External moderation

NZQA carries out external moderation of internally assessed standards in secondary schools to ensure that:

• the assessment materials used (tasks, activities or tests) are at the national standard
• assessment judgements (marking of students' work) are at the national standard.

Each school has 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.

Schools submit two types of assessment material:

• randomly-selected student work as requested in the NZQA moderation plan
• teacher-selected evidence.

Below is a comparison of these.

For more information about the selection methods and moderation:

• download Guidelines for the Selection of Student Work for Moderation (PDF, 51KB)
• see Assessment and Examination Rules and Procedures for Secondary Schools (5.2).

National Moderator Reports

National Moderator Reports for each year, available at NCEA subject resources, contain summary comments for teachers, assessors and other interested parties. Their purpose is to give an overview of the national moderators findings, and to disseminate ideas about good practice and enhance understanding of the national standard.