Field          Social Sciences

 

Review of Classical Studies Level 2 achievement and unit standards

 

Unit standards

Subfield

Domain

ID

Social Science Studies

Classical Studies

7595-7606

 

Achievement standards

Domain

ID

Subject reference

Classical Studies

90247

Classical Studies 2.1

90248

Classical Studies 2.2

90249

Classical Studies 2.3

90250

Classical Studies 2.4

90251

Classical Studies 2.5

 

The Ministry of Education and NZQA National Qualifications Services have completed the review of the achievement and unit standards listed above.

 

New registration date                            November 2011

 

Date new versions published             November 2011

 

Planned review date                              December 2014

 

Summary of review and consultation process

 

In 2008 the Ministry of Education (MoE) and NZQA began to review achievement and unit standards in light of the revised New Zealand Curriculum (NZC).  This Alignment of Standards (AoS) review also addressed duplication of outcomes, credit parity, fairness, consistency, and coherence.  The AoS review was guided by the revised NZC itself and the Standards Review Guidelines.  A copy of the NZC is available at: http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-documents/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum.

 

Teacher subject associations were involved in the review, and draft achievement standards were the focus of wide consultation, especially with secondary schools and teachers.  Extensive resources, including student exemplars, were also developed to support these standards, and are available on the MoE and/or the NZQA websites.

 

The review of unit standards included consultation with tertiary providers to assess continued relevance and likely future use of the standards.  Unit standards that duplicate achievement standard outcomes and those without the likelihood of future tertiary use were recommended for expiry.

 

National consultation was undertaken in 2010, with the results analysed by Research New Zealand.  The responses were generally positive.

 

The review of these Level 2 unit and achievement standards was completed in time for implementation in schools in 2012.  The review of unit and achievement standards at Level 1 was completed in time for implementation in schools in 2011.  Standards at Level 3 will be implemented in 2013.

 

Main changes resulting from the review

 

·         All NZC Level 7 (NZQF Level 2) outcomes derived from the NZC are now assessed using achievement standards, and there are no longer any unit standards linked to the NZC.

·         Existing achievement standards were reviewed and new achievement standards were developed to align with the NZC.  See table below.

·         Grading criteria for achievement standards were reviewed in accordance with the Standards Review Guidelines.

·         Unit standards that recognised similar outcomes as achievement standards were recommended for expiry.  See table below.

 

For a more detailed description of the review of, and the changes to, the Classical Studies standards see the appendix at the end of this report.

 

Impact on Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMR)

(Formerly known as AMAP)

 

All new achievement standards were registered on CMR 0233.

 

Impact of changes on NCEA Exclusions List

For transition purposes, the following exclusions will apply for new achievement standards.

 

New achievement standard

Excluded against this standard

91201

90248

 

Review Categories and changes to classification, title, level, and credits

 

The following summary shows the changes made to the standards as a result of the review.  All changes are in bold.  Where a new or a new version of an externally assessed achievement standard is registered, the following designation appears after the title [Externally Assessed].

 

Key to review category

A

Dates changed, but no other changes are made - the new version of the standard carries the same ID and a new version number

B

Changes made, but the overall outcome remains the same - the new version of the 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

 

Externally assessed achievement standards categorised as category C or D expire at the end of

December 2011

 

Internally assessed achievement standards and unit standards categorised as category D expire at the end of

December 2012

 

Social Sciences > Social Science Studies > Classical Studies

ID

Title

Level

Credit

Review Category

7595

Explain and examine aspects of Greek mythology including the gods

2

4

D

7596

Explain and investigate aspects of classical scientific thought and practice

2

4

D

7597

Demonstrate knowledge of the characters, themes, and staging of a Greek tragedy

2

4

D

7598

Demonstrate knowledge of the characters, themes and staging of a Roman comedy

2

4

D

7599

Explain the background, characters, and themes of Homeric epic

2

4

D

7600

Describe archaeological methodology, and investigate an archaeological site

2

4

D

7601

Explain the career of a major political figure in the classical world

2

4

D

7602

Examine the development and operation of Athenian democracy

2

4

D

7603

Explain aspects of Athenian society in the 5th century BC

2

4

D

7604

Explain aspects of Roman society in the late republic and early empire

2

4

D

7605

 

Examine works of classical architecture and sculpture, and the influence of classical architecture

2

4

D

7606

Examine Roman domestic art and architecture

2

4

D

90247

Examine a passage from a work of classical literature in translation

2

5

D

90248

 

91201

Examine a work of classical art and/or architecture

Examine the significance of features of work(s) of art in the classical world [Externally assessed]

2

 

2

5

 

4

C

 

 

90249

Examine in essay format an aspect of the classical world

2

5

D

90250

Complete an independent examination of an area of classical studies

2

5

D

90251

Communicate knowledge of an aspect of the classical world

2

4

D

91200

Examine ideas and values of the classical world [Externally assessed]

2

4

New

91202

Demonstrate understanding of a significant event in the classical world

2

4

New

91203

Examine socio-political life in the classical world [Externally assessed]

2

6

New

91204

Demonstrate understanding of the relationship between aspects of the classical world and aspects of other cultures

2

6

New


Appendix

 

Development of L2 Standards

 

Alignment of Standards with the New Zealand Curriculum

 

The standards are aligned with the strands and main concepts of the Teaching and Learning Guide for classical studies which are derived from the New Zealand Curriculum.  The titles of the standards reflect learning outcomes based on the learning objectives of the Thinking Critically about Sources and Examining Values strands.

 

1        The matrix at Levels 2 and 3 has been aligned to provide opportunity for progression.

 

2        Classical Studies now has two Learning Objectives for each of Levels 6, 7 and 8.  These can be found in The Teaching and Learning Guide for Classical Studies which derives from the New Zealand Curriculum.  The L1, L2 and L3 achievement standards are aligned with these Learning Objectives.

 

3        All standards are set in the context of the classical world and at all levels of achievement primary source evidence is required.

 

4        In order to allow flexibility in school programme design, the specific aspects of contexts within the classical world are not listed in the explanatory notes of the standards.  There is a shift away from prescribing set works for a topic and a move towards enabling teachers and students to choose works outside traditional programmes and relevant to the interests of their students.  Information about contexts can be found in the Teaching and Learning Guide.

 

5        The specific contexts for external assessment will be provided in the Assessment Specifications and will reflect the changes in credit value for the externally assessed standards.  Previously, each externally assessed standard was valued at 5 credits, whereas the new externally assessed standards have been assigned 4 credits (AS91201 Classical Studies 2.2) and 6 credits (AS91200 Classical Studies 2.1 And AS91203 Classical Studies 2.4).

 

6        The 1.3, 2.3 and 3.3 standards have been developed with a focus on historical figures and events.

 

7        The 1.4, 2.4 and 3.4 standards focus on social relationships and belief systems.  The 6 credit weighting of 2.4 is more appropriately assessed using the context of socio-political life because the relationship between individuals, society and government is more complex than examining the significance of an event and its impact (although is a valued outcome).

 

8        In the 2011 Classical Studies matrix, 2.3 is externally assessed, whereas in the new Level 2 standards, 2.3 is internally assessed and 2.4 is externally assessed.