Field          Social Sciences

 

Review of Social Studies Level 3 achievement standards

 

Achievement standards

Subfield

Domain

ID

Subject reference

Social Science Studies

Social Studies

90689

Social Studies 3.1

90690

Social Studies 3.2

90691

Social Studies 3.3

90692

Social Studies 3.4

90693

Social Studies 3.5

 

The Ministry of Education has completed a review of the achievement standards listed above.

 

New Registration date                           December 2012

 

Date new versions published             December 2012

 

Planned review date                              December 2016

 

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.

 

National consultation was undertaken in 2011, with the results analysed by Research New Zealand.  The responses were generally positive.

 

The review of these Level 3 achievement standards was completed in time for implementation in schools in 2013.  There were no unit standards in Social Studies to review.

 

Main changes resulting from the review

 

·         All NZC Level 8 (NZQF Level 3) outcomes derived from the NZC are now assessed using achievement standards.  This does not represent a change for Level 8 Social Studies.

·         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.

 

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

 

Impact on Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMR)

 

All new achievement standards have been registered on CMR 0233.

 

Impact of changes on Exclusions List

 

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

 

Achievement standard

Excluded against each of these standards

91597

90691, 90692

91600

90693

 

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 D expire at the end of

December 2012

 

Internally assessed achievement standards categorised as category C expire at the end of

December 2013

 

Social Sciences > Social Science Studies > Social Studies

ID

Ref

Title

Level

Credit

Review Category

90689

3.1

Examine diversity in society

3

5

D

90690

3.2

Explain people's responses to challenges facing society

3

5

D

90691

3.3

Conduct an advanced social studies inquiry independently

3

6

C

90692

3.4

Explain a values system

3

4

C

91597

3.2

Conduct a critical social inquiry

3

6

 

90693

3.5

Examine social action(s) in relation to a social issue

3

4

C

91600

3.5

Examine a campaign of social action(s) to influence policy change(s)

3

4

 

91596

3.1

Demonstrate understanding of ideological responses to an issue [Externally Assessed]

3

4

New

91598

3.3

Demonstrate understanding of how ideologies shape society [Externally Assessed]

3

4

New

91599

3.4

Examine personal involvement in a social action(s) that aims to influence policy change(s)

3

6

New

 

Appendix

 

Development of Level 3 Social Studies Standards

 

Process of aligning the standards with the curriculum

All achievement standards align with The New Zealand Curriculum (2007) social studies achievement objectives.  The social inquiry achievement standards (1.2, 2.2, and 3.2) allow for a choice of achievement objective.

 

An understanding of viewpoints, values, and perspectives is central to social studies learning and is integral to unpacking the achievement objectives.  Students are expected to describe points of view, values, and perspectives at all levels, but with increasing degrees of sophistication (see, for example, explanatory notes 4 of achievement standards 1.1 and 3.1).  Further guidance about the distinctions between these terms can be found in the Teaching and Learning Guide for Senior Social Studies - http://seniorsecondary.tki.org.nz/Social-sciences/Senior-social-studies.

 

The achievement standards have been aligned at all levels to signify the importance of concept-led learning.  All achievement standards require students to use social studies concepts.  Social studies concepts describe the fundamental and enduring relationships between people in a society.  The social inquiry achievement standards at all levels are concept-led.  This is because the conceptual nature of the NZC achievement objectives frames the focus for inquiry and research questions.

 

The alignment process has also considered how progression is achieved across the levels.  There are four ways that progression has been shown:

1        Each level involves increasingly complex concepts and contexts, as indicated by the level 6-8 achievement objectives.  For example, at Level 2 students examine the concept of cultural conflict while at Level 3 they examine the more demanding concept of ideologies.

2        The standards demonstrate increasing complexity through the use of high order thinking skills.  For example, 2.5 requires students to 'describe' a social action whereas 3.5 requires students to 'examine' a campaign which involves describing and explaining.

3        The social action strand requires a higher level of consideration and personal involvement.  For example, achievement standard 1.4 requires students to work within an existing social action whereas 2.4 requires students to plan their own action.  At Level 3 students are required to plan, consider the ethical implications, justify, and carry out a social action(s) with an aim of influencing policy change.  The grade allocation is stepped through the levels to reflect the increased demands of personal involvement.

4        Students are expected to engage in greater depth with the social inquiry process across the three levels.  For example, at Level 1 students are expected to provide information from their social inquiry.  At Level 2 they are required to evaluate their understandings, and at Level 3 they must also critically evaluate the process.  The grade allocation is stepped through the levels to reflect the increased engagement with the social inquiry process.

 

Duplication of standards and how this was addressed

No duplicated standards have been identified.

 

Credit parity and how this was addressed

The guide of 10 hours teaching and learning per credit was followed.

 

Reasons standards were designated external or internal

At Level 3 the two standards (3.1 and 3.3) that have been designated as external assess the demonstration of cumulative knowledge and understanding.  The remaining three standards are better assessed internally.

 

Summary of the changes to the standards

The achievement standards explicitly align to the conceptual focus of the achievement objectives.  Examples of social studies concepts are provided in the explanatory notes.  The important concepts for each standard will be drawn from the achievement objectives and the context for study.

 

The inquiry part of the social inquiry is assessed as one standard, reflecting the holistic nature of this process as outlined in The New Zealand Curriculum.

 

The progression in difficulty between levels has been constructed through a combination of the four strategies outlined in the alignment process described on the page 2 of this Appendix.  Progression within each standard assumes that for achievement with a higher grade, the student has demonstrated greater depth of understanding in relation to the requirements for the previous grade(s).

 

What Has Changed?

Externally Assessed Standards

AS 3.1 Demonstrate understanding of ideological responses to an issue(s) (4 credits)

This is a new standard.  The content of the standard draws from the second half of the level 8 achievement objective "understand how ideologies shape society and that individuals and groups respond differently to these beliefs".

 

AS 3.3 Demonstrate understanding of how ideologies shape society (4 credits)

This is a new standard.  The content of the standard draws from the first half of the level 8 achievement objective "understand how ideologies shape society and that individuals and groups respond differently to these beliefs".

 

The concepts of social change and social processes are central to understanding how ideologies shape society.

 

Internally Assessed Standards

 

AS 3.2 Conduct a critical social inquiry (6 credits)

This standard replaces AS90691, AS90692 and aspects of AS90693.  The change of title reflects the holistic nature of social inquiry as outlined in The New Zealand Curriculum and clarifies the progression from Level 2.

 

AS 3.4 Examine personal involvement in a social action(s) that aims to influence policy change(s) (6 credits)

This is a new standard.  The phrase 'aims to influence' in the title of this standard reflects the fact that students may not be able to directly influence policy change.  The concepts of rights, roles, and responsibilities are central to the achievement objective that relates to this standard.

 

AS 3.5 Examine a campaign of social action(s) to influence policy change(s) (4 credits)

This standard replaces AS90693.  The change has the same intent of the former AS but reflects the new achievement objective.  The concepts of rights, roles, and responsibilities are central to the achievement objective that relates to this standard.