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Moderation — Stage 1
Information sheet 16
Moderation and quality assurance
Moderation is used to confirm the C grade in Stage 1 English and mathematics subjects and the Personal Learning Plan for each school. Moderation is part of the confirming phase of the SACE Board quality assurance cycle outlined in the SACE Assuring Assessment Integrity Policy, which is part of the SACE Policy Framework.
Stage 1 moderation is conducted on a school-by-school basis. The work from a sample of students across the range of assessment groups in the school is used to confirm the interpretation and application of performance standards in the Stage 1 Personal Learning Plan and the Stage 1 English and mathematics subjects offered by the school.
English and mathematics subjects and the Personal Learning Plan
Schools participate in moderation for the Stage 1 Personal Learning Plan and for each of the Stage 1 English and mathematics subjects offered by the school until their results are confirmed in 2 consecutive years.
Schools are advised early in the year of the Stage 1 subjects to be moderated for the school (and the process for requesting moderation if applicable). Schools that are not required to participate in moderation during the year for a Stage 1 English or mathematics subject or the Stage 1 Personal Learning Plan should have processes in place to ensure students’ results in the subject(s) reflect an interpretation and application of the performance standards that is consistent with that of other schools.
Schools that are not required to participate in moderation for a given subject in a particular year may request moderation for the subject. This is most likely to occur when schools require support to confirm the C grade due to significant changes in staffing or the teaching and learning program.
Principals can monitor the need to request participation in moderation for additional English and/or mathematics subjects by encouraging teachers to complete online clarifying activities for the relevant subjects.
Moderation of Stage 1 English and mathematics subjects and the Stage 1 Personal Learning Plan takes place at a central location. There are two rounds of moderation for Stage 1 English and mathematics subjects and the Stage 1 Personal Learning Plan each year (Semester 1 and Semester 2). When a school’s results in a Stage 1 English or mathematics subject or the Stage 1 Personal Learning Plan are confirmed through the moderation process in Semester 1, the school is not required to participate in moderation in Semester 2.
Schools that are required to participate in moderation of any subjects should complete their assessment program in time to participate in the Semester 1 moderation round wherever possible.
On this page
Completing enrolments and requests for moderation
The SACE Board uses enrolment data to plan and manage Stage 1 moderation. Schools complete enrolments in Stage 1 English and mathematics subjects and the Stage 1 Personal Learning Plan by the following enrolment due dates:
- Early April — for 10-credit subjects (results due June)
- Mid August — for 10-credit and 20-credit subjects (results due December).
The SACE Board schedules moderation each semester after enrolments are completed. Schools that have no enrolments in a subject by the enrolment due date for each semester might not be accommodated in the moderation round for the semester.
SACE coordinators are advised to liaise with Schools Online operators and teachers of Stage 1 subjects that are to be moderated, to ensure that enrolment data is correct and entered on the SACE Board database by the enrolment due date for each semester.
Requests for additional moderation must also be received by these enrolment due dates.
Moderation schedule
Moderation occurs during the latter part of the teaching program and can be based on students’ work pending completion of the final assessment task.
Semester 1 moderation will be scheduled over 1 week in Term 2 (June).
Semester 2 moderation will be scheduled over 1 week in Term 4 (November).
Details of the moderation dates for individual Stage 1 subjects will be available once enrolments are finalised.
Moderator nominations
The SACE Board asks South Australian schools to nominate teacher(s) to act as moderators based on the enrolment data. Nominated teachers will be required to attend each day of moderation. Moderation for a subject will be scheduled for 1 to 2 days in each moderation round.
The SACE Board asks for nominations for moderators from schools required to participate in moderation of Stage 1 English and mathematics subjects or the Stage 1 Personal Learning Plan. Requests for moderator nominations are sought to maintain a balance of school sectors and schooling contexts in each moderation panel. Schools required to submit a moderation sample for a subject should expect to nominate a moderator in that subject; however, the SACE Board is unlikely to request a moderator for more than one subject from an individual school.
Schools nominate their subject moderators by:
- mid-May for the Semester 1 moderation round
- mid-September for the Semester 2 moderation round.
Teachers who have been nominated as moderators should:
- understand that the moderation process must address the diversity of students and the different ways that students may provide evidence of having met the performance standards
- be experienced in the subject(s) for which they are nominated
- understand the school’s interpretation and application of the performance standards for the subject(s)
- participate in the SACE Board training and benchmarking activities.
The SACE Board informs teachers who have been nominated as moderators of the moderation details for their subject.
Preparation of moderation materials
Moderation sample
Before moderation of Stage 1 subjects, schools:
- select the moderation sample according to SACE Board requirements. Teachers should refer to the preparation and submission of materials for Stage 1 moderation.
- complete the Stage 1 moderation sample form. Please note:
- if the teaching and learning program has not yet been completed, then the moderation of results for English and mathematics subjects and the Personal Learning Plan can be based on students' current work pending completion of the final assessment task
- the moderation sample can be selected from either semester 1 or 2 classes or a combination of both depending on grade representation.
- prepare moderation materials (the SACE Board sends details for the file transfer directly to schools participating in Stage 1 moderation).
Electronic submission of moderation materials
The SACE Board will provide SACE International schools with access to a secure file transfer system. Stage 1 moderation samples need to be uploaded in:
- early November for the Semester 2 moderation round.
Schools are requested to use the following filename convention to ensure the SACE Board can identify submitted files.
The filename convention is 123456X-1xxx10-atx-free text:
| 123456X | = | student registration |
| 1xxx10 | = | subject code and credits |
| atx | = | assessment type |
| xxx | = | free text |
Ensure that the following teacher materials are submitted:
- a copy of the learning and assessment plan
- a copy of task sheets
- a completed Stage 1 moderation sample form
Moderation procedures and final results
Moderation is conducted according to SACE Board moderation procedures as outlined in the Moderation section for each subject.
Schools receive feedback via the principal about the outcomes of moderation. Teachers consider the feedback and adjust students’ results accordingly when submitting final results. Queries about moderation feedback or submitting final results should be directed to the relevant SACE officer.
The SACE Board does not report final results for students in Stage 1 English and mathematics subjects and the Stage 1 Personal Learning Plan if:
- moderation did not occur for a subject that was requested for moderation
- the final results submitted do not reflect the outcomes of moderation.