Tracking student progress

A teacher of senior English describes the assessment moderation processes used at her school. These processes are used to achieve greater consistency in grading student assessment tasks. With practice in assessment moderation, she and her staff have found that the accuracy of their grading of student work has improved. The teacher is also responsible for using data gained through the moderation activities to track student progress and to advise about teaching interventions.

Gordonvale State High School is a rural secondary school located in the southern part of the Cairns district in Queensland. The school has approximately 700 students in years 8 to 12. At years 11 and 12, assessment moderation is used to achieve greater consistency in teachers' grading of student assessment tasks. In addition to skilling teachers in summative assessments, resulting grades allow the teacher to advise her colleagues about strategies that can be used to extend or support students.