Moderation

Whakaōrite | Moderation

Accreditation Criterion 1: The institution has the capability and capacity to ensure assessment materials and decisions are fair, valid, consistent and appropriate, given the stated learning outcomes.

Moderation is a critical quality improvement and compliance activity at Unitec Te Pūkenga. It is governed by:

• Te Pūkenga Moderation Policy
• Unitec Moderation Procedure

Te Pūkenga is currently developing its moderation system. As information becomes available, this page will be updated.

The purpose of check marking and moderation is to support assessment practice and to assure learners and stakeholders that course outcomes are credible. Moderation is a process of independent peer/stakeholder review of summative assessment material and judgements. It is designed to ensure that:

• assessment is fair, valid, consistent and reliable;
• assessment tasks provide the opportunity for learners to demonstrate achievement of the learning outcomes;
• that guidance used by assessors in the marking of assessments is appropriate;
• learners have achieved the course outcomes to the extent indicated by their final course grade; and
• that any learners gaining credit for a course has achieved ALL the learning outcomes in the course.

Check marking is the process of having a colleague confirm that an assessment has been appropriately marked.

Course moderation includes confirming that :

• the assessment tasks in a course allow the learner to achieve the course learning outcomes (even if learners only gain the minimum pass mark in each assessment)
• the marking guidance assessors (academic staff) use for each assessment task allows for consistent judgements to be made about learner evidence
• learners have been appropriately assessed, and awarded the assessment marks and course final grades, justified by the evidence presented

Planning for Moderation

Planning the moderation of courses (and standards) for each programme is an important part of our Quality Management System. Details of what is required in set out in our Moderation Procedure. The paragraphs below outline the key aspects of moderation at Unitec Te Pūkenga

The core components of our moderation system are:

1. Moderation of assessment materials
2. Check Marking
3. Internal Moderation
4. External Moderation
5. Standard Setting Body (SSB) Moderation
6. Planning and Reporting

All of the above are supported by effective planning of check marking and moderation within each programme. The Moderation Planning and Tracking Tool is used to:

• Plan moderation and check marking over a number of years
• Capture the completion of moderation and check marking
• Capture the outcomes from moderation

Every programme’s moderation plan must be approved by the PAQC by 31 March each year.

Moderation of Assessment Materials

The moderation of assessment materials, often referred to as “pre-moderation” or “pre-assessment moderation”, is the first critical stage in ensuring that our qualifications have credibility.

The moderation of assessment materials is to confirm that, even if a learner achieves the minimum pass mark in each assessment in a course, the learner will achieve all the learning outcomes of the course.

For the moderation of assessment materials to be effective, it requires all assessment tasks (and their marking guidance) to be moderated together. As such, the Unitec Moderation Procedure requires that this occurs prior to the course start date.

Moderation of assessment materials must be completed:

• whenever assessments are first designed
• following any changes to any of the assessments in a course (see below)
• during internal and external post moderation

Changing assessments and moderation

Assessments are expected to be amended frequently. Teaching staff are responsible for ensuring that all assessments are appropriately moderated prior to use. If changes to assessments are minor, then the moderation required following those changes should reflect this.

Check Marking

Check marking is the process of confirming that assessments have been appropriately marked. The process requires teaching staff to:

1. Identify whether check marking is required by referring to the approved Moderation Plan (on the Moderation Planning and Tracking Tool). If check marking is required, each assessment in a course is check marked for a select sample of ākonga

Note: Exams are check marked at every occurrence.

2. Make appropriate arrangements for check marking to occur (identify check marker, expectations around turn-around time, etc.)
3. Issue assessments to learners and receive the completed assessments back
4. Mark the assessments
5. Complete relevant parts of the check marking report and provide the report and samples to the check marker.
6. The check marker completes the check marking and provides the report back to the assessor/academic staff member
7. Any discrepancies or differences in marks are discussed and resolved
8. Learner marks are finalised and released to learners.
9. The check marking report is named (using the file naming protocol) and filed.
10. Repeat steps 2-9 above for each assessment in the course.
11. The Moderation Planning and Tracking Tool is updated (to record that check marking has been completed for all the assessment events in the course.)

Internal Course Moderation

Internal Course Moderation is required at a minimum once every two years.

Internal Course Moderation involves the moderation of a course’s:

1. Assessment material (including marking guidance)
2. Assessor judgements (i.e., the student assessment and the associated marks)

Internal Course Moderation must use the Moderation Report Template.

The assessor (often, but not always the teacher):

1. Identifies if Internal Moderation is required by referring to the Moderation Planning and Tracking Tool.
2. Makes appropriate arrangements for Internal Course Moderation to occur (identifies moderator, etc.)
3. Once final course grades have been confirmed:
   1. Gathers relevant samples (see “samples” below)
   2. Completes relevant parts of the Moderation Report
   3. Sends documentation to the moderator
   4. The moderator will complete the moderation independently of the assessor and provide the report back to the assessor.
4. The assessor:
   1. Considers and completes their section of the moderation report
   2. Provides the report with their comments (including agreement/disagreement with the moderation findings) to the course/programme coordinator (or equivalent).
      Note: no change can be made to the moderator’s sections of the report
5. Any required actions are completed, or plans developed to address any identified issues
6. The report is named and filed, and the Moderation Planning and Tracking Tool is updated (see “Planning and Reporting)
7. The PAQC considers the outcomes and determines if a change to the moderation plan is required.

External Moderation

External Moderation is required, at a minimum, once every three years (or longer if the time taken to complete the programme full-time is longer) and involves the moderation of a course’s:

• Assessment material
• Assessor judgements

External Course Moderation must:

• be completed as per the Moderation Planning and Tracking Tool
• use the Unitec Moderation Report template.
• have any personal identifying information redacted (e.g., ākonga names)
• be provided electronically unless otherwise stipulated by the moderator or required for the type of moderation being undertaken

The samples used for Internal Moderation should be used for external moderation if occurring within a similar time period. This allows for the calibration of our internal moderation system against an independent external moderator.

Standard Setting Body (SSB) Moderation

Standard Setting Bodies which include, Workforce Development Councils, the Ministry of Education and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, are responsible for developing and quality assuring assessment standards (unit standards, achievement standards and skills standards).

Standard Setting Body moderation is managed by Te Korowai Kahurangi. Contact tkk@unitec.ac.nz for details.

Planning and Reporting

The Moderation Planning and Tracking Tool is managed by the TKK Senior Quality Administrator who will maintain it based on direction received from programme leadership.

Outcomes from Check Marking are not recorded on the Moderation Planning and Tracking Tool as one of the desired outcomes from check marking is to encourage professional kōrero between the assessor and the check marker.

Possible outcomes from Moderation Processes are outlined in the Moderation Procedure and in the Guidance section of the Moderation Report Template.

In time, institutional oversight of moderation is intended to be captured in a PowerBI report and allow for targeted intervention to support good assessment practice.

Samples

Check marking samples are determined by the assessor (the person who marks the assessment) and may, in addition to the standard sampling process (top, middle, bottom across the assessment), include any specific assessments where the marker  would like a second opinion.

For Course Moderation (both internal and external) a single sample consists of all of an individual learner’s assessments/evidence across the whole course. A minimum of three samples is required. The total number of samples must be proportional to the number of learners in the course.

The sample selected for moderation is typically must be appropriate for the cohort and the mode/s of delivery. I.e., consider top, middle, bottom, results, consider different assessing staff, different modes of assessment, etc.

Assessors  may also identify specific samples for moderation.

A minimum of three samples is expected. For larger cohorts a sample of 5% of total students enrolled is appropriate.

Templates/Forms

Moderation Planning and Tracking Tool

Check Marking Report template

Moderation Report template

Moderation – MOU Moderation Services template

Moderation – PAQC Response form

Useful Resources

Templates/Forms

See links at bottom of page

MOU template

Memorandum of Understanding – Moderation Services Template

Relevant Policies and Procedures

Te Pūkenga Assessment Policy

Te Pūkenga Moderation Policy

AC 2.7 Moderation Procedure

NZQA Guidance

NZQA: Assessment of standards

NZQA: Consent and Moderation Requirements