Partnership Moderation Report, 2013-14

Key points 79% moderated within one grade, or same band Almost all remaining 21% were overgraded For those awarded ‘first class’ 92% moderated within one grade, or same band 76% agreement for PDP grades Overgrading more prevalent in some colleges than others

Strengths Good knowledge & understanding of theories and principles of teaching, learning & assessment Good evidence of reflective practice in PDPs, leading to steady progress in both their practice & academic work. Most trainees’ work is well presented within the word count. Assessors provide clear developmental feedback, which provides a balance of strengths and areas for development. Many assessors also annotate scripts to highlight specific points.

Areas for development Many trainees fail to evaluate or engage with sustained critical analysis; in some cases approach is descriptive. Some trainees’ communication skills are weak, and SPAG errors are not always highlighted by assessors. Examples of trainees significantly exceeding the word limit, without this being identified or penalized. In some colleges, no evidence of second marking or internal moderation. Teaching observations do not always track areas for development from one observation to the next – particularly for mentor observations Some incomplete PDPs, with assessors & mentors not using the correct paperwork

External examiner quotes … “In some cases standards of student work are among the highest I have seen in ITE programmes of this nature. I have found many examples of innovative work produced by students studying both on and off campus.” “… evidence of commendably high standards of reflective practice across the range of work examined.” “… examples of high levels of engagement with recent and relevant literature.” “Written feedback on student scripts is thoughtful, caring, insightful and generally of an appropriately challenging nature.”

But consider … “In a very few cases, the positive and nurturing ethos of the programme can result in written feedback being of a rather generous nature in relation to the final grade awarded. … feedback of a more practical and critical nature may be more useful to lower achieving students in the longer term.” “Producing practical examples of formative written feedback on student scripts which help to close the gap between actual and potential performance through a range of question prompts and … and examples indicating to students what success might look like including their next ‘steps to success”. In my view this would be beneficial for all students and in particular lower achieving students.”