Clarification details
Updated December 2023. This document has been updated to address issues that arose from moderation.
The purpose of clarifications
We create clarification documents to help people understand the current requirements of achievement standards. Clarifications do not introduce new criteria, change the intent of the standard, or change what we expect from assessment.
These documents unpack and explain the language and intent of the standard so people interpret and apply the standard consistently. We provide examples or guidance as illustrations only. They are not prescriptions or requirements.
For official requirements, always refer to the current version of the achievement standard as published by NZQA.
Purpose, audience and sustained development of ideas
The selected text type must give students the opportunity to demonstrate an increasingly sophisticated understanding of purpose and audience. This includes the communication of sustained sophisticated ideas, information and understandings. If the purpose of the oral presentation is to communicate ideas, feelings, opinions and information that do not go beyond personal experience, it is unlikely to sustain ideas at level 8 of the curriculum.
An understanding of the conventions of the selected oral text type should be evident at all levels of achievement. This could include selecting and using a range of structures and oral language features appropriate to the selected text type to create consistency in meaning and effect, and to sustain interest.
Presenting the evidence
Video recordings of live performances (i.e. speech, seminar, debate) are done in a single take.
Oral texts that are recorded for delivery to an audience at a later time must be appropriate to that audience and purpose. Presentations such as vlogs must include structures and oral language features appropriate to that purpose and audience (e.g. YouTube audience). Reliance on a script or reading from a computer screen is unlikely to meet the standard.
If students are constructing oral texts for a YouTube or podcast audience, the recording may include editing to incorporate presentation features such as demonstration or display materials. The recorded oral text must be primarily spoken, and should reflect the oral language features appropriate to the text’s audience and purpose.
A low-quality recording may limit a student’s ability to provide evidence of the appropriate use of oral language features. On the other hand, students cannot be rewarded for their editing skills. Editing, if used, must be appropriate to the listening audience. The ability to edit video footage is assessed by another standard.