Clarification details
Updated December 2019. This clarification has been updated to address issues that have arisen from moderation.
The results that students present must be based on evidence that they have generated themselves about the specific algorithms that they are using, rather than being copied from an external source. Students are only required to work at the appropriate curriculum level.
For Achieved, students should describe how the cost for one algorithm changes as the size of the problem increases. If a student presents a graph, they should describe what the graph shows. The description should be given at the appropriate curriculum level. For example, logarithms are not usually encountered until NCEA Level 2 Mathematics.
Students are not expected to program a searching and a sorting algorithm.
For Merit, students are required to determine the best, average and worst-case costs of two searching or sorting algorithms. Best, average and worst-case mean best possible, typical and worst possible cases. Students will need to discuss the behaviour of the algorithms to determine the best, average and worst-case costs. Students are only required to work at the appropriate curriculum level.
For Excellence, students are required to investigate the cost of searching or sorting algorithms with different data sets. Students should do their own investigation, rather than relying on material copied from external sources.