National external moderation systems are developed to ensure that assessment decisions about assessment standards are consistent nationally.
Every standard on the Directory of Assessment and Skill Standards (DASS) is attached to a set of Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMR).
The requirements section in the CMR sets out the national external moderation system that applies.
Workforce development councils (WDCs) manage the national external moderation of industry unit standards.
NZQA organises national external moderation of unit and achievement standards it is responsible for.
On this page
National external moderation guidelines for TEOs
This information is for tertiary education organisations (TEOs) that are assessing learners using standards moderated by NZQA.
Download the national external moderation guidelines [PDF, 286 KB]
Consent to assess
TEOs must gain consent to assess from NZQA before they can offer programmes of education and training that include assessment against standards on the Directory of Assessment and Skill Standards.
Go to the consent to assess page
Once they have consent, TEOs must participate in the national external moderation system that applies.
Internal moderation
Internal moderation must be embedded in the quality management system of every TEO.
Internal moderation includes pre-assessment moderation of assessment materials and post-assessment moderation of learner work.
It can occur:
- among assessors at a single site
- at an organisation's multiple sites, or
- among a workforce development council's registered workplace assessors.
Internal moderation helps to ensure consistency of assessment within organisations, over time and between assessors.
Feedback on NZQA-managed unit standards
If you have feedback on an NZQA-managed unit standard, please complete the: