Full-time moderators to join NZQA

NZQA is appointing full-time moderators to check more internally assessed student work and boost confidence in internal assessment.

The positions were advertised in early September. The moderators will begin work in February 2008.

"The appointment of a number of predominantly full-time moderators represents a significant change to NZQA's current moderation system. The sampling of student work will rise from approximately three percent to ten percent, providing increased confidence in the assessment standards under NCEA," says Deputy Chief Executive Qualifications Bali Haque.

Education Minister Steve Maharey announced the increased moderation as part of a series of improvements to NCEA in May.

"The switch from a large number of part-time moderators to about 33 full-timers signals the importance placed on this role and the work. The public can have greater confidence in the credibility and robustness of the internal assessment and moderation system," Bali says.

The new moderators, located throughout New Zealand, will be given training and induction before starting work. Their role will be mainly moderation of standards, and involve some communication and liaison with the secondary school sector.

Meanwhile, moderation will continue as per usual for 2007, with the addition of a random sampling project for level 3 NCEA. This project will act as a quality check of the results of the moderation process.