Assessment design criteria

A pre-service teacher at Darwin High School acknowledges that one of her biggest challenges in teaching is in making accurate and consistent judgements of student work during summative assessments.  Within an assessment moderation panel, in which she participates with her supervisor and another pre-service student, samples of student work are examined and compared against published 'assessment design criteria'. The assessment moderation, and the strategies used by the supervisor, provides an illustration for the pre-service teachers of the value of moderation for accurate grading, but also for modifying teaching practice.

Darwin High School is one of only two government schools in Darwin that cater purely for senior students at years 10–12. Within the assessment moderation, the pre-service teachers are assessing student work against 'assessment design criteria'. Assessment design criteria are used by teachers within the Northern Territory Curriculum Framework to clarify what students need to learn and to design assessment tasks that provide opportunities for students to demonstrate evidence of learning.