Ofqual has today (29 March 2018) published two pieces of
research related to the moderation of teacher assessments.
The first is an international
literature review of secondary assessments in 23
English-speaking jurisdictions, including in Australia,
Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, Singapore and South Africa. The
review finds that a range of different approaches are taken
to moderation, providing a variety of levels of assurance
in relation to the complex question of how to secure the
consistency of teacher judgements.
The second is an observational study
of local authority moderation of key stage 2 writing
assessments in 2017. It identifies factors that may
have affected the consistency of moderation in 2017 and
sets out the steps being taken by the Standards and Testing
Agency to address these factors.
Dr Michelle Meadows, Deputy Chief Regulator, said:
Securing consistent judgements in non-examined
assessments is challenging. Our research shows that a
range of different approaches are taken internationally
to address this question.
The approach to moderation taken in the UK, both in
secondary qualifications and in statutory primary
assessment, is similar to approaches taken in many other
countries. Our key stage 2 research discusses some of the
particular challenges in using moderation to secure
consistency and sets out what the Standards and Testing
Agency is doing to address these. We will continue to
monitor this area.
