these to ensure they suit the assessment activity and comply with course unit requirements.

Assessment Validation Panel

Clause 1.11 specifies the requirements for members of the validation panel. 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 assessment validation panel must have:

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

Assessment Principles

- Impartiality: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Versatility: Does the assessment offer various options to demonstrate competence based on different needs and preferences?
- Accuracy: Is the assessment relevant to the skills and knowledge it aims to evaluate?
- Reliability: 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?
- Sufficiency: Is there enough evidence to ensure that the learner has the skills and knowledge required?
- Originality: Does the assessment tool verify that the work is the candidate’s own?
- Currency: 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 action words in the unit specifications and ensure they are addressed by the assessment item. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Caring for Babies and Toddlers, one performance evidence requirement asks students to:

- Change nappies
- Prepare bottles, bottle feed babies and clean equipment
- Feed babies with solid food
- Respond appropriately to baby signs and cues
- Prepare babies for sleep and help them settle
- Monitor and encourage age-appropriate physical exploration and gross motor skills

Frequent Errors

Describing the nappy-changing process for babies under 12 months does not fulfill the unit requirement. Unless the unit criteria is meant to assess theoretical understanding (i.e., knowledge 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 Baby and Toddler Care calls for 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 here attention to itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students only complete half the tasks, it’s out of compliance. Each assessment item must meet all criteria, or the student is not competent, and the evaluation tool is out of compliance.

Be Specific!

Each assessment task must have clear and specific reference answers to guide the assessor’s judgment on the student’s competence. Therefore, it’s crucial that your instructions do not confuse students or evaluators.

Steer Clear of Double-Barrelled Questions

Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it simpler for students to respond and for assessors to accurately judge student competence.

Ensuring Audit Compliance

Considering these requirements, you might wonder, “Don't resource developers provide audit guarantees?” However, with these promises, you must wait until an audit to address noncompliance. This influences your compliance status, so it's better to take a proactive and compliant approach.

By following these instructions and understanding the assessment principles and evidence rules, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are compliant with the requirements set by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.