AS 91425 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, 367 KB]

TKI Music assessment resources (external link)

For Excellence, the student needs to research a music topic with insight.

This involves the student processing evidence from a range of sources with discernment to construct, critically refine, and deliver a detailed presentation with valid and perceptive conclusions.

This student has delivered a detailed written presentation on ‘Community Music in New Zealand’. The two sections included from the research cover how community music evolved in New Zealand and the student’s conclusion as to whether we have ‘lost’ community music. The student discerns that technological advances drew people away from making their own music (1) (2) (3).

Valid and perceptive conclusions are demonstrated (4) (5), and personal perspectives are given (6), to complete a generally insightful piece of research.

For a more secure Excellence, the student could consider interviewing members from a local community music group and summarise their findings to make the range of sources fully robust.

For Merit, the student needs to research a music topic in depth.

This involves the student effectively processing evidence from a range of sources to construct, refine, and deliver a detailed presentation with valid conclusions.

This student has completed a detailed written presentation on Indie music. The two sections included from the research are on how Indie music began to be popularised as a genre and the student’s conclusion as to what Indie\ music is.

The research demonstrates in depth descriptions and explanations of sub-genres (1) and how the rise of Indie popularity has been an aspect of its demise, particularly during the early 2000s (2). The conclusion summarises the main findings of the research. It is valid and shows some degree of perception (3), particularly in regard to the effect of technology on the genre (4) (5).

To reach Excellence, the student could analyse an Indie song to allow further insight to be reached and demonstrate that a range of sources has been more fully explored.

For Merit, the student needs to research a music topic in depth.

This involves the student effectively processing evidence from a range of sources to construct, refine, and deliver a detailed presentation with valid conclusions.

This student has delivered a generally detailed written presentation on The Beatles. Sections from the research include influences on The Beatles in their era, and the student’s conclusion on the significance of the band.

The research shows some degree of depth and effective processing of evidence including musical examples from Beatles’ songs which link back to their musical and philosophical influences (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6).

The conclusion is valid, particularly the effect The Beatles had on their generation (7) and their introduction of concept albums to the world (8).

For a more secure Merit, more details are required, such as further musical examples from the band’s extensive repertoire.

For Achieved, the student needs to research a music topic.

This involves the student processing evidence from a range of sources to construct and deliver a presentation with valid conclusions.

This student has delivered a written presentation on the research topic: ‘What is progressive music?’. The two sections included from the assignment cover the elements of Prog. Rock and the student’s conclusion as to why the genre has survived over four decades.

Although the overall research question would benefit from further refinement, the student has nevertheless begun to demonstrate some in depth processing. For example, the analysis of the elements of Prog. Rock provides musical details about time signatures, thematic subject matter and the relationship between songs on an album (1).

Valid conclusions are drawn (2) (3).

To reach Merit, the student could utilise more sources, as they are all currently web-based. Using primary sources such as surveys and interviews would allow the student to more securely provide effective processing of evidence.

For Achieved, the student needs to research a music topic.

This involves the student processing evidence from a range of sources to construct and deliver a presentation with valid conclusions.

This student has delivered a written research presentation based on an extensive interview with the CEO of New Zealand secondary school’s song-writing competition Play It Strange. The presentation has been well constructed with a clear introduction, main body with headings and a concluding section which includes the student’s personal observations (3).

There is demonstration of processing evidence gathered from the interview with CEO, Mike Chunn. Chunn’s 'voice' has been well captured by the student with many well placed quotes (1) and opinions (2) from Chunn throughout the presentation.

Conclusions are generally valid and include the student’s personal perspective (3).

For a more secure Achieved, a wider range of sources would benefit the research process, including a survey of students who have been involved in Play it Strange, and fuller analysis of past winners including how the competition has aided them in the music industry.

The student has answered their original research question but needs to fully draw out valid conclusions by providing more evidence of processing a range of sources.

For Achieved, the student needs to research a music topic.

This involves the student processing evidence from a range of sources to construct and deliver a presentation with valid conclusions.

This student has delivered a written presentation on a research topic that has potential for scope and depth: ‘Women in the music industry – Is it harder than it is for men?’.

The student has included a range of research tools including website data (1), surveys (2) and one-on-one interviews (3). They have also included personal perspectives and some relevant conclusions (4).

To reach Achieved, the student needs to analyse their findings in more detail to allow valid conclusions to be drawn. For example, there are survey results which show people prefer males to sing Blues and females to sing Country. These are interesting findings but require deeper investigation. A wider demographic survey source would further enable the student to deliver fully valid conclusions.