Policy of Moderation: The purpose of moderation is to
provide assurance that assessment is fair, valid and at the national standard,
and that the assessors are making consistent judgments about learner
performance.
Every TEO
has to take consent from the NZQA for assessment before commencing a programme.
NZQA guidelines for Moderation are as follow:
- Internal Moderation: The responsibility of the organization is to maintain consistence and fair assessment within the organization. The internal moderation must be included in the quality management system of TEO.
- 2. National External Moderation System: It says that TEO must follow the national standards of assessment which are attached to Consent and Moderation requirements.
Otago
Polytechnic follows the policy of moderation as per the guidelines of NZQA. It
issues guidelines to the school to ensure the set standards of assessment. The guidelines
in the Doc. title “Moderation of Assessments” say that:
- Pre Assessment: Assessments are moderated and approved for use prior to assessment being undertaken; the moderation process will ensure that in the assessment design, the following conditions are met:
- 1. Conditions are clearly stated
- 2. Instructions are appropriate and easily understood
- 3. Assessments enable students to provide evidence congruent with identified learning outcomes.
- 4. Assessment/Marking schedules indicate range of evidence and judgments required to ensure consistency.
- 5. Feedback from previous assessments will be considered.
- Post Assessment: Consistency of marking is ensured by post assessment moderation procedures and checking of student scripts against the moderated marking schedules. These moderation procedures will be outlined in the programme document.
Reflection:
The
policy of moderation is very important for the teachers and learners. It
ensures that assessment is transparent and according to predetermined standards
which are set according to the national aspiration. It makes the assessment
justifiable. The learners come to know from the beginning the method and the
procedures of assessment. It sets a direction for teachers and learners to
follow and achieve the set standard of assessment to meet the objectives the
course. It stimulates the teachers to design their lessons and guide the
learners according to set criteria of assessment.
Learning and Teaching Strategic Framework:
This framework
ensures the quality of teaching and learning at the polytechnic. The framework (2013,
p. 14) shows that the set objectives and the indicators to achieve them.
Strategic objective 1:
Graduates are developed to be capable, work ready, future focused, sustainable practitioners
Strategic
objective 2:
Programmes are designed to be accessible, efficient and sustainable and future
focused
Strategic objective 3: Teachers will be highly effective
Strategic objective 4: Timely and individualized support
services to the students
Strategic objective 5: Physical and virtual environment
will optimize learner success
Reflection: To
assure the quality in teaching and learning the programmes are reviewed and
redesigned from time to time to meet the need of learners and other
stakeholders. They match the requirements of the industry hence enhance
employment prospect for students.
The
staff makes it clear the expectations of the industry to the students
so that students can decide in realistic conditions. Early assessment of
literacy and numeracy helps the teachers and learners to plan for individualized
attention to achieve the desired objectives of the programmed. The support
services are provided to adapt with the new environment and to improve the
physical environment for the students.
NZQA (n.d.).
Tertiary Moderation. http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/providers-partners/assessment-and-moderation/tertiary-moderation/
Otago Polytechnic (2013). Learning and teaching
strategic framework. http://www.op.ac.nz/assets/PDFs/2013-Strategic-Goals/2013-OP-Learning-Teaching-Strategic-Framework-FINAL.pdf
Otago Polytechnic (2007). Moderation of
assessment. http://www.op.ac.nz/assets/policies/AP0908.00-Moderation-of-Assessment.pdf
Great information here Avtar. In your reflective discussion for the eportfolio, make sure that you discuss the reasons why moderation is essential to meet the principles and values of effective assessment. For example, how is moderation as a policy put into practice to ensure assessments are valid, reliable, fair and transparent? Hint: what do these terms mean and how do they link to clear understandable assessment instructions and marking criteria and rubrics.
ReplyDeleteAssessment processes are both peer reviewed - internal moderation - and reviewed by organisations such as NZAQ - external moderation.
In your reflective discussion about the Learning and Teaching Strategic Framework, make sure you discuss and critique how the framework is being achieved:
1. from your perspective, in a practical sense from what you have observed; and
2. in line with what the literature reports is good practice.
For example, what would you expect a future-focused sustainable practitioner to be doing, and what is reported in the literature about trends in education?