Introduction

Training Organisations manage numerous responsibilities post-registration, including annual declarations, AVETMISS reporting, and marketing compliance. Among these tasks, validation of assessments often stands out. While we've discussed validation in several discussions, a review of the basics is necessary. The Australian Skills Quality Authority defines assessment review as a quality review of the assessment process.

Fundamentally, assessment review is aimed at identifying 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 SRTOs 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 standards specify two forms of validation. The initial type of assessment validation ensures compliance with the requirements of the training package within your RTO's scope. The second validation guarantees 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 primary type—assessment tool validation.

What are the Two Types of Assessment Validation?

- Assessment Tool Validation: Often termed pre-assessment validation or verification, relates to the first part of the regulation, ensuring compliance with all unit requirements.
- Post-Assessment Validation: Pertains to the conduct, confirming that RTO assessments follow the Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence.

Methods for Conducting Assessment Tool Validation

When to Conduct Assessment Tool Validation

The aim of assessment tool validation is to ensure that all elements, performance criteria, and performance and knowledge evidence are addressed by your assessment tools. Therefore, whenever you acquire new learning resources, you must perform assessment tool validation prior to student use. There's no need to wait for your next scheduled validation. Validate new materials immediately to confirm they are appropriate for students.

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

- Amend your resources
- Add new qualifications to scope
- Check your course against training product updates
- Detect 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.

What Training Products Need Validation?

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

Resources Required for Assessment Tool Validation

To validate your evaluation tools, you will need the complete set of your educational resources:

- Mapping Tool: The first document to review. It shows which assessment tasks meet unit requirements, helping with faster validation.
- Learner Workbook: Ensure it is suitable as an assessment tool during validation. Check if instructions are clear and answer fields are sufficient. This is a common issue.
- Assessor Guide: Also verify if instructions for trainers are sufficient and if clear criteria for each assessment task are provided. Clear standards are crucial for reliable evaluation results.
- Supplementary Resources: These may include lists, registers, and evaluation templates designed separately from the learner workbook and assessor guide. Validate these to ensure they match the assessment activity and address unit requirements.

Assessment Validation Panel

Standard 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 educators and assessors to participate, sometimes including industry experts.

Collectively, your assessment validation panel must have:

- Vocational Skills and Current Industry Skills relevant to the unit being validated.
- Current Expertise in Vocational Teaching and Learning.
- Either of the following training and assessment credentials:
- TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or its successor.

Assessment Principles

- Equity: Is equal opportunity and access provided to everyone in the assessment process?
- Versatility: 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?
- Consistency: Are the assessment results consistent regardless of who conducts the training?

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?
- Authenticity: Does the evidence confirm the originality of the candidate's work?
- Relevance: Are the assessment tools based on current units of competency and up-to-date industry practices?

Key Considerations for Assessment Validation

Pay attention to the verbs in the unit requirements and ensure they are addressed by the assessment item. For example, in the unit CHCECE032 Baby and Toddler Care, one performance criteria asks students to:

- Perform diaper changes
- Prepare and feed bottles, clean feeding 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., knowledge evidence), students should be performing the tasks.

Be Careful with Plurals!

Pay attention to the frequency. In here our example, one of the unit requirements of CHCECE032 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 is not sufficient.

All or Nothing Competence

Pay attention to itemized requirements. As mentioned earlier, if students do not complete all the tasks listed, it’s out of compliance. Each evaluation 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.

Double-Barrelled Questions: Avoid Them

Steering clear of double-barrelled questions makes it more straightforward for students to respond and for assessors 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 safe and compliant approach.

By following these guidelines and understanding the Principles of Assessment and rules of evidence, you can ensure that your evaluation tools are valid with the regulations mandated by ASQA and the SRTOs 2015.