AS 91188 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.

TKI Earth and Space Science assessment resources (external link)

Download all these exemplars and commentary [PDF, 270 KB]

For Excellence, the student needs to examine comprehensively an Earth and Space Science (ESS) issue and the validity of the information communicated to the public.

This involves:

• selecting, processing and reporting on relevant ESS information that provides a comprehensive coverage of the issue
• evaluating the validity of the information from different key sources communicated to the public, giving ESS reasons
• justifying a position on the issue related to the processed ESS information, the conclusion drawn and the validity of the ESS information collected.

This student has reported on the key theories for the P-Tr (Permian Triassic) boundary extinctions (1).

The student has evaluated the validity and bias of the resources presented to the public (2), and given some justification for their final stand on the issue (3).

For a more secure Excellence, the student could further justify the stand taken on the issue by stating the preferred theory and the reasons why. For example, the student could examine the cause of the Permian extinction event, and whether it was due to a series of events all happening at the same time: an asteroid collision, a volcanic trap eruption and oxygen depletion of the oceans.

For Merit the student needs to examine in depth an Earth and Space Science (ESS) issue and the validity of the information communicated to the public.

This involves:

• selecting, processing and reporting on relevant ESS information that provides a wide coverage of the issue
• comparing the validity of the information from different key sources communicated to the public, giving ESS reasons
• stating a position on the issue related to the processed ESS information and the conclusion drawn.

This student has reported on the key theories for the P-Tr (Permian Triassic) boundary extinctions (1).

The student has compared the validity of the resources presented to the public (2) and explained the final stand taken on the issue (3).

To reach Excellence, the student could expand on the validity of the information and explain the bias of the authors in the resources used. A more accurate identification of the geological age would make findings more valid and a justification of their position on the issue is expected.

For Merit the student needs to examine in depth an Earth and Space Science issue and the validity of the information communicated to the public.

This involves:

• selecting, processing and reporting on relevant ESS information that provides a wide coverage of the issue
• comparing the validity of the information from different key sources communicated to the public, giving ESS reasons
• stating a position on the issue related to the processed ESS information and the conclusion drawn.

This student has reported on some key theories for the P-Tr (Permian Triassic) boundary extinctions (1). The student has compared the validity of some resources presented to the public (2) and given a final stand on the issue (3).

For a more secure Merit, the student could look at additional theories about the P-Tr extinction event. Providing an accurate age of the event would increase the validity of the stated theory. Bias needs to be commented on. An explanation of a final position on the issue is expected.

For Achieved the student needs to examine an Earth and Space Science (ESS) issue and the validity of the information communicated to the public.

This involves:

• selecting, processing and reporting on relevant ESS information on the issue
• commenting on the validity of the information from key sources communicated to the public
• drawing a conclusion on the issue.

This student has described key events that may have caused the P-Tr (Permian Triassic) boundary extinctions (1) The validity of resources has been commented on (2) and a stand on the issue has been given, with a reason for the stand (3).

To reach Merit, the student could explain other explanations for the extinctions, expand on discussion of the validly of the resources used and on the bias of the authors and provide more reasons for the conclusion drawn.

For Achieved the student needs to examine an Earth and Space Science (ESS) issue and the validity of the information communicated to the public.

This involves:

• selecting, processing and reporting on relevant ESS information on the issue
• commenting on the validity of the information from key sources communicated to the public
• drawing a conclusion on the issue.

This student has described two events that may have caused the P-Tr (Permian Triassic) boundary extinctions (1). The validity of resources has been commented on (2) and a stand on the issue has been given (3).

For a more secure Achieved, the student could have commented more on the causes given for the extinction event, the validity of the resources used and more fully linked the conclusion to the resources used.

For Achieved the student needs to examine an Earth and Space Science (ESS) issue and the validity of the information communicated to the public.

This involves:

• selecting, processing and reporting on relevant Earth and Space Science information on the issue
• commenting on the validity of the information from key sources communicated to the public
• drawing a conclusion on the issue.

This student has described a single event that may have caused the P-Tr (Permian Triassic) boundary extinctions (1). Resources have been commented on (2) and a stand on the issue has been stated (3).

To reach Achieved the student could have looked at other causal events as well as volcanism. The student also needs to comment on why research sources selected were valid.