Standards Testing Agency
Standardisation provides schools with assurance that local authorities moderation teams have the required knowledge to complete moderation of KS2 English writing teacher assessment.
It ensures:
- the consistency and accuracy of teacher assessment and its moderation across England
- local authorities moderators are familiar with the KS2 English writing frameworks for the academic year 2023 to 2024
KS2 is moderated annually. Local authorities are required to moderate at least 25% of maintained schools and 25% of academies and participating independent schools that have opted into the local authoritys external moderation process.
Approval to moderate
Standardisation exercises are used to gain the Standards and Testing Agencys (STA) approval to moderate and are undertaken annually.
STA approval to moderate English writing in 2024 will only be granted on successful completion of a standardisation exercise. All three standardisation exercises are available for all moderators to attempt. Each moderator will be allowed a maximum of two attempts out of the three exercises available.
Moderator training
Online self-guided training materials will continue this year and have now become the standard delivery method.
Training materials for the academic year 2023 to 2024 will be available on the Primary Assessment Gateway (PAG) on Monday 2 October 2023. Previous years training and standardisation materials will also be available for use if required. Local authorities can use these materials to support their delivery of moderator training.
We recommend that local authorities deliver training to their moderators before the moderators complete the standardisation exercise. This should preferably take place on separate days.
Standardisation and training timeline
| Activities | Dates |
|---|---|
| Training materials go live on the PAG | 2 October 2023 |
| All moderators can complete standardisation exercise 1 | 6 November to 17 November 2023 |
| Local authorities to return exercise 1 moderation manager responses to STA - STA will mark moderation managers results. | 6 November to 17 November 2023 |
| Exercise 1 commentaries available on the PAG | 20 November 2023 |
| Local authorities to return overview survey of successful pool and lead moderators from exercise 1 to STA | 20 November to 24 November 2023 |
| All moderators who did not complete or were unsuccessful in exercise 1 to complete standardisation exercise 2 | 8 January to 19 January 2024 |
| Local authorities to return exercise 2 moderation manager responses to STA - STA will mark moderation managers results | 8 January to 19 January 2024 |
| Exercise 2 commentaries available on the PAG | 22 January 2024 |
| Local authorities to return overview survey of successful pool and lead moderators from exercise 2 to STA | 22 January to 26 January 2024 |
| All moderators who did not complete or were unsuccessful in exercise 1 or 2 to complete standardisation exercise 3 | 12 February to 23 February 2024 |
| Local authorities to return exercise 3 moderation manager responses to STA - STA will mark moderation managers results | 12 February to 23 February 2024 |
| Exercise 3 commentaries available on the PAG | 26 February 2024 |
| Local authorities to return overview survey of successful pool and lead moderators from exercise 3 to STA | 26 February 2024 to 1 March 2024 |
| Moderation managers to complete spreadsheet and share moderator names of all who passed standardisation with STA | 26 February 2024 to 8 March 2024 |
| STA to share blank KS2 approval to moderate certificates with local authorities for the academic year 2023 to 2024 | 2 April 2024 |
Moderator training material overview for the academic year 2023 to 2024
To help you work with the new training materials, we have provided the following lists which outline what the training materials cover in more detail. This should make navigation easier for users.
Historic KS1 and KS2 training materials also available on the PAG.
2023 KS2 TE10 Dialogue
2023 Training exercise 10 (TE10): Evidencing dialogue at the expected standard (EXS)
- Activity 1: Considering how speech and dialogue are used in pupil writing
- Speech
- Dialogue
- Activity 1a: Exploring the reasons why pupils include speech in their writing
- Activity 2: Evidencing dialogue at EXS
- Activity 2a: Exploring evidence for dialogue at the expected standard
- Activity 2b: Exploring dialogue that does not meet the statement at EXS
- Activity 3: Considering whether dialogue is adequately evidenced in a single piece
- Activity 3a: Exploring dialogue in a single piece
2023 KS2 TE11 Verbs
2023 Training exercise 11 (TE11): Identifying verb forms and evidencing tense and cohesion in relation to verbs
- Activity 1: Identifying and exploring verb forms
- Activity 1a: Reflecting on the role of verbs
- What do verbs express?
- Verbs in the national curriculum
- Verbs in the teacher assessment framework
- Activity 2: Considering verb tenses in pupil writing
- Activity 2a: Exploring verb tenses in pupil writing
- Activity 3: Considering how consistent and correct tenses support cohesion
- Activity 3a: Evidencing how verb tense builds cohesion
- Activity 4: Considering how the selection and manipulation of verb forms supports a variety of purposes
- Activity 4a: Considering how verb forms are selected and manipulated to create effects
2023 KS2 TE12 Spelling
2023 Training exercise 12 (TE12): Evidencing the key stage 2 framework statements for spelling
- Activity 1: Reflecting on the statements describing spelling
- National curriculum for English: spelling in key stages 1 and 2
- The framework statements for spelling at key stage 2
- The statutory word lists
- The qualifiers
- Activity 1a: Evidencing the statutory word lists
- Uncommon and more ambitious vocabulary
- Activity 1b: Reflecting on uncommon or more ambitious vocabulary
- Independence and spelling
- Activity 1c: Evidencing independent spelling
- Summary: Activity 1
- Activity 2: Examining the evidence for spelling in pupil work
- Activity 2a: Validating a judgement of WTS
- Activity 2b: Distinguishing between EXS and WTS
- Activity 2c: Examining spelling at EXS
- Activity 3: Reflecting on a particular weakness in spelling
- Activity 3: Examining work by a pupil with a particular weakness
2023 KS2 TE13 Purpose
2023 Training exercise 13 (TE13): Writing for purpose and audience
- Activity 1: Considering progression in writing for purpose and audience
- The purpose of writing, writing for purpose and purposeful writers in the national curriculum
- Writing research and the national curriculum
- How texts are shaped by the writing context
- Knowledge, understanding and skills necessary for writing for purpose and audience
- Activity 1a: Reflecting on the knowledge, understanding and skills which support writing for purpose and audience
- Progression in writing for purpose and audience in the curriculum
- Activity 1b: Mapping progress in writing for purpose and audience
- Activity 2: Reflecting on the distinctions between the statements related to writing for purpose and audience
- Activity 3: Identifying evidence of writing for a range of purposes and audiences across the stan