Consensus moderation meetings
Purpose
Consensus moderation meetings provide opportunities to build common understandings of the course standards that underpin comparability. This is achieved through teacher analysis of student responses to each assessment task administered in Semester 1. Participation in a consensus moderation meeting is compulsory for one representative for each of these courses/stages/defined contexts the school is delivering.
Courses involved
In 2012, consensus moderation meetings will be conducted for Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3 of the following WACE courses:
• Aboriginal and Intercultural Studies (Stage 1 only)
• Aviation
• Career and Enterprise
• Chinese – Second Language
• Earth and Environmental Service
• English (Stage 2 only)
• English as an Additional Language Dialect (practical component only)
• German
• Integrated Science
• Marine and Maritime Studies
• Materials Design and Technology
• Mathematics Specialist 3A/B
• Mathematics 2A/B
• Media Production and Analysis
• Modern History
• Physical Education Studies
• Psychology
Those courses/stages not involved in consensus moderation may be moderated as required, using grading reviews conducted through the school moderation program.
Student assessment files
The school is required to provide four student assessment files (one at each grade from A and D) for each unit delivered in Semester 1 (or for each pair of units if a combined assessment outline is being used). Each student assessment file includes all the marked assessment tasks for the unit from one student unless schools are asked to provide only those tasks representing a particular aspect of a course (typically in courses with a significant practical component).
Note: Students and/or teachers are required to retain all marked assessment tasks. For practical production, performance and oral tasks this may require audio, video, digital or other forms of evidence together with the marking key indicating the assessment of the student’s achievement on that task.
Organisation
Each school is allocated to a consensus moderation group for a course/stage (typically10-15 schools). The meeting is facilitated by an Authority officer or an experienced teacher of the course.
During the consensus moderation meeting each teacher reviews an allocated set of student assessment files (typically eight) from schools other than their own and makes an independent grading judgement of each student based on the work provided in the file. These judgements are collated by the facilitator of the meeting and provided to the participants at the conclusion of the process. Each teacher then reflects on the grading judgements made by their colleagues to determine any adjustments that may be required for their school’s grades to be comparable with the standard of their colleagues in the group.
Locations and timing
Meetings will be conducted during Term 2 and/or Term 3 in Perth and also in Albany, Bunbury-Busselton and Geraldton where the number of schools delivering the course/stage makes a meeting viable.
Alternate arrangements are made for schools that are located more than 100km from the nearest scheduled venue. These schools are required to send the student assessment files to the School Curriculum and Standards Authority. Details of the process for sending student assessment files to the Authority will be sent to these schools. The feedback on grading standards is provided to the teacher in the form of a summary sheet which provides two independent judgements of each student assessment file. Teachers can discuss this feedback with an Authority officer.
How to register
The teacher registration process is conducted by the school. An Excel spread sheet is sent to the principal of each school delivering WACE course. Communication with registered teachers is via email using the address provided by the school in the registration spread sheet.
Each school must register one teacher for each course/stage (whether they will be attending the meeting or mailing the materials to the Authority).
