During the validation process, all parties should exercise active listening skills to avoid misunderstandings or unnecessary arguments. Sufficient time should be allocated for any validation task. When participating in a
validation session, you will need to know your role within the team, what tools you will be validating or whether you will be taking notes for the team.
There are two (2) concepts central to an assessment:
1. principles of assessment and 2. rules of evidence
Principles of Assessment and Rules of Evidence ensure a fair and reliable form of assessment takes place. Each concept is outlined below:
Principles of Assessment (RECAP)
• Valid - Validity ensures that the assessment can justify what it claims. Evidence supports the learner and indicates they have the knowledge and skill to perform the task which is being assessed.
Evidence must match the type of performance that is being assessed.
• Reliable - Reliable means that the assessment is consistent. Evidence can be collected through a variety of different means but the end result should remain the same – that the learner can undertake the task regardless of how they are asked to perform it, or when they are asked to perform it.
• Flexible - Flexibility indicates that reasonable adjustment can be carried out to amend the assessment if necessary for learners with special needs or characteristics. It also indicates that there is flexibility in when the assessment takes place and where it takes place to accommodate for the needs of the learners and the Trainer.
• Fair - Fair means that no learner is disadvantaged in his or her assessment. All learners should understand what is expected from them and advised of all the details relating to the assessment. All learner needs should be catered to in the assessment process.
Rules of Evidence (RECAP)
• Valid - Valid refers to whether or not the evidence collected is a reasonable indication of the learner completing the required tasks.
• Sufficient - Sufficient indicates whether or not there is enough information for the Trainer or Assessor to make an educated decision on whether or not the learner has passed.
• Current - Is the evidence current to the learner and the skills and knowledge that are being applied?
• Authentic - Authentic refers to the fact that the work must not be completed by someone else or plagiarised
These two concepts should be applied to every validation decision. A validation checklist should be used here to ensure each task meets the principles of assessment and rules of evidence (see sample below).
SAMPLE: Validation Checklist
Course code and name: CUASOU303 Repair and maintain audio equipment
Assessment instrument being evaluated:
Observation checklist, Written exam, Role play, Third Party Report
Validator name: Maggie May Validation date: 01/12/15
Evaluation question Yes/No Add comments to explain your
determination of each question.
Assessment task instructions and assessment conditions are clearly identified
Yes Each assessment tool contained clear student instructions about how to provide answers, submission attempts, carry out the activity and the grading system.
Written information is at the appropriate AQF level and grammatically correct
Yes The activities, questions and role play assessed the learners at the relevant AQF level according to the qualification descriptor.
No grammar or punctuation errors found in the assessment tools.
The evidence requirements of the unit of competency are covered
Yes The assessment tools addressed all competency standards and is illustrated by the mapping matrix The level of difficulty is appropriate to the unit of
competency
Yes Appropriate trigger words were used for this AQF level 3 unit.
Employability skills are supported in the assessment instrument
No Some students did not have access to a workplace and could not take advantage of the third party report option.
The activity could sustain more than one assessment method for reasonable adjustment
Yes The written exam can be assessed through verbal questioning
A marking guide is provided with the instrument Yes Each assessment tool is
accompanied by a marking guide which contains benchmark responses to guide the marking process.
The assessment activity is relevant to a number of different situations/contexts
No Does not currently cover all possible work-related scenarios – only simulated situations.
The principles of assessment have been addressed:
• valid
• reliable
Yes Valid – the assessment tools cover all of the competency standards in the unit of
Reliable –the assessment tools cover different simulated contexts. However this could be improved through work
placement.
Flexible – the assessment tools can be reasonably adjusted for those who may have a speech impediment.
Fair – the assessment tools do not discriminate against any candidates or groups or people from different backgrounds.
The rules of evidence have been addressed:
• valid
• authentic
• current
• sufficient
Yes Valid – the evidence being collected through the
assessment tools aligns to the training package requirements.
Authentic – the work submitted belongs to the student and the student is required to complete a student declaration stating that the work submitted is their own.
Current – the evidence collected is current whereby the assessor is observing the learner in real time.
Sufficient – the evidence collected through the assessment tools allow the assessor to make a professional
judgment about the learner’s competency levels.
Relevant WHS legislation and industry requirements have been considered
Yes All reasonable care is taken to ensure that the learner is not at risk when performing any practical activities or using equipment. Safety induction is completed prior to course commencement.
Additional comments:
The RTO should consider work placement for learners and clearly communicate reasonable adjustment options to learners as well.
The assessment tool has been modified as per recommendations Yes No
Version control
Version control is necessary to ensure that once an assessment tool has been changed or upgraded, the latest version is kept on file. The reason why version control is important is because changes that have been made can be tracked to understand progress of the document from inception right through to the latest version.
When being audited, this is something an auditor will look for to ensure continuous improvement methods are being managed. Version control is simply the system used to keep track of latest versions. Each document should have a version number (i.e. V1, V2.4 etc) or a date to indicate the version of the document itself.
From an auditing perspective, records of results need to be kept by Registered Training Organisations for 30 years and assessments need to be kept for around 12 months from the date of the assessment decision.