Mark one exemplar together before the task

Students cannot act on feedback about quality they have never seen. Sadler (1989) called this the problem of guild knowledge: teachers hold a concept of quality that students are expected to hit blind. Ten minutes spent marking one imperfect exemplar as a class hands that concept over before the work starts, which is the only point at which it can still shape the work. Every comment you write later lands on ground this ten minutes prepared.

In practice

You are helping a teacher build a marking exemplar.
Task: [describe the task and year group]
Criteria: [paste your rubric or success criteria]

Write one mid-quality response to this task. Plant
three specific weaknesses a typical student would
show, one per criterion. Then list the weaknesses
separately so I can check them, but do not label
them in the response itself.

• Pick or generate one mid-quality sample of the exact task, not a perfect one. Perfection teaches nothing about the decisions that separate levels.
• Project it and mark it live against your criteria, thinking aloud about where it earns credit and where it falls short.
• Ask the class to name one change that would lift it a level, then make them point to the criterion that says so.
• Leave the annotated exemplar visible while they work, so the standard stays public instead of living in your head.