Identifying discourses of moderation in higher education

What’s the point of moderation? A discussion of the purposes achieved through contemporary moderation practices

“…In this study, we were interested to use an inclusive purpose which reflected the different ways moderation is conceptualised by those participating in moderation practices. In an investigation of university teachers' moderation practices Adie, Lloyd and Beutel (2013) identified four broad ways of thinking and talking about moderation that influenced the focus and thus the outcome of the moderation practice for individual participants. These were identified as equity, justification, accountability and community building, and are useful in articulating an inclusive purpose for moderation which is firmly related to assuring standards.…”

Developing Information Literacy and Academic Writing Skills Through the Collaborative Design of an Assessment Task for First Year Engineering Students

“…Coinciding with this, the lecturer needs to know how the students are progressing in their understanding of key concepts and how proficiently they are mastering the required skills. The tasks need to be assessed in a manner that ensures academic standards are upheld (Adie, Lloyd, & Beutel, 2013). Overarching this is the need of the institution to communicate high academic standards to ensure graduates are well prepared for practice and employment (Coates, 2010).…”

Record of assessment moderation practice (RAMP): survey software as a mechanism of continuous quality improvement

“…This viewpoint is in accordance with that of many of the lecturers in the Wallace et al (2010) study, who suggested that moderation must ensure that "assessment standards as well as content and delivery methods are well understood by all staff and students from the very beginning" (4). In fact, the Australian Tertiary Education Quality and Standard Agency has ruled that assessment moderation should be part of curriculum design, not just concerned with performative outcomes (Adie et al 2013).…”

“…Although labour-intense and associated with delay in student feedback (Buglear 2011;Nuttall 2007), assessment moderation has been associated with a range of positive learning outcomes (Adie et al 2013). According to Bird and Yucel (2013), assessment moderation allows lecturers to provide reliable and consistent feedback that contributes to student learning.…”