FIELD SCIENCES
Review of Biology Level 2 achievement standards
Subfield Science
|
Domain |
Id |
Subject reference |
|
Biology |
90457-90464, 90483 |
Biology 2.1-2.9 |
The Ministry of Education and the Secondary Education Group Assessment business unit of NZQA have completed a review of the achievement standards listed above that were registered in October 2002.
New Registration date November 2004
Date new versions published November 2004
Planned review date March 2007
Summary of review and consultation process
This review is part of the planned cycle of review that takes place after the first year of use of the achievement standards.
· Initial feedback and comments were collated from teachers/schools, moderators, the National Assessment Panel, professional development facilitators, material developers, and other stakeholders.
· This information was reviewed by subject experts and recommendations were made in March 2004.
· The recommendations were sent out for consultation to subject networks, including teachers, assessors, moderators, facilitators, and advisors in May 2004.
Main changes resulting from the review
The review process has resulted in the following modifications to the achievement standards:
· AS90457 - to facilitate holistic assessment judgements, the achievement criteria have been reduced to one criterion for each achievement grade, without altering the intent of the standard. Corresponding changes have been made to the explanatory notes. This standard has been altered align with AS90312, Science 2.1 and AS90161, Biology 1.1.
· AS90458 and AS90483 - these two standards have been replaced by new AS90769.
· AS90459 - amendments have been made to the wording of the title and minor changes have been made to re-organise and clarify the content of the explanatory notes.
· AS90460 - an amendment has been made to the wording of the title, and the number of achievement criteria has been reduced from three to two for each achievement grade. Amendments have been made to the wording in the achievement criteria and in the explanatory notes to clarify the standard.
· AS90461 - the credit value for this standard has been increased from 2 credits to 3 credits. Minor amendments have been made to the explanatory notes.
· AS90462 and AS90463 - minor amendments have been made to the explanatory notes.
· AS90464 - minor amendments have been made to the wording of the achievement criteria and the explanatory notes to improve their fitness for purpose without changing the standard.
Internally assessed achievement standards 90458 and 90483, which are a Category C review, will expire in December 2005.
Impact on existing provider accreditations
None.
Impact on Accreditation and Moderation Action Plan (AMAP)
AMAP 0226 was updated to reflect the deletion of achievement standards AS90458 and AS90483, and the addition of the new achievement standard AS90769.
Impact on existing qualifications
None.
Impact of changes on NCEA Exclusions List
None.
Summary of main changes to achievement standards' Ids, classification, titles, levels, and credits
The following summary shows the changes made to the achievement standards as a result of the review. All changes are in bold.
Key to review category |
|
|
A |
Dates changed, but no other changes are made - the replacement achievement standard carries the same Id and a new version number |
|
|
B |
Changes made, but the overall outcome remains the same - the replacement achievement standard carries the same Id and a new version number |
|
|
C |
Major changes that necessitate the registration of a replacement achievement standard with a new Id |
|
|
D |
Achievement standard will expire and not be replaced |
|
Subfield Science
Domain Biology
|
Id |
Title |
Level |
Credit |
Review Category |
|
90457 |
Carry out a practical biological investigation with supervision |
2 |
3 |
B |
|
90458 90483
90769 |
Research an applied biology technique Describe the impact of human activities on an ecosystem Research the interaction between humans and an aspect of biology |
2 2
2 |
2 2
3 |
C C |
|
90459 |
Describe concepts and processes that relate to genetic variation and change Describe genetic variation and change |
2 |
3 |
B |
|
90460 |
Investigate an interrelationship or pattern in a population or community Investigate an interrelationship or pattern in an ecological population or community |
2 |
3 |
B |
|
90461 |
Describe concepts and processes relating to ecology |
2 |
2 3 |
B |
|
90462 |
Describe diversity in the structure and function of animals |
2 |
3 |
B |
|
90463 |
Describe diversity in the structure and function of plants |
2 |
3 |
B |
|
90464 |
Describe cell structure and function |
2 |
3 |
B |