The Rule of Saint Benedict, written around 530 AD, advises that “all things be done with moderation,” ensuring that monks avoided extreme asceticism and maintained a sustainable lifestyle. This principle of moderation can certainly be applied to the teaching profession in its current state, where we often face intense pressures and workloads, and struggle to maintain a work-life balance. St. Benedict’s message of “Ora et Labora” (Pray and Work) is often reversed for teachers; we work hard and pray that all goes well on the day! In this blog, I will discuss the merits of dedicating time for standardisation and moderation, and the valuable impact it can have on teaching and learning.

As a Head of Department, I always found the period from February to April particularly stressful due to a substantial increase in workload and a significant shortage of time. Whether you call it a ‘bureaucratic blitz,’ ‘document deluge,’ or ‘form frenzy’—take your pick! Even though I managed to put some effective systems and strategies in place (I recommend using Covey’s Time Management Matrix or the 6 Ps of Time Management, or having an empty filing cabinet to scream into, trying to ringfence time was a yearly challenge.

The ever-fragile ecosystem of school always seemed to create ‘pinch points.’ To put it bluntly, middle leaders have to become experts in ‘time thievery’ and ‘pedagogical persuasion’ (of course) while circumnavigating managerial decisions, be they good, the bad or ridiculous. All this whilst also protecting their teams and departments, with the main objective of putting the child and curriculum at the center of their decisions.

When you did get time, it was always great to escape the classroom or department silo. This doesn’t happen often, unless, of course, you’re all held hostage in the hall for some awkward role-playing or subjected to mandatory training that could be done online. The whole time, middle leaders, particularly English teachers, are probably definitely thinking about their folders for moderation or marking that is festering on their desks.

With this in mind, and after reading the recently released TransformEd Layout document which references a potential refresh for Learning Leaders, there were two things in the document that were encouraging to read:

• ‘Review Baker Days and School Development Days to ensure they are used effectively to support improvement and professional learning.’
• ‘Pilot investment in the renewal and creation of subject professional learning communities to support subject-specific professional practice.’

Of course, there no time like the present to experiment or perhaps ‘pilot’ some of these ideas or reforms in our schools or departments, with the support and collaboration of middle leaders of course, to try and build a softer landing for change. But let’s look at what is already in place.

Why Standardisation is Valuable Experience for NQTs:

The processes of standardisation and moderation, as an NQT, were extremely useful but quite often existed in a pressurised time frame – either after school or at home. The opportunity to work with more experienced professionals and read a range of essays gave me a broader understanding of the specification, but also provided an aerial view of literacy levels and challenges and opportunities for improvement, right across the school.

The Unseen Value of Qualitative Data:

You could argue it was a form of qualitative data, but because it wasn’t numerical, its value wasn’t fully understood. It was effectively ‘on-the-job’ training with exemplars to scrutinize and adapt for class models in the next series. Annotated exemplars were a godsend for peer assessment or simply a chance for professional feedback and discussion, generating a wealth of knowledge and resources.

Below, I have included a quick recap and guide for standardising and moderating —you can arm yourself with some of these points if you are seeking some time or space in the coming weeks. Additionally, I have included resources for you to use that I have found useful in the past.

What is Standardisation?

‘Standardisation is the process of ensuring that all teachers and examiners apply the same standards when marking assessments. This involves training and guidance to ensure that everyone understands and applies the marking criteria in the same way. The goal is to achieve consistency in marking across different assessors and centres.’(CCEA)

How can you do it successfully?

• Ensure that adequate time is set aside and carefully plan the time beforehand and share with your department and senior leaders – don’t forget your photocopying budget too;
• Ensure that you have exemplars to demystify and demonstrate the application of criteria in a run through or an open session for discussion – no blind marking yet;
• Look at your UMS scores and tracking across the department to aid sample selection;
• Could you pair up teachers to share expertise and experience?
• Encourage teachers to show a range of marks and to share their rationale for marking;
• Use non examples and explain why they did not meet the criteria – debate is always good, so try and get a good cross section of work;
• Anonymise the work by removing names and teacher references, and agree that critique will focus on what the pupil did via the lens of positive marking and required annotation;

Departmental CPD: Could this process be linked to your PRSD objectives or departmental action planning? Could you delegate responsibilities or use this as a training opportunity?

School CPD: Could you use Reading Age data and CAT4, and combine this information with their writing, then use these for training or school wide exemplars the following year?

What is Moderation?

‘Moderation is the process of checking and adjusting the marks awarded by teachers to ensure they align with the agreed standards. This can involve a moderator reviewing a sample of work from each centre to ensure the marking is consistent and fair. Moderation helps to ensure that the marks awarded are reliable and comparable across different centres.’(CCEA)

How can you do it successfully?

• Refresh and Recap: ensure clear criteria and provide clear guidelines and refer to standards agreed. A crib sheet with key points from the Standardisation meeting is useful.
• Recognising and mitigating personal biases: judge what is in front of you in a positive manner and remember you are not critiquing the child or teacher; you are trying to identify how the work they have produced has met the criteria.
• Double Marking and/or Second Opinions: Have a second reviewer for each piece of coursework to confirm the initial assessment and to challenge marks and record adjustments.
• Documentation and Record Keeping: Maintain thorough records of the moderation process, including decisions and feedback. I used a cover sheet that I included and kept for my own records for future reference. (happy to share via email)
• Adaptability and Continuous Improvement: be open to change and improvements to keep the process relevant and effective. Find ways to save time, delegate roles and manage admin. Keep minutes and share them with SLT, and include any improvements or suggestions in your Action Planning.

Current Context and Next Steps:

I am fully aware of the bias here, but the bench marking of schools is currently measured using English and Maths, therefore it is incumbent on school leaders to ensure that time, space and support are provided. An English department can have a cohort of 150+ GCSE Language pupils, each with two pieces of coursework, across a range of pupils and abilities, and with several teachers. In total, you could have 300 pieces of work to sample from, not to mention A-level. This is true for a lot of portfolio-based subjects, which will also require adequate time to ensure good administration that can foster good practice and alignment.

If moderation and standardisation are to remain permanent with Controlled Assessment, then we need to enshrine adequate time in policy or school calendars to reduce workload, enhance professional development, and encourage critique and rich discussion among practitioners. It is also a very stressful and challenging time of year for teachers and leaders, so if we are serious about wellbeing (some wellbeing tools here) and want to avoid tokenism, then this would go a long way in communicating to staff that their energy levels and health matter.

In the words of David Didau, ‘The primary role of school leadership is to remove extraneous demands on teachers so they can focus on planning and teaching the very best curriculum possible.’ (Intelligent Accountability – pg64)

Food for thought for KS3:

Given the opportunities that standardisation presents across a whole cohort of teachers at GCSE level, it could be argued that KS3 is equally, if not more deserving, of standardisation or moderation days for written work or summative assessments – or maybe, just maybe, some time can be used simply to sit down, think and share.

Thanks for reading!

Free Resources for Standardisation and Moderation:

For more resources and Knowledge Organisers visit my shop.

Recommended Reading:

Research Summary: ‘Less can be more: Rethinking the use of time in schools.’