Review of Media Studies Level 3 achievement and unit standards

Field Social Sciences

Review of Media Studies Level 3 achievement and unit standards

Unit standards

Subfield	Domain	ID
Social Science Studies	Media Studies	7466, 7473-7478

Achievement standards

Domain	ID	Subject reference
Media Studies	90599	Media Studies 3.1
	90600	Media Studies 3.2
	90602	Media Studies 3.4
	90604	Media Studies 3.6
	90606	Media Studies 3.8
	90779	Media Studies 3.3

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

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 2011, with the results analysed by Research New Zealand. The responses were generally positive.

The review of these Level 3 unit and achievement standards was completed in time for implementation in schools in 2013.

Main changes resulting from the review

· All NZC Level 8 (NZQF Level 3) 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 detailed description of the review of, and the changes to, the Media Studies standards see the appendix at the end of this report.

Impact on existing organisations with consent to assess

Current consent for			Consent extended to
Nature of consent	Classification or ID	Level	Nature of consent	Classification or ID	Level
Standard	7478	3	Standard	91495	3

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
91490	90599
91491	90600
91492	90779, 7473
91493	90602
91494	90604
91495	90606, 7478

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 expire at the end of

December 2012

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

December 2013

Social Sciences > Social Science Studies > Media Studies

ID	Ref	Title	Level	Credit	Review Category
7466		Investigate how media audiences are identified and targeted	3	4	D
7473		Investigate the promotion of New Zealand identity in the media	3	4	C
90779	3.3	Investigate an aspect of media and explain its significance for New Zealand	3	4	C
91492	3.3	Demonstrate understanding of the media representation of an aspect of New Zealand culture or society	3	3
7474		Investigate how news stories in the media are selected and packaged	3	4	D
7475		Analyse media and media texts as commercial products	3	4	D
7476		Analyse a period of the history of one of the media in New Zealand	3	4	D
7477		Investigate the creative process by which media texts are produced	3	4	D
90599	3.1	Demonstrate understanding of a specific media industry	3	4	C
91490	3.1	Demonstrate understanding of an aspect of a media industry [Externally Assessed]	3	4
7478		Investigate multi-media conventions by producing a multi-media programme	3	4	C
90606	3.8	Create a media product using appropriate media technology	3	6	C
91495	3.6	Produce a media product to meet the requirements of a brief	3	6
90600	3.2	Explain how meaning is created in media texts	3	4	C
91491	3.2	Demonstrate understanding of the meaning of a media text through different readings	3	3
90602	3.4	Explain the relationship between a media genre and society	3	4	C
91493	3.4	Demonstrate understanding of a relationship between a media genre and society [Externally Assessed]	3	4
90604	3.6	Complete and justify a concept and treatment for a media product	3	2	C
91494	3.5	Produce a design for a media product that meets the requirements of a brief	3	4
91496	3.7	Demonstrate understanding of a significant development in the media	3	3	New
91497	3.8	Write a media text to meet the requirements of a brief	3	3	New

Appendix

Development of Level 3 Media Studies Standards

Process of Aligning Standards with the New Zealand Curriculum

The Level 3 achievement standards have been developed to align with the Learning Objectives in the Teaching and Learning Guide for Media Studies (TLG), which in turn align with curriculum Level 8 Achievement Objectives for Social Sciences.

Supporting documents have been developed to assist in the interpretation of achievement standards and to assist in the development of teaching and learning programmes.

· Conditions of Assessment provide guidelines on the assessment of the internal standards.

· Assessment Specifications provide guidelines on the assessment of external standards (accessible via relevant subject on NZQA website).

Addressing Duplication

The achievement standards and unit standards were compared in detail to identify duplication issues. All the unit standards have been designated expiring, either because the outcomes they recognise duplicate outcomes in the achievement standards, or because the outcomes do not align with the NZC.

Addressing Credit Parity

The credits allocated to each of the draft standards reflect the time required for the teaching and learning involved.

External and Internal Assessment

The method of assessment for each standard best reflects the teaching and learning involved in the content of the standard.

What Has Changed?

A new standard, 'Write media text' (3 credits), has been added to the matrix at each level (1.8, 2.8 and 3.8). These standards align with the NZC because they connect with the key competency 'Using language, symbols, and text'. They allow for connections with the practical standards at all levels, so students will be able to get credit for the writing component of their production.

The replacement relationships set out below relate only to achievement standards. For details of replacement relationships involving unit standards, see Review Categories and changes to classification, title, level, and credits

Changes and comments

3.1 Demonstrate understanding of an aspect of a media industry (4 credits, external)

· Replaced AS90599.

· New title reflects language used in other levels.

· Standard remains similar to AS90599 as it only required minor modifications in the explanatory notes for the achievement criteria, across A, M and E. These changes made the level of achievement for each level of attainment clearer.

· Focus has become more general rather than specifically requiring discussion of organisation and controls, as there has always been confusion and overlapping of these two terms. New criteria allow for consideration of a range of aspects appropriate to the specific media industry studied.

3.2 Demonstrate understanding of the meaning of a media text through different readings (3 credits, internal)

· Replaced AS90600.

· New title reflects an alteration to the scope of the standard.

· The standard has changed to a single achievement criterion (from two), dropping the requirement of close reading in the original first criterion. Feedback from the sector indicated that many felt this standard was too large in its scope and replicated what had been done at Level 2, whereas the second criterion (Readings) was appropriate at Level 3.

· Credit value dropped to 3 to reflect the slightly smaller scope of the standard.

· The language used in the achievement criteria has been changed to match similar wording of other standards at this level and fit in with the TLG.

· Changes in the EN are designed to make the level of achievement clearer for each grade.

3.3 Demonstrate understanding of the media representation of an aspect of New Zealand culture or society (3 credits, internal)

· Replaced AS90779.

· The new title of the standard reflects a broadening of the mode of assessment from just an investigation and changes the focus to representation of an aspect of New Zealand culture or society as a natural progression of representational studies at Levels 1 and 2.

· The language used in the achievement criteria has been changed to match similar wording of other standards at this level and fit in with the TLG.

· Changes in the EN are designed to make the level of achievement clearer for each level of attainment.

3.4 Demonstrate understanding of a relationship between a media genre and society (4 credits, external)

· Replaced AS90602.

· The language used in the achievement criteria has been changed to match similar wording of other standards at this level and fit in with the TLG.

· Changes in the EN are designed to make the level of achievement clearer for each grade.

3.5 Produce a design for a media product that meets the requirements of a brief (4 credits, internal)

· Replaced AS90604.

· The new title reflects the change to the scope of the standard.

· More emphasis was placed on considering the creative and design aspect of the product and the pre-production activities that arise from the design.

· Separating out the design (including pre-production activities) from the product means that the credits are more equitably distributed, allowing students to design a product, but also allowing students to gain a combined total of 10 credits for design and production - which more fairly represents the workload.

· The title and terminology accords with the changes in Level 1 and 2 standards and aligns with the production (3.6) and writing (3.8) standards.

· ENs were amended to clarify requirements and allow assessment in a range of different media.

3.6 Produce a media product to meet the requirements of a brief (6 credits, internal)

· Replaced AS90606.

· The new title reflects the need for the product to be linked to the requirements of a brief. The assessment process relates to the product not the planning. Creative design will be completed in 3.5 and practical planning, although not assessed, will be done as production occurs. However, in the explanatory notes one of the requirements of the brief is that legal and ethical requirements (such as copyright) be followed by the students.

· Removed the pre-production planning aspect - placed in AS90604, in line with Levels 1 and 2.

· ENs were amended to clarify requirements and allow assessment in a range of different media.

· Clearer guidelines have been given for the type of product that could be reasonably expected at this level.

New Standards

3.7 Demonstrate understanding of a significant development in the media

(3 credits, internal)

· This outcome is not covered by any pre-existing AS.

· It allows a progression from AS1.7 Demonstrate understanding of rules that govern the media in New Zealand and AS2.7 Demonstrate understanding of an ethical issue in the media. The ethical issues covered in these two standards may then be expanded to provide a context for significant developments in the media.

· It also connects to the principles of the New Zealand Curriculum, ie that students should be forward looking, taking a future focus on significant developments in the media. This allows a discussion of important changes in the media landscape that effect students such as globalisation and advancements in digital media.

3.8 Write a media text to meet the requirements of a brief (3 credits, internal)

The outcome in this standard is not covered by any pre-existing AS. It allows a progression from AS1.8 Write media texts for a specific target audience and AS2.8 Write developed media text for a specific target audience.