Standardisation
Standardisation is the process of agreeing how a mark scheme should be applied before marking begins - typically by marking exemplar work together - so that every marker works to the same standard.
What is standardisation in assessment?
Standardisation is the process teachers use to agree how a mark scheme should be applied before marking begins, usually by marking the same exemplar answers and comparing judgements. Where moderation checks consistency after marking, standardisation builds it in beforehand, so every marker starts from a shared understanding of the standard.
The practice comes from the exam boards: before live marking opens, examiners mark the same seed scripts and must fall within tolerance of the principal examiner's marks before they may continue. Schools mirror the same discipline internally - before a mock series or a shared assessment, a department agrees what the mark scheme means in practice, so that interpretation happens once, together, rather than separately in every classroom.
How standardisation works in a department
A typical session: markers independently mark the same small set of exemplar answers, then compare marks. Where judgements diverge, the department discusses the difference and agrees the interpretation - often recording it as a short set of notes against the mark scheme. Those notes become part of the marking guidelines for the assessment, and later moderation checks that they were applied.
Why it matters for AI marking
The same principle applies when artificial intelligence drafts the first pass. An AI system needs an explicit statement of the standard - the mark scheme and the department's agreed interpretations - before it marks, for exactly the reason human markers do: consistency comes from a shared, stated standard, not from good intentions. A department that standardises well has already produced the thing that makes criterion-referenced AI marking work.
Key takeaways
- Standardisation happens before marking: teachers agree how the mark scheme should be applied.
- It usually involves marking the same exemplar answers independently and comparing judgements.
- A written record of agreed interpretations keeps later marking - human or AI-drafted - to the same standard.
- Standardisation builds consistency in beforehand; moderation checks it afterwards.
Frequently asked questions
Is standardisation only for exam marking?
No. Exam boards standardise examiners before live marking, but the same practice is routine inside schools: before a mock series or a shared assessment, departments mark exemplar answers together so every class is marked to the same standard.
What is the difference between moderation and standardisation?
Standardisation happens before marking: teachers agree how the mark scheme should be applied, usually by marking exemplar answers together. Moderation happens after marking: samples are compared to check the agreed standard was actually applied. Departments typically use both - standardisation to set the standard, moderation to verify it.
Related terms
Moderation
Moderation is the process by which teachers compare samples of marked work to check that a mark scheme has been applied consistently, so the same work would receive the same mark whoever marked it.
Exemplar
An exemplar is a piece of work - often a real student answer - presented with its marks and commentary to show what a particular standard looks like in practice.
Levels of response marking
Levels of response marking awards marks by deciding which band descriptor an answer best fits as a whole, rather than by adding up credit for individual points.
AI marking
AI marking is the use of artificial intelligence to assess student work against defined criteria - a mark scheme or a teacher's own marking guidelines - and to draft marks and feedback for a teacher to review.
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