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Moderation — Stage 1
Information sheet 16

Explanation of the moderation requirements for Stage 1 English and mathematics subjects and the Personal Learning Plan for South Australian and SACE International schools. Northern Territory schools will receive information about the moderation of these subjects from the NT Department of Education.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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:

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.

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Preparation of moderation materials

South Australian schools

Before moderation of Stage 1 subjects, the SACE Board and schools complete the following steps:

The SACE Board sends ‘student bags’ (small and clear) and moderation bags (large and white) to schools for each Stage 1 subject to be moderated.

Student bags

Schools should use one ‘student bag’ for each student whose work is submitted for moderation (up to 12 students per subject).

Moderation bags

Moderation bags are for packing moderation materials by subject. One bag is provided for each subject to be moderated.

Moderation sample

Teachers should refer to the following documents for information about the selection of the moderation sample and the packaging of written and non-written materials for moderation:

Enquiries
email: Project Coordinator — Curriculum and Assessment
call: +61 8 8115 4856.

For each Stage 1 subject to be moderated, the moderation sample for the school should be packaged in a separate moderation bag (white). Check that:

  • the SACE Board school number is written on each bag (school name optional)
  • the SACE Board subject name is written on each bag
  • a copy of the learning and assessment plan is enclosed
  • a completed Stage 1 moderation sample form is enclosed; 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.

Do not fill moderation bags beyond the dashed line.

Collection of moderation materials

Stage 1 moderation materials will be collected from schools by the SACE Board courier on the following dates:

SACE International schools

Before moderation of Stage 1 subjects, SACE International schools:

  • complete the Stage 1 moderation sample form
  • select the moderation sample according to the parameters specified in Stage 1 moderation, which can be found in the Moderation section for each subject
  • prepare moderation materials for electronic file transfer
  • upload moderation materials (the SACE Board sends details for the file transfer directly to international schools participating in Stage 1 moderation each semester).

Moderation sample 

Teachers should refer to the following documents, which can be found in the Moderation section for each subject, for information about the selection of the moderation sample and the preparation and submission of electronic materials for moderation:

Enquiries
email: Project Coordinator — Curriculum and Assessment
call: +61 8 8115 4856.

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:

Schools are requested to use the following filename convention to ensure the SACE Board can identify submitted files.

The filename convention is xxx_nnnnnnn_ccyy_task where:

 

xxx = SACE school code
nnnnnnn = seven character student registration number
ccyy = the current year (i.e. 2020)
task = task name

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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.

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Forms

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