Contacts

Isha Griggs-Cameron (08) 9273 6755
Partnership registration and statistical moderation queries
SGMPartnerships@scsa.wa.edu.au

Nick Ognenis (08) 9273 6354
School requirements in relation to a partnership and comparability of school marks
Nick.Ognenis@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools with a projected number of fewer than six ATAR course examination candidates for a Year 12 ATAR course in 2027 must establish a small group moderation partnership.

It is a requirement for schools to register their participation in a small group moderation partnership with the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority) online by Thursday, 11 February 2027.

To ensure the required comparability of school marks, schools should establish a partnership with a school that has a large cohort in the course. Partnerships should be established early in the academic year, so partner schools can deliver the Year 12 ATAR course at the same time. A vital part of small group moderation is that partner schools work together to develop identical course and assessment outlines.

The small group moderation partnership requirements are detailed in sub-section 3.6 of the WACE Manual.

Partner schools are required to:

• use an identical assessment outline (typically developed collaboratively)
• establish, agree to and use identical assessment tasks and marking keys
• conduct all assessment tasks under the same agreed conditions (or conditions that are as similar as possible)
• co-develop and document agreed marking strategies to ensure comparability of marking, which can include:
  • one teacher marking a task from all students in all partner schools (i.e. rotating the marking of tasks between teachers)
  • double-marking a task from all students or for selected students across the range of grades (i.e. both teachers independently marking the whole task or particular sections/questions, then discussing comparability, reviewing marks and making adjustments where required)
  • co-marking a task (i.e. each teacher marking particular sections/questions for all students).

Register small group moderation partnerships by Thursday, 11 February 2027 using the online registration link available on the Authority’s Moderation page at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/moderation/small-group-moderation.

The Guide for online registration of Small Group Moderation partnerships to assist schools with the registration process is available at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/moderation/small-group-moderation.

Full details of the small group moderation procedures are available in sub-section 3.6 of the WACE Manual available on the Authority website at https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/publications/wace-manual.

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