How Scholarship works

Scholarship is an external examination for top secondary students. Candidates usually enter in year 13, which is their last year of schooling. Scholarship examines course material related to level 3 standards derived from up to level 8 of the New Zealand Curriculum that students study in year 13. However, the skills and understanding required to meet Scholarship criteria are considerably more advanced. Scholarship requires students to demonstrate high-level critical thinking.

• Scholarship requires high-level abstract thinking and the application of knowledge and ideas to complex situations. It is for the most able students in each of the 27 Scholarship subjects.
• The intention is that 3 per cent of the total number of Year 13 level 3 students in each subject studying for 14 credits or more will get Scholarship, as long as Scholarship standards are met.
• Scholarship results will be released in February.

Monetary awards

New Zealand students (1) who do well in Scholarship gain substantial monetary awards. A Scholarship in just one subject receives $500, as a single payment. All the other awards result in payments spanning three years of successful (2) tertiary study. Specifically

• top in a subject is worth $2000 a year for three years
• three Scholarships together are worth $2000 a year for three years
• outstanding (3) scholars receive $5000 a year for three years
• ive to ten students receive premier (4) awards of $10,000 a year for three years.

The numbers of Scholarships awarded are set subject by subject

The intention is that 3 per cent of the cohort will be awarded Scholarship in each subject - that is 3 per cent of the number of students studying that subject in year 13 at level 3 for 14 or more credits - as long as they meet the standard. Note that this is not 3 per cent of the students sitting Scholarship in that subject, which would be a much smaller number.

Details of each year's Scholarship results are available online.

Marking

Markers will use subject-specific assessment schedules, each of which will be based on a Generic Mark Guide of 0 to 8 marks.

Using this guide, the best answers will meet the top performance description, an 8 mark answer will be Outstanding answer in all respects. Strong evidence of integration and synthesis. As good as could be expected under examination conditions. Accurate, comprehensive, coherent, lucid, perceptive.

By contrast, a 1 mark answer will show Meagre understanding relevant to question, and zero marks will be awarded for answers which are blank or irrelevant.

The marks that students have been awarded in each question will then be added up.

The work of the highest scoring students will be considered again by marking panels to resolve which candidates are top in each subject.

In addition, answer books of students who are on the cusp of the cut off for being awarded Scholarships will be remarked, to double check that results are correct.

Feedback to candidates

When scripts go back to students they will be able to see how the markers scored their work. Marks scored will be indicated in the scripts.

Notes:

Page updated: 08 April 2008