Review of Drama Level 3 achievement and Level 3 and 4 unit standards

Field Arts and Crafts

Review of Drama Level 3 achievement and Level 3 and 4 unit standards

Unit standards

Subfield	Domain	ID
Drama	Drama Creation	14181, 14186, 14187, 16433-16436
	Drama Performance	14182, 14185, 16430
	Drama Studies	14183, 14184

Achievement standards

Domain	ID	Subject reference
Drama Creation	90609	Drama 3.3
Drama Performance	90608	Drama 3.2
Drama Performance	90611	Drama 3.5
Drama Studies	90610	Drama 3.4
Drama Studies	90612	Drama 3.6

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. An expiry date of December 2014 has been set for these standards to provide time for tertiary providers to transition to new standards and/or courses. See table below.

· The unit standards with outcomes that encompass performance technology, 16431 & 16432 are not included in this review. They will be reviewed as part of the development of Performing Arts Technology unit standards.

For a detailed description of the review of, and the changes to, the Drama 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
Domain	Drama Creation	3	Standard	91515	3
Domain	Drama Studies	3	Standard	91515	3
Domain	Drama Studies	3	Standard	91517	3
Standard	14181	3	Standard	91513	3
Standard	14182	3	Standard	91512	3
Standard	14185	3	Standard	91517	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
91512	14182, 16430, 90608
91513	14181, 90609
91514	90610
91515	16433, 90610
91516	14183, 14184
91517	14183, 14184, 14185, 90611
91518	90612
91520	16435

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]. Standards with an asterisk (*) appear in the tables more than once.

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 categorised as category C expire at the end of

December 2013

Unit standards categorised as category C or D expire at the end of

December 2014

Arts and Crafts > Drama

ID	Ref	Domain	Title	Level	Credit	Review Category
14181		Drama Creation	Develop skills in scriptwriting for live theatre	3	8	C
90609	3.3	Drama Creation	Devise, script and perform drama for solo, duo or trio performance	3	5	C
91513	3.2	Drama Creation	Devise and perform a drama to realise a concept	3	5
14182		Drama Performance	Demonstrate skills of mime in performance	3	6	C
16430		Drama Performance	Explain and apply vocal techniques in text interpretation	3	4	C
90608	3.2	Drama Performance	Interpret scripted text and integrate drama techniques in solo or paired performance	3	5	C
91512	3.1	Drama Performance	Interpret scripted text to integrate drama techniques in performance	3	4
14183		Drama Studies	Compare the works of two Aotearoa New Zealand playwrights through performance	3	8	C
14184		Drama Studies	Compare the works of two significant playwrights through performance	3	8	C
91516	3.5	Drama Studies	Demonstrate understanding of the work of a drama or theatre theorist or practitioner	3	4
91517*	3.6	Drama Performance	Perform a substantial acting role in a significant production	3	5
14185		Drama Performance	Apply knowledge, skills and attitude to the performance of a role in a major production	3	8	C
90611	3.5	Drama Performance	Research and carry out a performance or technical/production role in a significant production	3	6	C
91517*	3.6	Drama Performance	Perform a substantial acting role in a significant production	3	5
14186		Drama Creation	Contribute to a mask performance concept or idea	4	2	D
14187		Drama Creation	Direct a play for performance, with guidance	4	8	D
16433		Drama Creation	Create and present a performance piece for a specific audience, with guidance	3	6	C
91515*	3.4	Drama Performance	Select and use complex performance skills associated with a drama form or period	3	4
16434		Drama Creation	Create and present a group performance piece for a specific audience	4	8	D
16435		Drama Creation	Direct a drama performance, with guidance	3	6	C
91520	3.9	Drama Studies	Direct a drama performance	3	5
16436		Drama Creation	Explore and direct a theatre movement and/or style	4	8	D
90610	3.4	Drama Studies	Demonstrate knowledge of theatre form or period by analysing and interpreting two scripted texts	3	4	C
91514	3.3	Drama Studies	Interpret a prescribed text to demonstrate knowledge of a theatre form or period [Externally Assessed]	3	4
91515*	3.4	Drama Performance	Select and use complex performance skills associated with a drama form or period	3	4
90612	3.6	Drama Studies	Analyse drama processes in a new context and reflect critically on drama performance	3	4	C
91518	3.7	Drama Studies	Demonstrate understanding of live drama performance [Externally Assessed]	3	4
91519	3.8	Drama Creation	Script a drama suitable for live performance	3	5	New

* This standard appears in the tables more than once.

Appendix

Development of the Level 3 Drama Standards

All standards

There was no significant change between the previous curriculum and the new curriculum; thus most of the new standards are similar to those that they replace.

Any duplicated standards were designated expiring. The two unit standards with outcomes that encompass performance technology, 16431 & 16432, are not included in this review. They will be reviewed as part of the development of Performing Arts Technology unit standards.

In order to meet all the learning objectives of the NZC, some unit standards were reconfigured into achievement standards (AS).

Standards were selected and/or developed to provide a balance across the four curriculum strands and the three domains of Drama: creation, performance and studies. This provided ample opportunity to address the curriculum requirements and in particular the focus on New Zealand drama.

Consistency of wording was established at Level 1 and continued into Levels 2 and 3. This is reflected in the standard titles, the step-ups between criteria for A, M and E and the terminology and definitions in the Explanatory Notes.

Credit values were adjusted to align with the principle of the standards review document, which indicates that 'in general, one credit should reflect a notional 10 hours of learning, practice, and assessment for an average candidate'.

All Drama Creation and Drama Performance standards are internally assessed. Two of the three Drama Studies standards are externally assessed at each level because the context lends itself to external assessment.

Development of the L3 standards

The rationale for the Level 1 and Level 2 standards was applied to Level 3 and has resulted in the addition of three further standards - see below.

Alignment

The standards all align with the New Zealand Curriculum and reflect the main outcomes of Level 8 of the curriculum.

Duplication

Duplication has been addressed.

Credit values

Credit values have been adjusted to reflect the time and work requirements for learning and assessment.

What has changed?

The structure of the matrix and credit values of the standards of the Level 1 and Level 2 have

· been carried through to Level 3 with the exception of scripting which moves from 4 credits to 5 credits to recognise the time required

· resulted in the creation of three additional standards - standards for Directing, Scripting, and for Research of a drama or theatre theorist or practitioner. The first two fall under the domain of Drama Creation and the third one under Drama Studies.

The addition of the three new standards aligns with the NZC and supports the development of balanced drama programmes in schools. The changes in the individual standards that are derived from existing standards are minor and are briefly described below.

NB The replacement relationships below relate only to achievement standards - for a full outline of the replacement relationships, see the table above.

3.1

This standard has replaced AS90608.

The notion of interpretation now refers to the performance choices demonstrated, as a result of the student's prior consideration of the text.

3.2

This standard has replaced AS90609.

The requirement for 'scripting' was removed in recognition of the distinct nature of devising. Devising and performing are part of the holistic process and should not be separated for assessment.

3.3

This standard and 3.4 have been developed from AS90610.

The outcome assessed in AS90610 is now assessed through the outcome in this standard (theory based external) and that in standard 3.4 (a performance based internal standard). This will ensure fairer and valid assessment of single outcomes.

3.4

This standard and 3.3 have been developed from AS90610.

The standard is in the Drama Performance domain. Changes have been made across the strand to ensure clear and consistent progression.

'Complex' has been attached to the performance skill required, rather than the theatre form. This is in recognition of the performance level required at Level 3, and the notion that relative complexity of form is a subjective decision when assessing performance skills.

3.5

This is a new achievement standard that represents a clear progression from AS91000 and AS91217, at Levels 1 and 2 respectively.

This standard requires students to demonstrate understanding of philosophies of drama and theatre practice.

3.6

This standard has been developed from AS90611.

It has been modified to specify a substantial acting role and the focus is on the performance. The standard no longer requires evidence of the documentation of research and the development of the role.

3.7

This standard has been developed from AS90612.

It was reduced from two criteria to one criterion to ensure fair and valid assessment focused on a single outcome.

3.8

This is a new standard that represents a clear progression from AS91220 at Level 2.

This standard requires students to script a complete drama rather than a discrete scene (as in Level 2).

3.9

This is a new achievement standard that represents a clear progression from AS91221 at Level 2.

This standard requires students to direct one act play, a full script, or an extended extract of a compilation of scenes rather than a discrete scene.

The 5 credits allocated to this standard reflect the amount of work required.