North Hampton State High School
Moderation Processes
Current moderation process
The Queensland Curriculum Assessment Authority (QCAA, 2015) states that currently Queensland’s system of externally moderated school-based assessment is a highly regarded model for the quality assurance of educational standards. It is a system with many benefits, but above all it promotes authentic pedagogy and confirms the role of teachers as professionals.
Presently schools submit a work program based on the relevant Authority Subject syllabus document. Once approved by the QCAA the schools are able to implement and develop assessment instruments in accordance with the QCAA work program. Currently schools and teachers are responsible for developing the Authority subject assessment instruments. Under the current moderation process there are external examinations or assessments for full time students in Queensland. The moderation process is a valuable tool to ensure that on balance, as teachers we have reached the same standard when assessing student work. This all takes place after the assessment instruments have been designed and implemented.
Judgements in relation to student achievement must be made on genuine student assessment responses. When students have access to electronic resourses procedures must be in place to ensure that the assessment submitted by the student is their own work.
This can be acheived by internal moderation. Internal moderation is the "procedures administered by a school to ensure that teacher judgments about standards are comparable within the school" (QCAA, 2014, p. 8). Simply, there is comparability of the same year level within the same subjects. For example, teachers look at the standards descriptors then look at the student work to come to a consesis that the work submitted by the student is a B standard and that a B in one Legal studies class is on par with a B in the second Legal studies class.
The Queensland approach to moderation uses review panels operating at district and State levels. Moderation review panels reviews student work, due to teachers exercising freedom in deciding standards of student work. This occurs whereby samples of Year 11 work are provided to district review panels in February each year for monitoring. Advice is provided by the panel which our school must impement.
In October of each year our school must submit to a district panel five student folios, the folios provided must be a mid-range level within each of the achievement levels for verification. The folios provided must include all assessment instruments and the school’s judgement of the standard obtained. If there are any adjustments to students achievement standards it will have repercussions for all work assessed within this cohort. If there are disagreements between our schools judgement and the advice received from district panel the state panel will facilitate an arbitration.
To ensure the judgements that are made are comparable across the state in November each year. Comparability will occur, which the QSA is responsible for.
The QSA moderation handbook diagram below in Figure 2 visually represents the current moderation process.
Figure 2: The Moderation Process
Source: QCAA, 2014
For a detailed understanding of the moderation process refer to the background paper commissioned by The Australian Council of Educational Research (ACER) for the ACER (2014) Review on redesigning the secondary - tertiary interface, Queensland Review of Senior Assessment and Tertiary Entrance commissioned background paper by Gabrielle Matters. Background Paper No. 1, Senior assessment and tertiary entrance in a nutshell – Gabrielle Matters, ACER (uploaded 04 October 2013)
As you can see the current moderation process looks at instruments retrospectively. Whereas the new moderation process will be 'front ended'. Whereby not only the assessment instrument, but the marking scheme will also be required to be approved with endorcement by the QCAA in advance for the Year 11 and 12 students completing the assessment instrument.
It has been announced that a new senior assessment and tertiary entrance system will be introduced for students entering Year 11 in 2018, whereby the old system will be phased out. The new system is not replacing a ‘broken system’ it is further strengthening the system that is currently in use for senior assessment and moderation. Therefore, assessment instruments and marking of assessments will become more robust, whereby teachers must ensure that they are faithful to the marking of the QCAA endorsed assessments to ensure quality is maintained. The new system will ensure that senior assessment will be valid and reliable and provide a different approach to moderation. This process will include three elements:
Endorsement
Prior to the implementation of the three school-based assessment instruments, trained assessment supervisors will review the proposed assessment instrument and marking schemes. The marking schemes will become very prescriptive for standards A – E. The review of assessment instruments will ensure that the principles of quality assessment are enforced according to the QCAA requirements. This will ensure that the assessment instruments have the appropriate difficulty level, coverage of the relevant syllabus and provide students an opportunity to engage at different levels.
Confirmation
Second components of the moderation process will occur after the assessment instruments have been completed by students and assessed in accordance with the marking scheme. Teachers will meet at ‘moderation’ meetings to undertake blind re-assessments of students’ work against a 10 point scale. This will ensure accuracy and consistency in the way teachers and schools are applying the marking scheme. The ACER (2014) states QCAA also conducts annual spot sampling and blind re-assessments to check the consistency of marking across schools. Where a problem is identified, all student work in that subject in that school is re-marked.
Ratification
Official confirmation that no anomalies are identified on the four assessment instruments, remembering that one assessment will be an external assessment. If anomalies are identified, then these are investigated and resolved before verifying students’ marks on the four assessments. Once anomalies are resolved, the ratification of students’ Subject Results for certification follows.
Currently there are trials occuring for Year 11, whereby approximately a third of all senior secondary schools for the State of Queensland are participating in a trail in at least one subject area.
Purnell (2015) states that the trails “help strengthen key aspects of the current system and support a transition to one in which internal and external assessments create further opportunities for students to achieve to their full potential”.
A New Way Forward – Changes to the Moderation Process
UTILISE THE KNOWLEDGE IN YOUR STAFF ROOM
By way of example: Mrs Ray and Mrs Gilbert both teach a Year 11 Studies class. In developing an assessment instrument Mrs Ray and Mrs Gilbert discuss the development of the assessment instrument prior to implementation. A QCAA senior assessment instrument evaluation is completed and is thoroughly checked by the Business Head of Department (HOD). Only when all three agree that the assessment instrument meets the principles of quality assessment will the instrument be approved for use.
With the changes to modification process the checks that occur within this department will still be required: All teachers must thoroughly review the instrument prior to submission to the QCAA. Teachers will be responsible for completing the QCAA review checklist prior to review by the HOD.
When Mrs Ray and Mrs Gilbert assess the assessment instrument against the standards matrix the teachers review a sample of work in each grading A – E. If inconsistencies are identified, all instruments will be remarked. When both teachers agree on the standards allocated a sample is provided to the HOD for review. Should the HOD identify any inconsistencies, all teachers and HOD will conference on the variances in marking with the standards matrix.
The moderation process, both now and the new way forward both require an understanding of the data that is produced by the assessment instruments. When data is utilised appropriately it can change teaching instructional methods.