Guidance

Teacher assessment moderation: standardisation and training process

Information for local authorities on training and standardisation for moderators of key stages 2 (KS2) English writing.

From:
Standards and Testing Agency
Published
7 September 2018
Last updated
24 September 20242023 — See all updates

Standardisation provides schools with assurance that local authorities’ moderation teams have the required knowledge to complete moderation of KS2 English writing teacher assessment.

It ensures:

  • the consistency and accuracy of teacher assessment and its moderation across England
  • that local authorities’authorities moderators for the academic year 2024 to 2025 are familiar with the the KS2 English writing frameworkframeworks for the academic year 2023 to 2024

EachKS2 year,is localmoderated annually. Local authorities are required to moderate at least 25% of maintained schools and 25% of academies and participating independent schools that have opted into the local authority’s external KS2 moderation process.

Approval to moderate

AllStandardisation moderatorsexercises whoare wishused to undertakegain moderationthe activitiesStandards inand theTesting academicAgency’s year(STA) 2024approval to 2025moderate mustand passare aundertaken standardisationannually.

STA exerciseapproval to gainmoderate theEnglish Standardswriting andin Testing2024 Agency’swill (STA)only approvalbe togranted moderate.

Thereon aresuccessful 3completion of a standardisation exercise. All three standardisation exercises inare totalavailable andfor eachall moderators to attempt. Each moderator iswill be allowed a maximum of 2two attempts acrossout of the 3three exercises to pass.available.

Moderator training

Self-guidedOnline self-guided training materials arewill availablecontinue onthis the Primaryyear Assessmentand Gateway (PAG). They have notnow changedbecome sincethe laststandard year,delivery butmethod.

Training tomaterials helpfor youthe workacademic withyear them2023 weto have2024 publishedwill abe trainingavailable contentson pagethe andPrimary historicAssessment keyGateway stage(PAG) 1on andMonday KS22 trainingOctober materials2023. onPrevious theyears’ PAG.

Additional training videosand arestandardisation availablematerials on STA’s YouTube playlist.

We will notalso publishbe anyavailable further training materials for theuse academicif yearrequired. 2024 to 2025.

Local authorities can use thethese training materials to support their delivery of moderator training.

We recommend that local authorities deliver training to their moderators before theythe moderators complete the standardisation exercise,exercise. This should preferably take place on separate days.

Standardisation and training timeline

To add a full list of all important dates for local authorities relating to teacher assessment to your calendar, you can download the Key stage 2 teacher assessment and moderation - 2024 to 2025 calendar (1.09 MB).

DatesActivities ActivitiesDates
MondayTraining 4materials Novembergo tolive Fridayon 15the November 2024PAG Standardisation2 exerciseOctober 1 available to all moderators2023
MondayAll 4moderators can complete standardisation exercise 16 November to Friday17 15 November 20242023
ModerationLocal managersauthorities to return theirexercise responses1 frommoderation exercisemanager 1responses to STA for- markingSTA will mark moderation managers’ results.
Monday6 18November to 17 November 20242023
StandardisationExercise exercise 1 commentaries available on the PAG20 November 2023
MondayLocal 18authorities November to Fridayreturn 22overview Novembersurvey 2024Moderationof managerssuccessful to mark pool and lead moderators’moderators responses from exercise 1 and submit completion numbers to STA
Monday20 6November January to Friday24 17November January 20252023
StandardisationAll exercise 2 available to all moderators who did not complete or were unsuccessful in exercise 1 to complete standardisation exercise 2
Monday8 6 January to Friday19 17 January 20252024
ModerationLocal managersauthorities to return theirexercise responses2 frommoderation exercisemanager 2responses to STA for- markingSTA will mark moderation managers’ results
Monday8 20January to 19 January 20252024
StandardisationExercise exercise 2 commentaries available on the PAG22 January 2024
MondayLocal 20authorities January to Fridayreturn 24overview Januarysurvey 2025Moderationof managerssuccessful to mark pool and lead moderators’moderators responses from exercise 2 and submit completion numbers to STA
Monday22 10January February to Friday26 21January February 20252024
StandardisationAll exercise 3 available to all moderators who did not complete or were unsuccessful in either exercise 1 or 2 (notto both)complete standardisation exercise 3
Monday12 10 February to Friday23 21 February 20252024
ModerationLocal managersauthorities to return theirexercise responses3 frommoderation exercisemanager 3responses to STA for- markingSTA will mark moderation managers’ results
Monday12 24February to 23 February 20252024
StandardisationExercise exercise 3 commentaries available on the PAG26 February 2024
MondayLocal 24authorities February to Fridayreturn 28overview Februarysurvey 2025Moderationof managerssuccessful to mark pool and lead moderators’moderators responses from exercise 3 and submit completion numbers to STA
Monday26 24 February 2024 to Friday1 7 March 20252024
Moderation managers to submitcomplete spreadsheet and share moderator names of all moderators who passed standardisation acrosswith theSTA26 3February exercises2024 to STA8 March 2024
Monday 17 March 2025STA to share blank KS2 ‘approval to moderate’ certificates with local authorities for the academic year 20242023 to 202520242 April 2024

ContactModerator ustraining material overview for the academic year 2023 to 2024

IfTo help you work with the new training materials, we have questionsprovided the following lists which outline what the training materials cover in more detail. This should make navigation easier for users.

Historic KS1 and KS2 training materials also available on the PAG.

2023 KS2 TE10 Dialogue

2023 Training exercise 10 (TE10): Evidencing dialogue at the expected standard (EXS)

  • Activity 1: Considering how speech and dialogue are used in pupil writing
    • Speech
    • Dialogue
  • Activity 1a: Exploring the reasons why pupils include speech in their writing
  • Activity 2: Evidencing dialogue at EXS
  • Activity 2a: Exploring evidence for dialogue at the expected standard
  • Activity 2b: Exploring dialogue that does not meet the statement at EXS
  • Activity 3: Considering whether dialogue is adequately evidenced in a single piece
  • Activity 3a: Exploring dialogue in a single piece

2023 KS2 TE11 Verbs

2023 Training exercise 11 (TE11): Identifying verb forms and evidencing tense and cohesion in relation to verbs

  • Activity 1: Identifying and exploring verb forms
  • Activity 1a: Reflecting on the role of verbs
    • What do verbs express?
    • Verbs in the national curriculum
    • Verbs in the teacher assessment framework
  • Activity 2: Considering verb tenses in pupil writing
  • Activity 2a: Exploring verb tenses in pupil writing
  • Activity 3: Considering how consistent and correct tenses support cohesion
  • Activity 3a: Evidencing how verb tense builds cohesion
  • Activity 4: Considering how the selection and manipulation of verb forms supports a variety of purposes
  • Activity 4a: Considering how verb forms are selected and manipulated to create effects

2023 KS2 TE12 Spelling

2023 Training exercise 12 (TE12): Evidencing the key stage 2 framework statements for spelling

  • Activity 1: Reflecting on the statements describing spelling
    • National curriculum for English: spelling in key stages 1 and 2
    • The framework statements for spelling at key stage 2
    • The statutory word lists
    • The qualifiers
  • Activity 1a: Evidencing the statutory word lists
    • ‘Uncommon’ and ‘more ambitious’ vocabulary
  • Activity 1b: Reflecting on ‘uncommon’ or ‘more ambitious’ vocabulary
    • Independence and spelling
  • Activity 1c: Evidencing independent spelling
    • Summary: Activity 1
  • Activity 2: Examining the evidence for spelling in pupil work
  • Activity 2a: Validating a judgement of WTS
  • Activity 2b: Distinguishing between EXS and WTS
  • Activity 2c: Examining spelling at EXS
  • Activity 3: Reflecting on a ‘particular weakness’ in spelling
  • Activity 3: Examining work by a pupil with a ‘particular weakness’

2023 KS2 TE13 Purpose

2023 Training exercise 13 (TE13): Writing for purpose and audience

  • Activity 1: Considering progression in writing for purpose and audience
    • The purpose of writing, writing for purpose and purposeful writers in the national curriculum
    • Writing research and the national curriculum
    • How texts are shaped by the writing context
    • Knowledge, understanding and skills necessary for writing for purpose and audience
  • Activity 1a: Reflecting on the knowledge, understanding and skills which support writing for purpose and audience
    • Progression in writing for purpose and audience in the curriculum
  • Activity 1b: Mapping progress in writing for purpose and audience
  • Activity 2: Reflecting on the distinctions between the statements related to writing for purpose and audience
  • Activity 3: Identifying evidence of writing for a range of purposes and audiences across the standards
    • Evidencing a range of purposes and audiences
  • Activity 3a: Reflecting on writing tasks – purpose and text type
    • Identifying evidence for ‘writing for purpose and audience’ across the assessment framework standards
  • Activity 3b: A recount in diary form
  • Activity 3c: A descriptive narrative – opening sequence
  • Activity 3d: A letter to instruct
  • Activity 3e: A discursive report – a newspaper article

2023 KS2 TE14 Register

2023 Training exercise 14 (TE14): Identifying and evidencing register and levels of formality at the expected standard (EXS) and working at greater depth (GDS)

  • Activity 1: Reflecting on register and formality
    • How do audience and purpose relate to register and formality?
  • Activity 1a: Reflecting on register in pupil writing
    • Register and levels of formality in the national curriculum
  • Activity 2: Considering Standard English and levels of formality
  • Activity 2a: Refreshing your understanding of what Standard English means
  • Activity 2b: Identifying register and levels of formality in pupil writing
  • Activity 3: Choosing the appropriate register and maintaining register in writing
    • Register and levels of formality in the assessment framework
  • Activity 3a: Evidencing register in pupil writing
    • Register at the expected standard
    • Register at the greater depth standard
  • Activity 3b: Considering how well register is controlled and maintained

2023 KS2 TE15 Register

2023 Training exercise 15 (TE15): The greater depth standard

  • Activity 1: Reflecting on moderating greater depth writing
  • Activity 1a: Moderating greater depth writing – typical scenarios
  • Activity 2: Exploring a range of greater depth writing
  • Activity 2a: News reports – ‘drawing on reading’ and levels of formality
  • Activity 2b: ‘Drawing on reading’ to support informal writing
  • Activity 2c: Explanation texts for different audiences – achieving clarity
  • Activity 2d: Descriptive narratives – vocabulary

Contact us

For any queries about local authority moderation or moderator training and standardisation, you can callcontact the national curriculum assessments helpline onat 0300 303 3013.

Updates to this page

Published 7 September 2018
Last updated 24 September 20242023 + show all updates

  1. Updated for the academic year 2024 to 2025, including adding a downloadable calendar with important moderation dates for local authorities.

  2. Updated for the academic year 2023 to 2024.

  3. Updated for the 2022/23 academic year.

  4. Section -- Approval to moderate - change of wording on standardisation exercise attempts - The second paragraph, last sentence has been changed to read as follows: Following feedback we have agreed, for this year, that moderators who were unsuccessful in standardisation exercise 1 will be allowed two further attempts to complete an exercise successfully instead of one further attempt. Section -- Standardisation and training timeline -- standardisation date changes -- The closing date to complete the standardisation exercise 2 has been changed to 3 February. Section -- STA to share KS1 and KS2 to complete blank approval to moderate certificates with Las for the 2022/22 test cycle. The date has been changed to 4 April.

  5. The section Approval to moderate, the last paragraph has been changed to read as follows: In response to the disruption schools and LAs are facing due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, STA will continue to allow LAs to decide how they deliver the exercises. Where exercises are carried out in the same room, it is expected that all national and local restriction guidance is followed.

  6. Edited Approval to moderate section.

  7. Updated approval to moderate section to include ‘Standardisation exercises should be completed in a central location, supervised by the LA moderation manager, or strategic lead in the case that a moderation manager is completing the exercise. This is to maintain the integrity of the exercise. Moderators should complete the exercise individually, without discussing the pupil collections'.

  8. Added section '2021/22 moderator training material overview'.

  9. Updates to standardisation and training process.

  10. Amendment to standardisation and training timeline and the moderation training events section.

  11. Updated for the 2020/21 academic year.

  12. Changes to standardisation training event and exercise dates for the 2019/20 test cycle. Updates to allow LAs to plan for the standardisation activities.

  13. Updated dates to confirm when approval to moderate letters will be issued.

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