AS 91289 annotated exemplars

This annotated exemplar is intended for teacher use only. Annotated exemplars are extracts of student evidence, with commentary, that explain key parts of a standard. These help teachers make assessment judgements at the grade boundaries.

Download all exemplars and commentary [PDF, 305 KB]

TKI Agricultural and Horticultural Science assessment resources (external link)

For Excellence, the student needs to carry out a comprehensive extended practical agricultural or horticultural investigation.

This involves justification of the choices made during the sound investigation, i.e. evaluating the validity of the method or reliability of the data, and explaining the conclusion in terms of agricultural or horticultural ideas relevant to the investigation.

The student justifies how the method used produced valid and reliable data (1) to support a valid conclusion (2). The student explained the conclusion in terms of the agricultural or horticultural ideas relevant to the investigation (3).

For a more secure Excellence, the student could provide more extensive evaluation of how the method used supported a conclusion that was valid and reliable. Consideration could have been given to the variables that must be controlled and repeats or numbers of measurements made for each cutting.

For Merit, the student needs to carry out an in-depth extended practical agricultural or horticultural investigation.

This involves:

• a workable method that describes:
  • for a fair test: a valid range for the independent variable, the valid measurement of the dependent variable, and the control of other variables
  • for pattern seeking: collection of valid data with consideration of factors such as sampling, bias, and/or sources of error
• the recording and processing of data to enable a trend or pattern (or absence) to be determined
• a valid conclusion that links to the purpose of the investigation.
• a discussion of the biological ideas relating to the investigation that is based on the student’s findings and those from other source(s).

The student provides a valid range for the independent variable (1), provides a valid measurement of the dependent variable (2), describes the control of other variables (3), records and processes data to find a trend (4), provides a valid conclusion that links to the purpose of the investigation (5) and discusses the biological ideas relating to the investigation, based on their findings and those from other sources (6).

To reach Excellence, the student should provide an evaluation of how the method used supported a valid and reliable conclusion.

For Merit, the student needs to carry out an in-depth extended practical agricultural or horticultural investigation.

This involves:

• a workable method that describes:
  • for a fair test: a valid range for the independent variable, the valid measurement of the dependent variable, and the control of other variables
  • for pattern seeking: collection of valid data with consideration of factors such as sampling, bias, and/or sources of error
• the recording and processing of data to enable a trend or pattern (or absence) to be determined
• a valid conclusion that links to the purpose of the investigation.
• a discussion of the biological ideas relating to the investigation that is based on the student’s findings and those from other sources.

The student provides a valid range for the independent variable (1), provides a valid measurement of the dependent variable (2), describes the control of other variables (3), and records and processes data to find a trend (4). The student provides a brief but valid conclusion based on their interpretation of their processed data, links it to the purpose of the investigation (5) and briefly discusses the biological ideas relating to the investigation, based on their findings and those from other sources (6).  

For a more secure Merit, the student could provide a more in-depth conclusion that is based on their interpretation of the processed data, provide better linkage to the purpose of the investigation, and provide more discussion of the biological ideas based on their findings and those from other sources.

For Achieved, the student needs to carry out an extended practical agricultural or horticultural investigation.

This involves:

• a statement of the purpose – this may be an aim, testable question, prediction, or hypothesis based on a scientific idea
  • for a fair test: the independent variable and its range, the measurement of the dependent variable, and the control of some other variables
  • for pattern seeking: the data that will be collected, the range of data/samples, and consideration of other factors.
• a method that describes:
• the recording and processing of data
• a valid conclusion based on the processed data
• identifying and including relevant findings from another source.

The student provides a clear statement of purpose (1), a method that describes a fair test (2), provides the independent variable and its range (3), describes the measurement of the dependent variable (4), describes the control of some other variables (5), records and processes data (6), provides a valid conclusion based on their processed data (7), and identifies and includes relevant findings from another source (8).

To reach Merit, the student could discuss the biological ideas relating to the investigation, based on their findings and those from other sources.

For Achieved, the student needs to carry out an extended practical agricultural or horticultural investigation.

This involves:

• a statement of the purpose – this may be an aim, testable question, prediction, or hypothesis based on a scientific idea
• a method that describes:
  • for a fair test: the independent variable and its range, the measurement of the dependent variable, and the control of some other variable
  • for pattern seeking: the data that will be collected, the range of data/samples, and consideration of other factors.
• the recording and processing of data
• a valid conclusion based on the processed data
• identifying and including relevant findings from another source.

The student writes a statement of purpose (1), identifies a range for the independent variable (2), provides a measurement for the dependent variable (3), describes the control of some of the other variables (4), records and processes data (5), writes a valid conclusion based on the interpretation of the processed data (6), and identifies and includes relevant findings from another source (7).

For a more secure Achieved, the student could provide a more detailed connection between their findings and relevant findings from another source.

For Achieved, the student needs to carry out an extended practical agricultural or horticultural investigation.

This involves:

• a statement of the purpose – this may be an aim, testable question, prediction, or hypothesis based on a scientific idea
• a method that describes:
  • for a fair test: the independent variable and its range, the measurement of the dependent variable, and the control of some other variable
  • for pattern seeking: the data that will be collected, the range of data/samples, and consideration of other factors.
• the recording and processing of data
• a valid conclusion based on the processed data
• identifying and including relevant findings from another source.

The student provides a method that describes a fair test (1), provides a statement of purpose (2), provides the independent variable (3), describes the measurement of the dependent variable (4), describes the control of some variables (5), records and processes data (6), and writes a valid conclusion based on the interpretation of the processed data (7).

To reach Achieved, the student should identify and include relevant findings from another source.