Examiner and moderator cycle of work



November/ DecemberAQA begins appointing examiners for examinations the following summer. AQA provides examiners with dates for the Standardisation Meetings
March–May AQA trains new examiners through: exemplar materials additional training
May–June Before the examination, AQA sends stationery and handbooks to examiners
May–June





3–4



week

period










On the day of the examination, AQA sends examiners confidential material, i.e. question paper/mark scheme
Examiner receives agreed quota of scripts and marks 10 provisionally (New examiners can request fewer scripts)
Examiners attend Standardisation Meeting to learn how to assess candidates' responses accurately against the mark scheme
Within 3 days of the Standardisation Meeting, examiners mark 10 scripts and send this 1st sample to their Team Leaders for checking
Team Leader checks examiner's marking and either: clears examiner to mark asks examiner to adjust his/her marking and send a further 10 scripts
Examiner marks scripts, returns/inputs marks and sends scripts to AQA in batches to specified deadlines
Half way through the marking period, each examiner sends the Team Leader a 2nd sample of 50 scripts for checking
Team Leader checks the accuracy and consistency of marking and provides feedback to AQA with the scripts
June–JulyExaminer completes marking on or before deadline and claims fee from AQA
September–OctoberAQA provides feedback to examiners on consistency and clarity of marking, and administration
November–DecemberAQA sends re-appointment invitations to relevant examiners

The sequence of activities is similar for moderators.