AS 92048 Annotated exemplars

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

Download all exemplars and commentary [PDF, 588 KB]

Level 1 Social Studies assessment resources (external link) - NCEA.education

For Achieved, the student needs to demonstrate understanding of findings of a social inquiry.

This involves describing findings that relate to the focus of inquiry and including relevant evidence from primary and secondary sources in the description.

Gender inequality in sport has been selected as the focus of the inquiry, and the single inquiry question broadly relates to themes outlined in Explanatory Note 3.

Across the response, the student demonstrates an understanding of the inquiry focus through a description that has the depth expected at curriculum level 6. Several key findings that relate to the inquiry question have been presented. These are typically presented at the start of each paragraph. For example, “the most talked about impact is the gender pay gap” and “gender inequality matters because it impacts female participation in sport”. These key ideas have then been expanded on by providing further detail and incorporating evidence and examples.

Relevant evidence from primary and secondary sources have been used across the report. The primary sources used by the student include the photographs and the Sports New Zealand report. Secondary sources, such as websites and articles, have provided some of the key statistics used throughout. A reference list that detailed the secondary sources used was also provided by the student.

For Merit, the findings would need to be consistently explained. This could include explaining the relevance of their selected primary and secondary source evidence by more thoroughly discussing how the evidence supported their findings.  For example, where the student discusses the treatment of female athletes in the media, they could have developed this into an explanation by discussing the consequences of this treatment or considered why it is likely that women are treated like this in sports media.

For Merit, the student needs to explain the findings of a social inquiry.

This involves explaining findings that address the focus of the inquiry and using evidence from primary and secondary sources to support the explanation.

This student has selected social media as the focus of their inquiry and has provided an inquiry question which relates to themes outlined in Explanatory Note 3.

Several different findings in relation to the inquiry focus have been identified. These are often used as topic sentences at the beginning of each paragraph. The student has moved beyond a description (as required for Achieved) to an explanation, by considering how social media creates the opportunity for inclusive communities and activism and then connecting this to the focus question.

Primary and secondary evidence has been used to support the findings. This includes referencing articles and research reports (secondary), as well as quotes from an interview with a climate justice activist (primary). These have usually been used to support the explanation of the findings. Often these explanations of evidence begin with statements such as “this shows us” or “this proves”.

To further secure Merit, more consistent use of both primary and secondary sources to support key ideas would have been beneficial. For example, the findings could have considered more than one example of an activist who has found support in online communities.

For Excellence, the student could demonstrate evaluation via making judgements and drawing conclusions. They have begun to connect some ideas through their considerations of how younger people’s familiarity with technology has made them more likely to be involved in online communities. However, this would need to be further developed to meet the requirements for Excellence.

Other examples of making a judgement in this context could be demonstrating an understanding of the possible downsides of social media on young people’s self-esteem and identity, and drawing a conclusion around how much the positives may or may not outweigh the negatives.

For Excellence, the student needs to evaluate the findings of a social inquiry.

This involves evaluating findings that examine the focus of the inquiry by drawing well-reasoned conclusions and making judgements that critically connect ideas. Primary and secondary source evidence should be used to develop the explanation.

The inquiry question has been well-crafted and naturally encourages the student to evaluate their findings at a level appropriate to the curriculum.

Evaluative judgements which connect ideas have been made throughout the report. For example, when considering the role and appeal of influencers and connecting these to commercial business goals. The Excellence judgement is most clearly secured in the conclusion where the student critically contrasts how social media both contributes to the problem, while also playing a role in the solution. Other factors in relation to fast fashion have also been weighed up, allowing the student to draw a well-reasoned judgement based on their findings that social media has been the main contributor to the growth of the industry.

Primary and secondary evidence has been extensively used throughout. The evidence has been carefully selected to support the key findings, and in many instances, multiple pieces of evidence have been combined to support the finding that is being examined. These are usually well explained in relation to the inquiry question. For example, using the secondary article “The Price of Fast Fashion” to outline the broader impact of influencers on consumerism, then supporting this with a specific primary source example from Tik Tok to further illustrate the key finding.