AS 92051 Annotated exemplars

An annotated exemplar is a sample of student evidence, with a commentary, to explain key aspects of the standard. It assists teachers to make assessment judgements at the
grade.

Download all exemplars and commentary [PDF, 273 KB]

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

For Achieved, the student needs to describe a social action undertaken to support or challenge a system. 

This includes describing the action, its aim in relation to a selected social issue, and how it supported or challenged a system. Relevant evidence must be included.

In this exemplar, the student has identified a social issue (people’s ability to afford essential necessities such as food, housing, transport, and healthcare), considered a connected system (the humanitarian system), and selected an appropriate social action that supports the system in responding to the issue (volunteering and donating goods to the Salvation Army).

The student provides evidence to describe their social action by outlining both the work of the Salvation Army and the specific steps they took. These included researching donation needs, signing up as a volunteer, and completing volunteer work for the organisation. Photographic evidence was also supplied to show that they carried out the action themselves.

The student goes on to connect their actions to supporting the humanitarian system. Their description shows an understanding of the role charities play in offering timely and targeted support at a local level. They explain how their actions helped the Salvation Army continue providing humanitarian assistance, and they recognise the importance of volunteers and donations in enabling charities to operate effectively. They also identify that donating high quality goods allows charities to sell items at low prices, making them more accessible to people affected by high living costs.

For Merit, the student needed to develop their description into an explanation that made clear how and why their actions affected the humanitarian system. This could have included explaining wider consequences of increased staff capacity, such as improved support during high demand, or how tasks like cleaning and pricing improve the organisation’s efficiency. They could also have explained how encouraging community giving contributes to longer term system sustainability through ongoing donations and volunteer involvement. More specific evidence would also be required to support a stronger explanation.

For Merit, the student needs to explain a social action undertaken to support or challenge a system.

In addition to the Achieved requirements to describe the social action and its aim in relation to the social action, Merit involves explaining the impacts of the social action in supporting or challenging the system. Evidence must be used to support the explanation.

The student selected food insecurity as the social issue and used evidence from the New Zealand Health Survey to show its scale. They described how poverty, high living costs, and food waste contribute to the issue, explaining that gaps in the food security system, rather than a lack of food, create hardship. They outlined the roles of Everybody Eats and Kaibosh, noting their reliance on rescued food, volunteers, and donations. The student also described their social action, including attending a dinner, making a financial contribution, and emailing MPs to raise awareness. They provided suitable evidence, such as photographs and email screenshots.

The student explained the impacts of their social action on the food security system by showing how their group’s contributions supported both the immediate work of Everybody Eats and the wider functioning of the system. They explained how paying above the suggested koha directly increased the organisation’s capacity to feed more people and calculated the impact of their combined donations, showing an understanding of how increased financial resources strengthen the system’s ability to provide meals and reduce waste. They also explained how attending the dinner and learning about food rescue processes influenced their future behaviour.

Beyond the community level, the student explained how emailing MPs aimed to support and influence the system at a policy level by raising awareness of food insecurity and the lack of government funding for food rescue groups. They discussed how gaining a response from an MP’s office showed an early impact and how increased political attention could strengthen the food security system through possible policy changes.

To reach Excellence, the student needed to evaluate the suitability of their social action by considering how effective and long-lasting its impacts were. They could have further developed why emailing MPs is an appropriate strategy within a democratic system, explaining how constituents raising concerns can influence policy and create more durable change. They could also have evaluated the limits of attending a single dinner and discussed how ongoing actions, such as encouraging repeated community support, might create stronger long-term impacts on the food security system. 

For Excellence, the student needs to evaluate a social action undertaken to support or challenge a system.

In addition to the Merit criteria, this involves evaluating the suitability of the social action in supporting or challenging the system. Evidence must be used to develop the explanation.

The student selected the cost of living crisis as their social issue and used evidence from Stats NZ to show its scale. They explained how increasing housing costs and financial hardship reflect gaps in support systems. The student identified the humanitarian system as a key part of the response, outlining how charities rely on volunteers to provide food for those affected, and described their social action of volunteering at Fair Food. They detailed tasks such as preparing vegetables, washing dishes, and supporting the kitchen team, and included evidence from Fair Food and Instagram posts aimed at raising awareness. These actions were clearly connected to their aim of supporting the charity to provide assistance to those most in need.

The student explained the impacts of their social action by showing how their contribution supported Fair Food’s immediate operations and the wider humanitarian system. They described how assisting with food preparation helped the organisation meet daily demand, noting its reliance on volunteers to process rescued food. They linked this to strengthening food security and highlighted how social media promotion encouraged public awareness and community participation. By quantifying engagement, they showed how raising awareness can increase volunteer numbers and improve the charity’s capacity to support those experiencing hardship. This consistent use of evidence to develop their explanation aligns with the requirements for Excellence.

The student has evaluated the suitability of the social action in relation to the system by explaining how their volunteering aligned with the humanitarian system’s needs and the cost of living crisis. They justified the action as suitable because Fair Food depends on volunteers, and their contribution directly supported the organisation’s ability to work effectively within the system. They also evaluated the effectiveness of social media, arguing that sharing their experience was a quick way to spread awareness and demonstrate how volunteering addresses the issue. The student reflected on limitations, acknowledging that committing more hours would have enhanced suitability, given Fair Food’s reliance on regular volunteers such as ‘Super Sorters.’ They further identified that increasing the reach and frequency of promotion would strengthen suitability by amplifying awareness and potentially boosting community participation.