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The ACT senior secondary system is underpinned by a school-based continuous assessment model, where the credibility of the ACT Senior Secondary Certificate relies on the quality, reliability, and validity of teacher-generated assessment data. Unlike systems that depend on common external exams, the ACT model is built on teacher professional judgement, aligned with system-wide standards.
A key function of moderation within this context is the verification that students are receiving their full learning entitlement, as defined by BSSS Policy and Procedures. This directly supports the core responsibilities of the ACT BSSS under the BSSS Act 1997, which includes ensuring the integrity and comparability of senior secondary education across all ACT schools.
To uphold the integrity of this model, the ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies (ACT BSSS) employs two complementary moderation models:
Qualitative (social) moderation – ensures consistency in teacher judgements and comparability of grades across schools.
Statistical moderation – used to ensure comparability of course scores for ATAR calculation (BSSS Workshop 2 for more information).
The qualitive (social) moderation model used in the ACT involves all teachers of Year 11 and 12 BSSS Courses.
At the end of each semester, delegated teachers compile presentations of student work and submit it to the OBSSS using ACS. The criteria regarding how and what needs to be submitted can be found here.
Moderation Day takes place twice a year, in term one and term three. On each Moderation Day, presentations sampling the assessment of units are subjected to peer review. These presentations include documentation of course unit delivery and a specified number of portfolios of student work.
Peer reviewed moderation is the process of calibrating assessments so that there is comparability of assessment quality and grades either internally, within a school, or externally, across all sectors and colleges. Consensus peer-based moderation upholds comparability and consistency in the allocation of grades, based on the analysis of student work in relation to Achievement Standards. Collaborative moderation allows teachers to calibrate their knowledge and understandings of curriculum and assessment practices. These professional conversations further develop teachers’ knowledge and understanding of curriculum and assessment.
Feedback provided to schools will not be retrospective in its impact. Students will not see it and it will not affect the students retrospectively. It is used to inform schools going forward. Alongside the peer review feedback from Moderation Day, the Office on the BSSS will also provide feedback to schools on their adherence to rules about the accuracy and provision of information to students and the provision of materials necessary to allow for a robust and fair quality assurance process.
When you first take on the responsibility to deliver a new course, be sure to ask where the course sits on the risk matrix, and about any feedback on the course received on previous Moderation Days. This will equip you to proactively respond to feedback as you deliver the course.
Part of the feedback process involves assigning a level of risk to a course based on the cumulative impact of identified concerns and the longitudinal reoccurrence of concerns. The BSSS Moderation Reporting Tool is the mechanism by which this is done. Should you wish to explore this reporting mechanism further, your school's moderation coordinator will be able to provide more details. However, the important thing to remember is that a the system is designed to reset once feedback is addressed. A “Concerning” or “Unsatisfactory” presentation rating is not a permanent label—it is a prompt for review and improvement, and once concerns are resolved, they do not carry forward consequences.
Where does Moderation Day take place?
Moderation Day occurs via course areas and will likely be at a school different to the one you usually attend. See this link for further information about Moderation Venues or speak to your Moderation Coordinator.
What happens on Moderation Day?
You will be lead through the process by an experienced Subject Group Leader. On Moderation Day, you will be asked to look at another school's suite of assessment and provide meaningful feedback on the following areas:
Is there evidence to support the grade, i.e. Do you agree with the unit grade awarded? Refer to relevant Achievement Standards to justify your position.
Was the feedback provided to students adequate to support improvement and to understand reasons for the grade awarded
Did the assessment task allow students to demonstrate their understanding at a variety of levels of thinking? Did that level of thinking align with the achievement standards?
Is the assessment instrument reliable? This may include considering: Was the rubric or marking scheme written specifically enough for assessment task, but also based on the Achievement Standards? Would any teacher be able to arrive as the same mark and grade the student earned? Are the instructions and guidelines clear enough that students will attempt the task in comparable ways, or in the manner probably intended by the teacher?
Did the suite of assessment cover the curriculum content assigned to the unit?
Who can I go to for help?
Your school will have a Moderation Coordinator who can assist you with any moderation questions and will be able to work with you if you are responsible for completing a moderation presentation.
What are the requirements for submitting Moderation Presentations?
Each semester schools are required to submit presentations to the BSSS for Moderation via ACS. This process is typically delegated to classroom teachers by schools. You will upload the student work, and any answer keys that might be required. Your supervisor will tell you who in your faulty is responsible for preparing moderation presentations for particular courses and how to proceed.
There are further details here at the ‘Memos & How To’s’ tab. The number of presentations required varies depending on course area and enrolments. Please see the table below for further details.
In order to simplify this process, most material you need will already be in ACS. However, it is also recommended to save the following documents as they are created in a ‘Moderation Presentation Folder’ on your school drive:
Sample Answers for each Assessment task
Student work samples, if they are not already saved in the school LMS. You will need to hold on to assessment work, or copies, for the whole student candidature. You will need to submit student work samples marked with feedback for a variety of students.
Make sure you record speaking/performance tasks and have them accessible for the creation of moderation portfolios. You should minimise file size, as high definition recordings are not required. If the file is very large, your moderation coordinator will guide you in how to submit larger files for moderation day.
If you do this as the semester progresses, you will have no problems meeting moderation requirements.
Please note there are subject specific requirements for PE and Outdoor Education. If you will be teaching in one of these course areas, please look here for further details.
Please complete this form to receive credit for completing the Moderation Activity which is the final portion of this workshop.
Once you have submitted all six Forms, we ask that you email bssscurriculum@act.gov.au to let our team know your responses are ready for review.
Completion of TQI surveys is crucial to the continuation of our workshops.
Please complete your reflection in a timely manner after the completion of this workshop.
Remember:
Reach out to bsss.enquiries@act.gov.au if you have any questions. We will endeavour to get back to you within 1 working day.
Thank you and congratulations on your new career teaching college students in the ACT.
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