About this report
The following report gives feedback to assist assessors with general issues and trends that have been identified during external moderation of the internally assessed standards in 2023. It also provides further insights from moderation material viewed throughout the year and outlines the Assessor Support available for Geography.
On this page
Insights
91431: Analyse aspects of a contemporary geographic issue
Performance overview:
Aspects required in the analysis include the nature of a contemporary geographic issue, people’s values and perception of this issue which have led to their response, and a justification for a proposed solution.
Evidence that met the requirements of the standard included the selection of a context where the issue is currently unresolved, and one which has a clear geographic focus with a defined spatial dimension. Moderation agreement rates were high when a New Zealand geographic issue was selected, such as a proposed highway, with local and regional issues demonstrating a greater depth of analysis and justification of viable solutions.
Practices that need strengthening:
This standard requires an explanation of how people’s values and perceptions of the issue have led to their responses. When the evidence focuses on people’s perspectives rather than how they perceive the issue or fail to link people’s values and perceptions to explain responses to the issue, the evidence for this aspect of the analysis is weakened. Contexts where people have had a more active response to the issue, for example protesting or attending council meetings, enabled more in-depth analysis of how their values/perceptions led to this response.
The proposal and subsequent analysis of a suitable course of action can be challenging if the topic is on a global scale. Where there is a clearly defined spatial dimension, such as a localised issue, learners are more likely to understand the causes of the issue and have a better opportunity to provide and justify viable solutions.
91432: Analyse aspects of a geographic topic at a global scale
Performance overview:
Aspects required in the analysis include a description of a spatial or temporal pattern of the global topic and its contributing factors and/or processes, and the significance of the global topic for people.
The standard was able to be met when students clearly recognised a pattern and understood the geography behind the factors and/or processes which contribute to the pattern. For example, the global pattern of coral reefs can be explained when analysing the interactions between water depth, temperature, and solar radiation. Effective analysis will explore the interactions between these factors rather than a separate discussion of the aspects.
Explicit links are required between the factors and/or processes and the pattern to demonstrate understanding of the causal relationship. Supporting global evidence needs to be used throughout the analysis.
Practices that need strengthening:
The selection of an appropriate context is paramount. The topic needs to be geographic with the related geography processes, theories etc. understood. Some socio-political or sociological topics used did not have the required global scale or sufficient geography to support analysis.
Analysis can be challenging where the topic is very complex, for example, water (fresh and safe), human trafficking (origin and destination), or diamonds (mining and trade). Student work that focuses on one aspect of these complex topics tends to show greater depth of analysis.
The topic must allow for global evidence to be used with each aspect of the analysis. Some topics can lead to an analysis which focuses on single continents or regions and therefore does not reflect the global scale required. For example, Africa for diamonds, or Europe for human trafficking.
Use of maps can help students recognise the global scale of the topic and can also support a description of a spatial pattern. If the focus is on a temporal pattern, inclusion of graphs with global evidence tends to support more detailed descriptions.
Achievement at the higher grades should effectively integrate global case study evidence to further develop ideas. Structuring the analysis around single countries or regions tends to detract from the global scale focus required.
Assessor Support
Online
NZQA’s learning management system (Pūtake) offers 150+ easy to access courses, materials and products. These are designed to support teachers, as assessors, to improve their assessment of NCEA standards.
Online, subject-specific or generic, bite-sized learning modules and short courses are now available to complement the traditional face-to-face workshops that NZQA offers. These online courses can be accessed using your Education Sector Logon.
Subject-specific course/workshops available for Geography include:
Deeper understanding
Global geographic topics
Research planning
Variation in an urban pattern
Online Making Assessor Judgements workshops are also available throughout the year. These workshops are structured to guide teachers to improve their understanding of each grade level by examining several full samples of student work. The following standards are available for enrolment in 2024:
- 91430 – conduct geographic research with consultation
- 91432 – analyse aspects of a geographic topic at a global scale
Feedback from teachers for these workshops indicates that more than 74% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the content in the module was beneficial:
“Although I was a bit sceptical that this was going to provide me with better understanding of the standard (and marking it), I found I've picked up more certainty about making judgements about the work my students might produce. I'm also more secure about guiding them through the selection of their topic and setting it up so that they are able to complete a successful investigation.”
Exemplars of student evidence for all standards at each level of achievement are available on the NZQA subject page for Geography.
NZQA will continue to provide generic modules and workshops designed to improve general assessment practice. The following modules and workshops will be available in 2024:
- Assessment Approaches, an online workshop exploring different methods of assessment
- Culturally Responsive Assessment
- Assessment Guidance – Reviewing Your Practice
- Tāku Reo, Tāku Mahi – My voice, My work, a guide to managing authenticity
- Why Less is More, a guide to reducing volumes of student evidence
- Integrated Assessment
- Modes of Assessment
- Alternative Assessment
- Acknowledging Sources
“This was great! I liked that I could choose from different scenarios, see how sources are used and the way the student answered the question.”
“Reassuring and very thorough. Easy to use/follow.”
We will also continue to offer the Transforming Assessment Praxis programme, an online workshop relevant to all subjects which helps assessors learn about re-contextualising assessment resources and collecting evidence in different ways, in order to better meet the needs of students.
Check the NCEA subject pages on the NZQA website regularly, as more online modules, workshops and courses will be added throughout 2024.
Assessor Practice Tool
The Assessor Practice Tool (APT) will be used to support assessors with the new NCEA standards from 2024 onwards. The purpose of the APT is to allow assessors to practice making assessment judgements and immediately receive feedback on their judgements from a moderation panel. The APT will initially have material for some existing Level 3 standards, with moderated samples for the new Level 1 NCEA standard subjects being added as material becomes available. Material for the new Level 2 and Level 3 standards will be added over time, and all material for the old NCEA standards will be archived.
Material is currently available for:
- 91431: Analyse aspects of a contemporary geographic issue
- 91432: Analyse aspects of a geographic topic at a global scale
Workshops and Presentations
The Best Practice Workshops offered by Assessment and Moderation continue to be viewed by the sector as significantly contributing to improved assessor practice:
“I thought the workshop was very clear and helpful, there were a lot of varied examples of ākonga work discussed and opportunity for participants to discuss and ask questions.”
We offer several options of online workshops and presentations for events to support assessors with the assessment of internally assessed standards. These can be subject-specific, or general assessment support, and tailored to the audience. Virtual presentation slots, online workshops or webinars can be requested to provide targeted support to local, regional or national audiences.