News
This is Part 2 of the article, where we are discussing the different phases of the validation processes an RTO should be following to ensure you meet regulatory requirements and industry expectations.
In the previous article, we discussed the following regarding the validation of assessment resources:
In this month’s article, we will explore the regulatory requirements around assessment validation.
Regulatory requirements for conducting validation
According to the Standards of Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015, you are required to implement a quality review process (Clauses 1.8, 1.9, 1.10 and 1.11).
Clause 1.8a requires that the RTO’s assessment systems comply with the assessment requirements of the relevant training packages or VET accredited courses.
Clause 1.8b requires RTOs to ensure that the evidence gathered is valid (one of the Rules of Evidence) and that assessment processes and outcomes are valid (one of the Principles of Assessment).
These requirements must be met and demonstrated in all assessment policies, procedures, materials and tools of the RTO. Clause 1.8 primarily relates to the development (or purchase) of the RTO’s assessment resources.
Assessment validation has been strengthened in the Standards for RTOs and the requirement is to:
Assessment system
Documents required for conducting an effective validation session, in the RTO’s assessment system, includes but is not limited to:
Validation related documents:
Assessment resources:
Other documents:
You will be required to evaluate if the assessment resources meet:
Who conducts validation?
Validation is a collaborative process. The team must hold collectively:
The trainer and assessor who delivered/assessed the training product being validated:
It is important to keep the records of all validation activities and validators as auditors might ask for it during audit activities and for managing continuous improvement processes at an RTO.
How is validation different from moderation?
Moderation is a quality control process aimed at bringing assessment judgements into alignment.
Moderation is generally conducted before the finalisation of student results as it ensures the same decisions are applied to all assessment results within the same unit of competency.
The requirement in the Standards to undertake validation of assessment judgements does not affect your RTO’s ability to undertake moderation activities, or any other process aimed at increasing the quality of assessment.
(ASQA, 2018)
(To be continued in the next newsletter)