MODERATOR GUIDELINES

Moderation is an important part of the assessment process and involves

the peer review of assessment tools (pre-assessment moderation) and
samples of assessed student work (post-assessment moderation). The
aim is to ensure that assessments are fair, valid and consistent.

Role of Moderator
Moderators are recruited for their disciplinary knowledge and/or
professional expertise. The role of the moderator is to help ensure that
assessments:

 are conducted in manner that is fair to all students

 suitably cover specified learning outcomes
 set a consistent and appropriate level of achievement

Moderators give feedback on the appropriateness and consistency of

assessment practice. They should review sufficient number of exam
scripts and/or other assessed work to enable confirmation that the level
and consistency of marking is appropriate. A moderator may also advise
on assessment content, course development and benchmarking of
outcomes against other institutions delivering similar programmes.

Moderators should not be involved in the marking or correcting of the

specified student work. The outcome of moderation does not overrule the
assessor’s decision but any recommendations for change must be given
due considered by the programme manager.

Course Descriptors
The course descriptor (CD) is the key reference document that a
moderator should consult in carrying out an evaluation of assessment.
The CD specifies the Credit Value, Level and Learning Outcomes for a
particular course. It also guides the weighting allocated to various
assessments and the Learning Outcomes that should be covered by each
type of assessment (refer to Assessment Requirements section of CD).

You should use the credit value and weighting to give an indication of the
amount of assessment time that should be allocated. The complexity of
the assessment should fit in with the course level (refer to NZQA
http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/framework/levels.html for level descriptors).
The assessment should provide sufficient coverage to enable students to
show they have achieved the specified learning outcomes for the course.

Pre-Assessment Moderation
A copy of the: course descriptor (CD), assessment task and/or exam
sheets, sample answers or guidelines inclusive of assessment scheme/s
should be supplied. Ideally for pre-moderation the moderator should
complete each task/question under the expected test conditions to verify
each of the below checklist items:
 assessment instructions are clear and easily understood
 all necessary resources are clearly stated and appropriate
 support material (e.g. diagrams, graphs, charts, formula, answer
sheets, standards, documentation, etc) is available, appropriately
labelled, correct and accessible to students
 assessment questions/activities are appropriately numbered (or
otherwise identified), clearly stated, correct and achievable
  assessment tasks match with the CD assessment requirements
 assessment tasks fully cover the specified CD learning outcomes
 assessment tasks are valid and appropriate for what is being tested
 work can reasonably be completed in time frame allocated
 weighting of assessment/s match the CD assessment requirements
 sample answers are correct and/or evidence guidelines match
assessment instructions
 marking schedule and/or judgement statements are clear,
consistent and relate to the assessments tasks
 marking schedule and/or judgement statements clearly set an
expected and acceptable performance level inline with the CD
Use the supplied pre-assessment form the moderator should verify that
each of the required checks results in an acceptable assessment scheme.
Comments and recommendations should be included as appropriate.

Post-Assessment Moderation
A sample of marked student work from the top, middle and bottom range
are generally considered. Borderline grades may also be reviewed.

The moderator should check the following areas:

 overall spread of grades are appropriate and consistent with the
level and expected capability of the group of students
 individual student marks and grades are correctly processed
 all marks awarded are in line with the marking scheme/s
 sufficiency of answers are appropriate for course level
 awarded marks are fair and consistent across the sample

Using the supplied post-assessment form, the moderator should make a

judgement about the overall assessment decisions and give specific
comments as appropriate. Overall comments and recommendations
should also be considered.