The Quality Assured Assessment Materials trademark (QAAM) is available for assessment materials secondary school teachers use to assess students against standards listed on the Directory of Assessment and Skill Standards (DASS).
Assessment materials include:
- an assessment activity (instructions and tasks)
- an assessment schedule (including evidence judgements and a sufficiency statement)
- other assessment resources.
This page contains information about the procedures for applying for a QAAM.
On this page
Applications for a QAAM trademark
A person wishing to apply for a QAAM for their assessment materials must send the following to NZQA:
- Completed application form available from NZQA
- Three hard copies of the assessment materials
- The application fee of $960 plus GST.
Digital files can be supplied on clean CD-R, DVD-R disk or USB flash drive. All common file format types are acceptable.
Care should be taken to package materials to avoid damage to CDs or DVDs.
The following criteria must also be met:
The assessment materials
The assessment materials must:
- give learners the opportunity to meet the content of the standard for which they have been developed (such as a brief, an event, an activity, or a task)
- meet the content of the standard for which they have been developed, including at each level of achievement (ie Achieved, Merit, and Excellence).
The assessment conditions
The assessment conditions of the materials are appropriate to the assessment conditions of the standard the materials were developed for.
The assessment schedule
Contains statements that:
- clearly describe performance levels (both quality and quantity) which meet the content of the standard at each level of achievement (Achieved, Merit, and Excellence)
- give examples of student responses which meet the content of the standard at each level of achievement (Achieved, Merit, and Excellence).
Granting QAAM following an application
When all of the above requirements are met and the granting of the QAAM will not result in a restrictive trade practice the QAAM will be granted and a QAAM number assigned.
NZQA will make a decision on the application within 30 working days after the application fee amount, received with the completed application, is deposited into an NZQA bank account.
Where the assessment materials require modification in order to meet the above requirements, NZQA will advise the applicant of the need for the modification, explaining why the modification is needed.
NZQA will make a decision on the application within 30 working days from the later of the submission of the modified application by the applicant to NZQA, or of the application fee having been deposited into an NZQA bank account.
Where, after submission of the modified assessment materials, the materials require further modification to fully meet the requirements NZQA will advise the applicant of this, and the application will be rejected with no refund available. The applicant will need to submit a new application that meets the requirements.
The use of QAAM
The granting of the QAAM for assessment materials entitles the applicant to display the QAAM, together with the assigned number, and to promote those materials as being certified by NZQA as meeting the requirements of the national standard.
The QAAM and the assigned number must be clearly displayed on the front or cover page of the assessment materials, and may be displayed on any other components of the assessment materials.
A list of QAAM assessment materials will be available on the NZQA website.
Once the QAAM has been granted to assessment materials, no changes may be made to those materials other than through the change process below, or through a new application.
NZQA must be notified of any changes of ownership of QAAM assessment materials, name or contact details of the owner, within one month of the change occurring, so that the list of QAAM assessment materials is kept up to date on the NZQA website.
Deficiencies noticed after QAAM is granted
Once the QAAM has been granted to assessment materials, no changes may be made to those materials other than through the deficiencies process in clause 17, or through a new application.
Where NZQA is made aware that there are deficiencies in assessment materials after a QAAM has been granted, and the materials do not meet the requirements, NZQA may, together with providing reasons, request the owner of the materials to modify the materials so that the materials comply with requirements, and also request the owner to present the modified materials to NZQA within 30 working days. NZQA will then review the modifications within 30 working days.
If satisfied with the modifications, NZQA will assign the assessment materials a new QAAM number to be used with the QAAM and will update the list on NZQA’s website. The QAAM will be withdrawn in respect of the unmodified version of the assessment materials.
If NZQA is not satisfied with the modifications, or if the modified materials are not presented to NZQA within the 30 working days, NZQA will add a tag to the assessment materials on the list on NZQA’s website. The tag will reference the deficiencies for the purposes of user awareness, and NZQA will notify the owner accordingly.
Withdrawal of QAAM
NZQA may withdraw the grant of the QAAM and the authority to use the QAAM from an owner of assessment materials in the following circumstances:
- the owner has used the trade mark for a purpose or purposes other than in relation to the assessment materials
- the owner has used the trade mark in a way that deceives or is likely to deceive or confuses or is likely to confuse users of the materials
- the owner has misrepresented or failed to disclose, some fact material in the application for the trade mark
- at the owner’s request
- where there is no longer a readily identifiable owner of the materials
- where the standard to which the materials relate has been removed from the Directory of Assessment Standards or superseded by a newer version.
Fees
The fee for an application for the grant of a QAAM is $960 plus GST.
NZQA contact for concerns or complaints
If applicants for a QAAM or owners of QAAM assessment materials have any concerns or complaints in relation to these regulations or any QAAM application please contact the Manager, Secondary Moderation at NZQA.
Appeals
Appeals may be made to the Commissioner of Trade Marks by a person in respect of the following decisions by NZQA:
- to not grant the QAAM to the applicant’s assessment materials (clause 6)
- to reject an application (clause 10)
- to require an owner of assessment materials, granted the QAAM, to modify the materials (clause 17)
- to add a tag to the assessment materials (clause 19)
- to withdraw a QAAM (clause 20).