MODERATION: An Overview

1. MODERATION: An Overview Compiled by Rob Neisler – Head of Curriculum 2018

2. Moderation is an iterative and cyclic process What is Moderation? Whole school moderation processes refer to professional conversations and a series of activities that ensure: • consistency of judgments about student achievement on individual summative assessment tasks against aspects of the relevant achievement standards • accuracy of judgments about overall levels of achievement (using student assessment folios) for reporting against the relevant achievement standards at the end of each semester.

3. Prior to Moderation Achieved at our planning sessions Before undertaking moderation processes, schools should develop a shared understanding of how these processes are embedded in systematic curriculum delivery and: • the assessment literacy of all stakeholders • a deep knowledge of the relevant achievement standards, assessable elements, and the features and design of quality summative assessment and related marking guides • the role of common summative assessment.

4. A Whole School Approach A whole school approach to moderation ideally: • underpins systematic curriculum delivery and is conducted at multiple junctures throughout the teaching and learning cycle • is reflected in the three levels of planning and is adopted as a common approach across the school • Whole School Curriculum • Band/Year level • Unit Plans • respondsto assessment and reporting data • Systematic curriculum delivery is a process rather than a destination that: • includes a whole school approach to moderation to align curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and reporting; • relies on elevated assessment literacy of all stakeholders; • is achieved through the development of teachers’ professional knowledge, practice and engagement to strengthen assessment and moderation practices

5. When should Moderation occur? Moderation is iterative and cyclical, and supports the alignment between curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and reporting. Moderation should occur: • before assessment takes place, at the planning stage, and at appropriate times throughout teaching and learning • after assessment takes place, but before it is graded • after assessment is graded • at the end of the reporting period using assessment folios Use moderation to align curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and reporting — before assessment takes place, at the planning stage, and at appropriate times throughout teaching and learning.

6. Why Moderation? Moderation requires the fore-fronting of assessment in curriculum planning and supports schools to align: • whatis being assessed • whatand how the teacher is teaching and the student is learning • whatis reported at the end of each semester for each learning area and/ or subject in each year and/or band. Schools also use moderation processes to: • understand the relevant achievement standards for each learning area and/or subject in each year and/or band • inform teaching and learning, and the design of summative assessment • achieve proactive and consistent teacher judgments, rather than retrospective judgments • enhance student, parent/carer and community confidence in teacher judgments.

7. Additional Benefits of Moderation Data collected using whole school moderation processes may be about strengths and areas for improvement in: • teaching and learning common to groups or cohorts of students • the provision of the curriculum and/or certain design features of summative assessment in the three levels of planning Moderation processes supports confidence in teachers’ ability to make consistent and valid standards-based judgments about the quality of student responses to summative assessment and assessment folios.

8. What about Teacher Judgements? Consistent and valid teacher judgments about the quality of student responses to summative assessment and work contained in assessment folios in Prep to Year 10 relies on: • standards • evidence • consensus.

9. Standards Standards — use achievement standards to ensure consistent and valid teacher judgments • The Australian Curriculum provides achievement standards, a fixed reference point for describing the expectations about the quality of student work at the ‘C’ standard for each learning area and/or subject in each year and/or band. • Consistent and valid teacher judgments relies on all teachers making judgments and determining overall levels of achievement for student work against the Australian Curriculum achievement standards.

10. Evidence Evidence — gather evidence of student learning against the relevant achievement standards to ensure consistent and valid teacher judgments • The evidence of learning is found in student responses to summative assessment in each learning area and/or subject in each year and/or band contained in student assessment folios. • A consistent and valid judgment about the evidence relies on: • quality summative assessment tasks that allow students to demonstrate their depth of understanding, sophistication of skills, and application of communication and/or practical performance skills against aspects of the achievement standard being assessed • marking guides that describe expectations about student achievement against the relevant aspects of the achievement standard being assessed and the related assessable elements • a common approach for matching evidence in student responses to the summative assessment task and/or the student assessment folio against the relevant achievement standards to award an overall level of achievement

11. Consensus • Consensus — reach consensus to ensure consistent and valid teacher judgments • Teachers reach consensus (agreement) about the quality of evidence demonstrated in student responses to summative assessment and the quality of work contained in student assessment folios. • To reach consensus, teachers should engage in moderation processes including a range of calibration and confirmation activities.

12. In Summary… • Moderation processes support confidence in the accuracy of reported results against the relevant achievement standards for each learning area and/or subject in each year and/or band Accuracy of reported results against the relevant achievement standards in Prep to Year 10 relies on: • schools implementing (teaching, assessing, and reporting on) the whole Australian Curriculumusing a learning area and/or subject-specific approach in each year and/or band • teachers making consistent and valid judgments for reporting overall levels of achievement at the end of each semester for each learning area and/or subject in each year and/or band • Moderation processes carried out across the whole school and at various junctures ensures reliability of reported results Source: Assessment and Moderation in Prep to Year 10, Department of Education

13. More information may be found at… Assessment & Moderation Hub https://learningplace.eq.edu.au/cx/resources/file/76fcf9c5-4485-4fa1-9981-19073ca3865b/1/index.html https://learningplace.eq.edu.au/cx/resources/file/76fcf9c5-4485-4fa1-9981-19073ca3865b/1/moderate-assessment/index.html https://learningplace.eq.edu.au/cx/resources/file/76fcf9c5-4485-4fa1-9981-19073ca3865b/1/moderate-assessment/whole-school-moderation.html P-12 Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Framework http://education.qld.gov.au/curriculum/framework/p-12/index.html Pedagogical Framework https://learningplace.eq.edu.au/cx/resources/file/f66ebbde-9978-4bfd-e445-b0f06cf4849f/1/section-03/s03-00.html