Teachers sometimes don't do their candidates justice with coursework. We're all under pressure from many angles now, so getting your students the best coursework marks possible is one of the few things you can control (and why my VCE students get such good grades - see my sixth form site).
Divide the coursework up into manageable sections, as this site does, and mark regularly against the supplied grid or your own version. Make sure your students have a copy so that they can track their own progress.
1) Know your specification
Read the specification. The coursework information is in there, but the Notes for Guidance should be used as the bible! They define the coursework and are essentially what the moderators work to.
It's worrying when we have to adjust by 30 marks, and it happens. It shouldn't, if you stick to the Notes for Guidance.
2) Don't go overboard
A grade 'A' project 2 can be completed in 50 pages. Don't let students include reams of printouts, just the relevant ones, clearly marked or annotated with what they are. A moderator likes to be able to find the evidence easily. Three pages of a mailmerge is enough to confirm that it has been done, we don't need to see all sixty records! Also, only send relevant work. It is not uncommon to read repeated first drafts and reprints. Again, it just adds to postage costs and wastes time flicking through extra pages.
Don't make every candidate chase every mark. 45 marks should be enough for a grade A, so why make it too difficult? Certain controversial marks are difficult to hit, and those are the ones the moderators will look for. Don't award them unless you're certain the work supports it, else you're sure to get adjusted.
3) Annotate your marking
However slightly, use codes by all means, but make it easy for the moderator to see what you have awarded a mark for. They are more likely to give the benefit of the doubt if you point them to what you think is the evidence, than if they have to go hunting for it. Remember moderation is a process of checking that everybody is marking to the same standard - it is not trying to catch anyone out.
4) Moderate internally
Again, to make sure everyone is marking to the same standard. If everyone is out by a similar amount the moderator can deal with that, but it is so frustrating, for both sides, when work has to be sent back for inconsistencies. Moderators have deadlines too!
5) Present the projects correctly
Always use a coversheet - the OCR one makes it easy for the moderator to see what marks have been awarded and minimises annotation.
Never send work in plastic wallets or ring binders; these make the moderator's job more difficult and add to postage costs. Just a simple manilla folder or binder with treasury tags is ideal. (Look at your school's pile of folders. Multiply that by 20 and you have an idea of what a moderator gets through the post!)
6) Remember moderators are human too!
It may not always seem like it, but we are! Most are just teachers like you, and most do it to earn a few pounds extra. Treat them as you would like them to treat you.
Common Errors in interpreting the mark scheme - look here to avoid the main pitfalls!
Understanding the moderation process - what moderators do. If you understand the process you can help yourself and the moderator!
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