Grading and moderation: how should we do it?

Abstract

A central issue for students and teachers is the giving and receiving of grades that are seen as ‘fair’. It is an issue which seems to preoccupy students to the extent that the grading can affect students’ perceptions of the course, their teacher and CAES. This seminar explores different methods of grading and their implications for how moderation is conducted. Three broad grading approaches are outlined; a laissez faire model, a language testing model and a community of practice model. I argue that of the different possibilities for grading, a model focusing on a community of practice has the biggest potential to satisfy student grading expectations. Such a model, however, places potentially heavy demands on teachers and has implications for how, and when, moderation is carried out. The seminar explores these demands and suggests how teachers and coordinators, along with students, might develop communities that help students and teachers more fairly and transparently grade student work.