Standards specify what a candidate for assessment needs to know, do, and understand.
Assessment can use a variety of methods and approaches (that are appropriate to the learner and the context) that give the learner an opportunity to show evidence of achievement or competence.
Resources and guidelines
We've produced a number of generic resources and guidelines for people involved in assessment against standards.
Assessment support material and resources
Assessment support material and resources are available for a number of learning areas.
On this page
Requirements for assessing against standards
Education providers must be granted consent to assess standards by NZQA before they can offer assessment against standards.
Once they have consent to assess, providers assessing against standards must:
- carry out internal moderation, and
- engage with the national external moderation system that applies to those standards.
Secondary schools are different. They automatically have a base scope of consent to assess against standards.
The Base Scope of Assessment for Schools (BSAS) lists the included domains.
More information
Gaining recognition for assessment skills
Assessors who want to develop their skills should be aware of the following unit standards:
- 4098 - Use standards to assess candidate performance (external link)
- 11551 - Moderate assessment (external link)
- 11552 - Design and evaluate assessment materials (external link)
- 30421 - Carry out assessments against standards to make judgements of learner performance (external link)
- 30422 - Participate in the quality assurance of assessment (external link)
- 30423 - Participate in assessment processes as a verifier (external link)
Many tertiary providers offer training and assessment for these standards.
Quality Assured Assessment Materials
We've established a Quality Assured Assessment Materials (QAAM) trademark to ensure the quality of assessment materials used when assessing learners for qualifications.