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Quality Assured Assessment Materials and NZQA Approved quality assurance trademarks
NZQA has established trademarks to assure assessors of the quality of assessment materials used when assessing learners for qualifications. Only those materials certified by NZQA as suitable may carry these trademarks.
The Marks
QAAM Trademark
NZQA has established a 'Quality Assured Assessment Materials' (QAAM) trademark. The QAAM trademark is designed to identify assessment materials (for secondary school subjects only) that have been certified by NZQA as meeting the requirements of the national standard.
NZQA Approved
NZQA has also established an ‘NZQA Approved’ trademark to specifically apply to assessment resources owned and published by the Ministry of Education on the NCEA on TKI. The ‘NZQA Approved’ trademark is designed to identify assessment materials that have been certified by NZQA as being 'fit for purpose' when used for assessing internally assessed standards.
What are they applied to?
Assessment materials include:
- an assessment activity (instructions and tasks)
- an assessment schedule (including evidence judgements and a sufficiency statement)
- other assessment materials that are used by schools and tertiary education organisations to assess learners against a registered standard.
What do they tell assessors?
The key advantage of using assessment materials that have a QAAM or NZQA Approved mark is that assessors will know that the assessment resource they are using to make judgements is at the national standard, and learners will be completing assessment tasks that are fit for the purpose and give them the best opportunity to achieve at each level.
It is important to remember that QAAM and NZQA Approved is a quality assurance process of assessment materials; it is NOT moderation of assessed work.
Assessment materials are quality assured to the same standard as an external examination paper. Post-assessment moderation still needs to take place to ensure that assessment judgements are at the national standard.
How to apply for a QAAM
The procedures set out the requirements for applying and using the QAAM trademark. See QAAM procedures
To apply:
read the QAAM procedures.
complete an Application for Issue of a Quality Assured Assessment Materials Trademark (DOC, 484KB) form.
include all the required assessment materials, the application form and payment of $960 plus GST per assessment activity.
The application and assessment materials can be sent electronically to accountsreceivable@nzqa.govt.nz. To make payment electronically, please contact our Finance team at accountsreceivable@nzqa.govt.nz for more details.
Alternatively, please send the application, payment and assessment materials to:
Finance,
New Zealand Qualifications Authority,
PO Box 160,
Wellington 6140.
What happens next?
Once the full fee is received, NZQA moderators will begin work on the application.
An application will be rejected if the moderator determines that the assessment materials do not meet the national standard. The moderator will give guidance about what is required to resubmit the material. You will not be charged for the first resubmission.
Searchable Databases
NZQA holds searchable databases of resources holding either the QAAM or NZQA Approved quality assurance marks.
Those resources holding the QAAM quality assurance mark can be obtained from the named commercial provider; those resources holding the NZQA Approved assurance mark can be downloaded from the Ministry of Education's NCEA on TKI website.
Further information
For further information on the QAAM Quality assurance mark you can contact us during working hours (+64 (04) 463 3000), or email us at: qaam@nzqa.govt.nz or write to:
QAAM Enquiry,
Assessment & Moderation Services,
New Zealand Qualifications Authority,
PO Box 160,
Wellington 6140.
For further information on the NZQA Approved quality assurance mark, email us at approved@nzqa.govt.nz. Please note that if your query is about an assessment resource, you need to contact the Ministry of Education.