Using involvement in moderation to strengthen teachers’ assessment for learning capability

ABSTRACT

Proficiency in educational assessment has come to be viewed as a core competency for all teachers. This article identifies a novel means of strengthening teachers’ capability in one key aspect of educational assessment: what is variously termed assessment for learning, or formative assessment. It explores how involvement in social moderation processes can contribute to teachers’ understandings of the principles and practices of assessment for learning. The yearlong research project, which involved the teachers at three New Zealand state primary schools, used observations, interviews, and a questionnaire to produce data about teachers’ experiences of social moderation. The analyses of these data suggested that school-based social moderation processes could provide a sustainable way of developing and maintaining teachers’ understandings of assessment for learning.

KEYWORDS:

• Moderation
• assessment for learning
• formative assessment
• assessment capability
• teacher learning

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to acknowledge and thank Alison Gilmore, Lisa F. Smith, Alexandra Gunn, and the two anonymous reviewers for their feedback on earlier drafts of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. The following acronyms are used within transcript references: CHS denotes Central Heights School and GS denotes Greenville School.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Esther Smaill

Esther Smaill is a senior researcher at the New Zealand Council for Educational Research. She previously held research and lecturing positions at the University of Otago, where she contributed to New Zealand’s National Monitoring Study of Student Achievement. Her research interests include social moderation, teacher assessment capability, and teacher professional learning.