Moderation is done to ensure marking is fair and consistent and so that the quality and integrity of the marking can be relied on. Below are some methods your course may use to moderate marking.

Collaboration

Sometimes, particularly with larger classes, the marking load is shared among a group of GTAs, with each person marking only a proportion of the class assessments. For example, in a class of 200 students, 5 GTAs might mark 40 essays each.

Consistency of marking is especially important in this situation and this can be improved with collaboration, such as:

Have everyone independently mark the same 5 assessments and then meet to discuss the marks and agree on how to approach the marking rubric.
During or after marking, swap some assessments with another marker to mark independently and discuss any issues.

Oversight

This is useful if there is a senior GTA or other staff member (usually who has not done any of the marking) who can check some marked assessments with a range of marks. For example, they might look at a few with high marks, a few with average marks and a few with low marks to see if they agree with the mark. They might also pay particular attention to assessments with non-passing grades to check that these were appropriate.

Other Marking Moderation Practices

Do a final post-marking review:
- Q1) How consistent were we? (e.g. Joseph gave marks for __, Jesse didn’t. Jack marked people down for __. John didn’t.)
- Q2) How can we do better next time? (e.g. decide whether to give marks for ___)
Talk with your Course Director and other GTAs about whether any individual feedback is required and if so, how much and in what format.

For example, you may be asked to provide your own free text comments on all parts of the assessment or just some, or to choose from a bank of standard comments that can be used by multiple markers e.g. Quickmarks in Turnitin. Try to have consistency with other GTAs on the amount and type of feedback that is provided. For example:
- Is 1 comment per page sufficient, or is there an expectation to provide 10 comments per page?
- Is 1 sentence per comment sufficient, or is there an expectation to provide 1 paragraph per comment?
Scaling: This is when marks across the class are artificially moved up or down to fit a desired mean and standard deviation. Scaling is not used by default at the University - only in special circumstances – and it would not be applied by a GTA/TA/tutor. Leave that for the Course Coordinator.

Acknowledgments: From UoA Tutoring Central: Marking Moderation, with slight adaptations.