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Principal moderator
Responsibility
A principal moderator is appointed by the awarding body for each internally assessed component or unit. The principal moderator is responsible to the chief examiner for the specification for ensuring that the standards of the internal assessment are consistent with the specification and the assessment criteria and that they are maintained from one session to the next.
Roles
The principal moderator compiles a set of exemplar work for the component and annotates it to show how the assessment criteria should be applied. He/she then uses this exemplar work to train the team of assistant moderators and any senior moderators in the application of the assessment criteria, and to ensure that the moderation team applies the same standards as the centres are required to do by the specification.
After the moderators' standardisation meeting, the principal moderator monitors the work of the team of moderators, including any assistant principal moderators and team leaders, and offers advice and support where needed. The principal moderator may be called upon to mediate in difficult cases, for example where a centre and moderator cannot reach agreement about marking.
At the end of the moderation period, the principal moderator:
- advises on the re-appointment of assistant moderators and senior moderators
- ensures that appropriate follow-up and remedial work is carried out with centres
- reports to the awarding committee for the specification on how the component has functioned
- recommends preliminary mark ranges for the key grade boundaries for the component
- provides samples of work across these mark ranges for the awarding committee to consider.
Qualifications
A principal moderator is normally a subject expert with many years of experience in teaching and examining at a senior level. He/she will normally have been a senior moderator for several years before being appointed principal moderator.