CURRICULUM FOR EXCELLENCE:
USING THE NATIONAL ASSESSMENT
RESOURCE TO SUPPORT LOCAL
MODERATION
Guidance Notes
Planning for learning, teaching,
assessment
and local moderation.
IMPORTANT NOTE
These Guidance Notes are designed to provide support for practitioners in the
processes of local moderation, from the initial planning of the learning through to
evaluating the learning and the learner.
The purpose of these guidance notes is to support you in the processes of local
moderation, from the initial planning of the learning through to evaluating the learning
and the learner.
PLANNING LEARNING, TEACHING, ASSESSMENT AND LOCAL MODERATION
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Completing administrative details
Selecting the Curriculum Area Experiences and Outcomes and Experiences
and Outcomes from the Responsibility of All area(s)
Setting learning intentions and success criteria
- Agreeing learning intentions provided for those Es & Os
- Agreeing the success criteria for use to evaluate the evidence of
the learning
Briefly describing the learning experiences
Noting the assessment approaches and range of evidence to be gathered –
SAY: WRITE: MAKE: DO
Describing what practitioners learned from the evidence about the learning –‘
how much’ and ‘how well’
Providing feedback and next steps in learning and teaching
Indicating how progress, achievements and next steps could be
discussed with and reported to learners and to parents.
QUALITY ASSURANCE – CRITERIA FOR QUALITY ASSURING MATERIALS TO
SUPPORT LOCAL MODERATION
The criteria below should help inform the planning and local moderation activities
that you and your colleagues undertake. This criteria was used by the National
Quality Assurance Group (NQAG) to quality assure materials for the National
Assessment Resource (NAR).
You should consider:
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the coherence amongst the Experiences and Outcomes selected
the quality of experiences and opportunities offered to demonstrate
achievement
the match between the selected experiences, learning intentions and
success criteria
the range of evidence to support the learning and teaching.
the nature and quality of the assessment exemplification.
the relevance of the range of approaches that reflect breadth, challenge and
application in learning
the quality of the annotations of learners’ work made during quality assurance,
and local moderation discussions
the quality of feedback to individual learners on progress, achievement and
next steps in learning
the methods used to report progress and achievement to parents and
learners.
the evidence of professional thinking and reflection.
Guidance Notes
Practitioners are encouraged to work together using the same ‘set ‘of Experiences and Outcomes. You
will, of course, work in different ways as appropriate to the age, stage, prior achievement and needs of
your learners. Working together in this way, from the initial planning stage should help you understand
better how the same ‘set’ of Experiences and Outcomes within the same Level apply differently for
different groups of learners within and across stages. You will better understand progression in terms
of breadth, challenge and application through agreeing standards and expectations of learning.
STEP 1:
ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
This might include details such as school, stage, curriculum area, subject (if applicable) and level.
STEP 2:
SELECTING YOUR EXPERIENCES AND OUTCOMES
STEP 2:1 CURRICULUM AREA/SUBJECT
When selecting your Experiences and Outcomes consider the following:
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Take account of the learners’ prior knowledge and skills development
Select Experiences and Outcomes from the curriculum area that link together in a
natural and meaningful way
Choosing only 2 or 3 Experiences and Outcomes will enable you to plan for learning,
teaching, assessment and moderation in a focused and rounded way
In your planned learning you will not necessarily be addressing all of a particular
Experience and Outcome so you might find it useful to highlight the part(s) you are
focusing on
STEP 2:2 RESPONSIBILITY OF ALL – Links across learning – Literacy, Numeracy
and Health and Wellbeing
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When selecting Experiences and Outcomes from the Responsibility of All area(s)
consider how the Experience and Outcomes selected will bring added value to your
learning experience and help the learners to develop skills in this chosen area
STEP 3:
SETTING LEARNING INTENTIONS AND SUCCESS CRITERIA
STEP 3:1
Agreeing the learning intentions
 Look closely at the Experiences and Outcomes you have selected. You might
find it useful to pick actual words and phrases which help you identify the
skills and the content.
Agree
the learning intentions with a colleague
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 Share, discuss and agree the learning intentions with the learners
 Learning intentions should reflect the standards and expectations set out in
the Experiences and Outcomes
The
match between the Experiences and Outcomes, the planned learning
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and the learning intentions is really important in order to make your
assessment information valid
STEP 3:2 Agreeing the success criteria
The success criteria should match closely to the learning intentions you have set and
the evidence of learning you plan to gather. You should involve the learners in
agreeing the success criteria as it will be used by both them and you to judge how
much and how well they have learned.
 Focus on the learning rather than the doing (task)
 Refer to specific features of the work that will be assessed
 Use words that emphasise the learning, knowledge and understanding and
skills
 Avoid focusing on a list of end goals – the process is more important than the
product
 Avoid specifiying amounts ( e.g. 10 ideas etc. – raise the bar for all!)
STEP 4 QUALITY LEARNING EXPERIENCES – What are you setting out to
do?
When planning your learning activities, lessons or series of lessons consider the
following:
 Both the learning and teaching methodology (in line with the CfE design
principles)
 The range of approaches to assessment you will use
 How you might demonstrate and track progression of knowledge and skills
through breadth, challenge and application
STEP 5:
ASSESSMENT APPROACHES / RANGE OF EVIDENCE
STEP 5:1
You may wish to include a range of assessment approaches. These may be
formative, summative and should include self and peer assessment. All assessment
approaches should focus on the learning intentions and success criteria.
STEP 5:2
The assessment process involves gathering and considering evidence by the teachers
and the learners, using the agreed criteria, in order to arrive at the judgements about
what has been learned, ‘how much’ and ‘how well ‘ and what needs to be done next.
Using a range of evidence increases the validity of your assessment approaches.
Evidence may come from what learners - SAY WRITE MAKE DO
Possibilities include:
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Observations
Checklists
Self/peer assessment material
Notes (teacher/young person)
Diary entries
Learning logs
Written assessment tasks
Written work
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Personal Learning Plans
Video clips
Audio clips
PowerPoint presentation
Annotated photographs
Models
Products
Paintings/sculptures
STEP 6: WHAT TEACHERS OBSERVED FROM THE EVIDENCE: MODERATION
Consistent judgements are reached when staff collaborate in discussing and
planning for the learning, teaching and assessment process from the outset. This
involves:
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Ensuring the discussions and evaluations about the learners and the learning
centre around the learning intentions/success criteria
Reflecting on the learning for the group/whole class as well as tracking
specific learners (‘how much’ and ‘how well’)
Using the range of evidence you have gathered, discussing the evidence of
what they say, write, make or do in order to arrive at a shared understanding
of the quality of the learners work
Considering whether or not you have provided appropriate quality learning
activities to allow the learning to take place
Using the information from moderation to plan next steps in learning and
teaching
Recording and reporting on the learning and the learner using the evidence
and notes from observations and discussions
STEP 7:
FEEDBACK AND NEXT STEPS IN LEARNING
Good quality feedback which focuses on the agreed learning intentions and success
criteria helps to motivate learners to improve their work and to better understand
their own learning. All learners can make progress from where they are, based on
assessment of and feedback about their evidence.
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Encourage learners to take responsibility for and to be active in their own
learning
Use self and peer evaluation to help them reflect on their learning
Demonstrate how they can improve their work by responding to and acting on
the feedback given
STEP 8: REPORTING ON PROGRESS
Reporting to learners, parents and others should be fair, inclusive and
manageable.
It should be appropriate to the learner’s age, stage and individual
circumstances.
Practitioners should think about innovative ways to engage learners, parents
and others in the reporting process.
Reporting should:
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Be ongoing and meaningful
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Provide a focus for a dialogue about learning
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Support further learning with clear next steps set out
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Give clear guidance to learners on how they can improve their work
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Help parents understand how they can better support their child’s learning