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A2009/019 - 3 July 2009Format of 2009 examination papersThis circular provides further information for teachers about changes to the format of some of the 2009 examination papers. Analysis of previous years' papers has shown that papers with questions that have opportunities for all achievement grades in each question provide more fair and valid assessment than papers where most questions have opportunities at one or two achievement grades only. This year examination papers in all subject areas will be set with all questions allowing candidates to provide evidence for all grades of performance: Achievement, Achievement with Merit, and Achievement with Excellence. Examination papers in most subject areas will be assessed by awarding a single grade for each question, all of which will contribute to the overall grade for the paper. For papers where the current standards have a number of different content areas or skills to be assessed, final sufficiency may need to be based on a judgement across the whole paper, as in previous years. In all examination papers students will be awarded grades that reflect the requirements of the standard. Specific comments for the subjects addressed by this circular: Biology/Human BiologyThe setting format and marking change in papers this year has been designed to improve student accessibility to all grades. Please refer to Assessment Matters A2009/008 for examples of question format. ChemistryThe setting format and marking change in papers this year has been designed to improve student accessibility to all grades. Please refer to Assessment Matters A2009/009 for examples of question format. Home EconomicsExample papers for Level 1 AS90748, AS90146 and Level 2 AS90467, AS90244 and AS90246, will be placed on the subject specific resources page. These will be available at the beginning of term three. HistoryExample papers for Level 1 AS90211 and Level 2 AS90467 will be placed on the subject specific resources page. These will be available at the beginning of term three. LanguagesThere will be examples of questions and assessment schedules for the listening and reading standards for Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish put on the subject specific resources pages. These will be available before the beginning of term three. LatinThe question format in papers for AS90115, AS90116 and AS90508 will be different from previous years. The questions will contain a number of parts so that there is the opportunity for all grades of performance within each question. Each paper will be marked, as in previous years, with grades aggregated across the paper. Sample questions for AS90115, AS90116 and AS90508, will be placed on the subject specific resources page. These will be available by the beginning of term three. MathematicsMore detail about the format of the paper has been signalled in the March update of the Assessment Specifications. So that the sector can visualise the format of a paper and an assessment schedule, an example paper and schedule for AS90148 at Level 1 and AS90292 at Level 2 will be put on the subject specific resources page. These will be available at the beginning of term three. PhysicsAll questions will provide opportunity for all grades of performance - achievement, achievement with merit, and achievement with excellence. The question format will appear the same to candidates as in previous years with each question containing a number of part-questions. Each paper will be marked, as in previous years, with grades aggregated across the paper. This information updates Assessment Matters A2009/011 dated 3 April 2009. ScienceThe setting format and marking change in papers this year has been designed to improve student accessibility to all grades. Please refer to Assessment Matters A2009/007 for examples of question format. Te Reo MaoriIn the Panui examinations at all levels all questions will provide opportunity for all grades of performance - achievement, achievement with merit, and achievement with excellence. The question format will be different from previous years as each question will contain 2 or 3 parts and as in previous years, each paper will be marked with grades aggregated from across the paper. The papers for AS90133, AS90441 and AS90781 are affected by the change in format. Te Reo RangatiraHei whakamohio noa ake: Kei roto i nga kaupae 1 / 2 / 3 i nga whakautu patai ka taea te tutuki i te koeke Paetae, i te whanui o te koeke Kaiaka, i te whanui me te hohonu ranei o te koeke Kairangi. Ko nga patai kua wawahi hia kia rongo i te hangai o te tuhinga te taunga o te kupu, te ia o te korero me tona wairua e whai marama tonu ki te horopaki me tona kaupapa. Kei konei te taumata matauranga te whakatau o te Ritenga Toanga Whanui. Frequently Asked Questions that apply to all subjects addressed by this circular:Q Should our teaching programs be changed? A Teaching programs and the standards used to assess them, have not changed. It is only the structure of the assessment and/or assessment schedule that may have changed. Q Has the format of all papers changed? A No. For a number of subjects examination papers are already written in this format, or the evidence for each question is presented in an essay. For the subjects specified in the circular see the notes under the subject headings for further detail. Q Why should students attempt all parts of the paper? A Evidence toward achievement can be provided from answers to any part of the examination paper. Students need to attempt all parts of the examination papers to maximise the evidence they provide so they are awarded the highest level of achievement possible. Q If my students only answer part of the paper, say three out of five questions, will it matter? A Students may not provide enough evidence by just attempting some of the questions or by only answering parts of the questions.
EnquiriesCirculars are available from the Qualifications authority website (www.nzqa.govt.nz/publications/circulars). A PDF Please refer any enquiries relating to this circular to your subject National Assessment Facilitator.
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Page updated: 14 July 2009