Assessment and Examination Rules and Procedures for Secondary Schools - 2010
5.2.2.2 External Moderation
- External moderation for the NQF is a mechanism by which NZQA can:
- evaluate the assessment materials that teachers are using to assess student achievement
- check that the judgements teachers are making about student achievement are at the national standard.
- evaluate the assessment materials that teachers are using to assess student achievement
- Each school will have one submission date for external moderation between February and December in each moderation round. The submission date is usually established at the conclusion of the previous year when schools are advised which standards have been selected for moderation.
- Material for moderation must include a completed Secondary Moderation Cover Sheet and sent in the appropriately labelled bag supplied by NZQA.
- For unit standards the school must send the relevant assessment activity, schedule, cover sheet and four samples of student work randomly selected, to arrive by the submission date.
- For achievement standards the school must send the relevant assessment activity, assessment schedule, coversheet and eight samples of student work randomly selected, to arrive by the submission date.
- Samples of student work may take the form of portfolios, written tests, research assignments, photographs, CDs, DVDs, models, computer discs, zip files, annotated checklists or teacher declarations. When a recording is of a group the individual whose work is being submitted for moderation should be clearly identified for the moderator on the form Student Identification on Visual Submission.
- In the case of individual performances, recordings should include only the performance of students whose work is being submitted for moderation.
- Moderation reports will be made available to the school within six weeks of the submission date where assessment material arrives on time. The assessment materials will be returned.
- NZQA provides information to the Principal summarising the external moderation results. Quality assurance practices, areas of weakness, issues of non-compliance need to be identified by the school and steps taken to address any areas of concern.
- If a teacher wishes to lodge an appeal regarding the external moderation report, the Principal's Nominee must complete the Moderation Appeal Cover Sheet and send the material requested on the cover sheet to the school's School Relationship Manager at NZQA.
- Allegations of teachers providing undue assistance to candidates may result in an investigation into a breach of the rules of internal assessment being conducted.
- Moderators selected for their assessment and curriculum expertise carry out the external moderation of assessor decisions. All moderators are peer reviewed for quality control purposes. Moderators ensure the confidentiality and security of all assessment materials and assessed work belonging to schools and students.
5. School-based Assessment Rules and Procedures
5.1 Accreditation Requirements
5.1.1 Base Scope Accreditation for Schools (BSAS)
5.2 Moderation Requirements
5.2.1 Industry Training Organisation Managed Systems
5.2.2 NZQA Managed Systems
5.2.2.1 School Assessment Systems Check and MNA Report
5.2.2.2 External Moderation
5.2.2.3 Non-compliance
Last updated: 27 January 2010