Formative assessments: The need for teacher moderation for effective design and delivery.
Formative assessment is crucial to the teaching and learning process in K-12 education. These ongoing assessments provide insights into students’ levels of understanding, skill acquisition, and areas requiring further instruction or support. While formative assessments can guide teachers in making timely adjustments to improve student learning outcomes, their design and implementation can be complex, especially in today’s diverse and inclusive classrooms. This is where teacher moderation becomes essential.
Teacher moderation is a collaborative process in which educators review, discuss, and align their judgements and interpretations of student work and assessment criteria. It ensures consistency and fairness across classrooms and grade levels, minimising subjectivity and individual biases, fostering a more equitable and transparent assessment system. Moreover, teacher moderation serves as a valuable professional development opportunity, enabling educators to learn from colleagues’ expertise, insights, and perspectives, leading to enhanced pedagogical expertise and improved instructional practices.
Moderation encourages a culture of collaboration and collective responsibility among teachers, fostering a sense of shared accountability for student learning. It also allows educators to collectively explore ways to design assessments that are accessible, culturally responsive, and inclusive, accommodating diverse learning needs and promoting equity. In summary, teacher moderation is an essential component of effective formative assessment design in K-12 education, ensuring assessments are fair, equitable, and aligned with curriculum standards and student learning needs, supporting continuous improvement within the teaching profession.
References:
[1]Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design — Expanded 2nd Edition. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
[2] Moss, C. (n.d.). FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT Advancing In Every Classroom A Guide For Instructional Leaders. [online] Available at: https://files.ascd.org/pdfs/publications/books/Advancing-Formative-Assessment-2nd-Edition-Sample-Chapters.pdf.
[3] Wyatt‐Smith, C., Klenowski, V., & Gunn, S. (2010). The centrality of teachers’ judgement practice in assessment: a study of standards in moderation. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 17(1), 59–75. https://doi.org/10.1080/09695940903565610
