Retrospective: 2015 Queensland Core Skills Test · Queensland Core Skills (QCS) Test and the responses of students. The core skills are the common curriculum elements that are within

For all Queensland schools

Retrospective2015 Queensland Core Skills Test

ISSN 1321-3938

© The State of Queensland (Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority) 2015

Copyright protects this material. Copyright in the Core Skills Test is owned by the State of Queensland and/or theQueensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority. Copyright in some of the material included in the paper is owned bythird parties.

Except as permitted by the Copyright Act 1968 (Cwlth), reproduction by any means (photocopying, electronic, mechanical,recording or otherwise), making available online, electronic transmission or other publication of this material is prohibitedwithout prior written permission of the relevant copyright owner/s.

The Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority requires to be recognised as the source of the Core Skills Test andrequires that its material remain unaltered.

Enquiries relating to copyright in this material, which is owned by the State of Queensland or the Queensland Curriculumand Assessment Authority, should be addressed to:

ManagerPublishing UnitEmail: [email protected]

ForewordThe Retrospective is a yearly publication that provides detailed and wide-ranging feedback on the Queensland Core Skills (QCS) Test and the responses of students.

The core skills are the common curriculum elements that are within the curriculum experience of most senior students. The level of sophistication demanded by the test is appropriate for Year 12 students. It is a cross-curriculum test, which means that it does not test the content of specific subjects. Rather it tests the skills learnt from the combination of subjects in a balanced curriculum.

The QCS Test consists of four testpapers — a Writing Task (WT), a Short Response (SR) testpaper and two Multiple Choice (MC) testpapers. Students experience a variety of stimulus material such as prose passages, poems, graphs, tables, maps, mathematical and scientific data, cartoons, and reproductions of works of art.

The MC response sheets are computer marked. The WT and SR testpapers are marked each year in the first week of the September school holidays. Two marking operations are held concurrently and involve hundreds of carefully trained Queensland teachers. In 2015, the responses of approximately 27600 students were marked by 177 WT markers and 290 SR markers. Each response is double marked, with referee marking taking place if required.

The Retrospective is a definitive and descriptive report on the integration of the test specifications, the expectations of the test constructors, and the performance characteristics of the students. It also provides information on the relative worth of items on the test and data that allow the determination of student achievement on the test.

This publication is written for several audiences. At the school level, it offers advice to future candidates and it supports teacher efforts to prepare students and build their confidence with respect to sitting the test. For each subtest, ideas, strategies and reminders are provided. In addition to being valuable for schools, anyone interested in cross-curriculum testing will find the Retrospective informative.

Because of copyright issues, the Retrospective does not include copies of the testpapers. All schools receive copies of the testpapers when the QCS Test is administered. Hard copies can be purchased from the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority. Electronic versions cannot be provided because of copyright considerations.

Chris RiderChief Executive Officer

iQueensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority |

ii
| Retrospective 2015 QCS Test

ContentsForeword ............................................................................................................................... i

Multiple Choice (MC) I & II

MC I & II 2015 summary ....................................................................................................... 2

MC I commentary ................................................................................................................. 5

MC II commentary ................................................................................................................ 8

Common Curriculum Elements (CCEs) and the MC format ...................................................... 11

Short Response (SR)

SR 2015 summary............................................................................................................... 13

Unit One ............................................................................................................................. 14

Unit Two ............................................................................................................................. 16

Unit Three ........................................................................................................................... 20

Unit Four............................................................................................................................. 23

Unit Five ............................................................................................................................. 27

Unit Six............................................................................................................................... 32

Unit Seven .......................................................................................................................... 37

Unit Eight............................................................................................................................ 45

Unit Nine ............................................................................................................................ 52

Writing Task (WT)

WT 2015 Overall concept: What feeds us............................................................................... 59

Diagram of the testpaper ..................................................................................................... 60

WT commentary .................................................................................................................. 61

Stimulus pieces: Visual, written or combination?.................................................................. 63

Choice of text type .............................................................................................................. 64

Choice of genre ................................................................................................................... 64

Selected student responses ................................................................................................ 69

Relative worth of each subtest

Relative worth of parts of the QCS Test................................................................................. 87

Deemed CCEs and QCS Test items........................................................................................ 88

Balance of the QCS Test in terms of CCEs ............................................................................. 88

Appendixes

Appendix 1: The 49 Common Curriculum Elements ............................................................... 89

Appendix 2: CCEs ................................................................................................................ 93

Appendix 3: CCEs grouped by baskets ................................................................................. 94

Appendix 4: Glossary of terms used in relation to the QCS Test ............................................. 95

iiiQueensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority |

iv

Multiple Choice (MC) I & IIThe 2015 MC subtest consisted of two testpapers, each with 25 verbal and 25 quantitative items. For an item, the facility (F) is the proportion of students who gave the correct response; it is expressed as a percentage. For the 2015 MC subtest, the average facility (AF) was 51%. The average facility on verbal items was 49%, and on quantitative items was 53%. The average facility for MC I was 51%, and for MC II was 51%. Males performed a little better than females (the average facility for males was 54% and for females 50%). On MC I, average facilities for items ranged from 16% (item 47) to 88% (item5), and on MC II from 30% (item 96) to 80% (items 55 and 57).

Within the verbal domain, stimulus materials included extracts from novels, plays, academic texts, memoirs, quotations, short stories, cartoons, anecdotes, and literary criticism. Within the quantitative domain, stimulus materials included formulae, algebraic expressions, diagrams and graphs. Areas covered included English language and literature, philosophy, religion, civics, biology, physics, politics, history, geography, and both pure and applied mathematics.

The following table summarises data about the 23 units that made up the 2015 MC subtest. The main Common Curriculum Elements (CCEs) tested in each unit are listed. The order of the CCEs for each unit does not reflect the order of the items, nor does it imply a cognitive hierarchy. The baskets into which CCEs are grouped are shown in Appendix 3.

1Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority |

2

MC I & II 2015 summary

Unit Item Key Basket F AF (%) Common Curriculum Elements

1 Truth(cartoon)

1 B 37 37.05 Interpreting the meaning of pictures/

illustrations

2 Turner(character sketch)

2 B 54

58.34 Interpreting the meaning of words

43 Analysing44 Synthesising

3 A 61

4 A 60

3 Algebraic processes(algebraic expressions)

5 D 88

64.719 Substituting in formulae38 Generalising6 D 70

7 A 36

4 Health(personal anecdote)

8 B 66

60.0

4 Interpreting the meaning of words11 Summarising/condensing written text29 Comparing/contrasting33 Inferring

9 A 76

10 C 66

11 B 65

12 A 41

13 B 46

5 Skipping stones(calculations, formulae, graphs)

14 C 78

53.3

6 Interpreting the meaning of diagrams and maps

7 Translating from one form to another19 Substituting in formulae32 Deducing37 Applying a progression of steps to achieve

the required answer38 Generalising from information

15 B 39

16 D 46

17 C 73

18 A 55

19 D 45

20 C 46

21 D 44

6 Hannah(short story)

22 B 59

51.828 Empathising33 Inferring43 Analysing

23 D 58

24 B 44

25 D 46

7 Polygons(diagram, geometry)

26 C 60

54.016 Calculating19 Substituting in formulae32 Deducing

27 B 58

28 C 47

29 C 51

8 Sweet potatoes(graphs)

30 C 60

46.8

6 Interpreting the meaning of diagrams and graphs

30 Classifying41 Hypothesising

31 D 36

32 B 44

33 D 47


9 Obama(memoir)

34 B 54

48.3

10 Using vocabulary appropriate to a context28 Empathising33 Inferring43 Analysing

35 D 63

36 A 41

37 C 35

10 Magic trick(mathematical rules)

38 B 60

51.7

32 Deducing37 Applying a progression of steps to achieve

the required answer41 Hypothesising

39 A 55

40 C 40

11 Bolt(play, character sketches)

41 C 49

45.6

10 Using vocabulary appropriate to a context26 Explaining to others33 Inferring43 Analysing

42 A 71

43 B 59

44 D 49

45 A 33

46 C 42

47 D 16

12 Napkins(diagrams)

48 A 59

50.349 Perceiving patterns50 Visualising49 A 35

50 D 57

13 Milky Way(cartoon) 51 D 51 51.0

5 Interpreting the meaning of pictures/illustrations

14 Gossip(commentary)

52 A 66

52.34 Interpreting the meaning of words

33 Inferring43 Analysing

53 D 49

54 C 42

15 Maze(diagrams, rules)

55 A 80

72.0

6 Interpreting the meaning of diagrams32 Deducing36 Applying strategies to trial and test ideas37 Applying a progression of steps to achieve

the required answer

56 C 69

57 C 80

58 B 57

59 A 74

16 Silk(novel)

60 B 46

49.5

28 Empathising33 Inferring43 Analysing45 Judging/evaluating

61 C 38

62 B 52

63 D 56

64 D 51

65 A 54



4

17 Hydrographs(graphs, diagram)

66 B 68

55.0

6 Interpreting the meaning of diagrams and graphs

15 Graphing16 Calculating31 Interrelating ideas, themes and issues

67 C 63

68 C 75

69 B 52

70 C 35

71 B 68

72 D 48

73 D 31

18 Hope(quotations)

74 C 54

43.429 Comparing/contrasting38 Generalising43 Analysing from information

75 A 57

76 C 40

77 A 35

78 B 31

19 Muffins(applied mathematics)

79 C 48 48.0 32 Deducing

20 Billiard tables(diagrams, rules)

80 B 54

43.7

6 Interpreting the meaning of diagrams16 Calculating19 Substituting in formulae32 Deducing37 Applying a progression of steps to achieve

the required answer

81 D 54

82 A 47

83 D 46

84 D 63

85 B 63

86 C 33

21 Lord of the Rings(literary criticism)

87 D 62

43.3

4 Interpreting the meaning of words11 Summarising/condensing written text28 Empathising29 Comparing/contrasting38 Generalising from information43 Analysing

88 B 41

89 A 45

90 A 36

91 C 42

92 A 34

22 Peano-Jordan(counting, algebra)

93 C 44

44.8

16 Calculating37 Applying a progression of steps to achieve

the required answer51 Identifying shapes in two and three

dimensions

94 B 49

95 D 56

96 A 30

23 Rational thought(commentary)

97 A 41

46.0

11 Summarising/condensing written text29 Comparing/contrasting43 Analysing45 Judging/evaluating

98 A 55

99 B 44

100 D 44

Average facility on subtest 51.2



MC I commentaryThis section gives a brief outline of the main aims of each unit. Two units (5 and 11) are singled out for detailed analysis.

Unit 1 Truth

This single-item unit required students to extract essential meaning from a cartoon about the search for truth.

Unit 2 Turner

This unit is based on a short character sketch about a famous social anthropologist.

Unit 3 Algebraic processes

This unit required students to understand and manipulate algebraic expressions and equations.

Unit 4 Health

This unit required comprehension of a piece by John Mortimer comparing the modern fad for exercise and traditional forms of religious observance.

Unit 5 Skipping stones

This unit looked at some of the mathematics behind the pastime of stone skipping.

Item 14: This item required students to determine the minimum launch velocity, V, by substituting the values for a specific stone into the formula provided. Careful substitution of the values with the correct units and attention to the order of operations when using a calculator were essential for determining V to be 3.8 m/s.

Option C is the key. Option A is based on the use of 2d instead of d 2 which gives 0.6 m/s, while using d

instead of d 2 leads to 0.9 m/s (option B). Option D uses correct substitution but omits to find the square root.

Item 15: Close examination of the relationships indicated by the formula reveals that for stones with the same d (longest dimension), the smaller a stone’s mass the slower the launch velocity, V. Therefore, stone F, with a slower launch velocity, must have a smaller mass than stone G. Recognition of this allowed for options A and C to be eliminated. Since the formula requires a square root to be found, the mass of stone F needs to be one-quarter that of stone G in order for V F to be half VG . Option B is the key. If stone F had a mass half

that of G, F would still need a launch velocity of , or 0.70 that of the heavier stone G (option D).

Students may have substituted k and d into the equation then calculated and compared the result for stones of different masses to arrive at the answer. This would be a more time-consuming approach.

Item 16: This item required students to rearrange the terms in the formula to make d the subject.

Manipulating the terms associated with and d 2 increases the difficulty of the item. When rearranging the terms, adhering to the order of operations was essential to arrive at option D which is the key. Options A and B both incorrectly showed V as the numerator. The square root operation was not managed correctly in option C. Substitution of a specific set of values into the original formula, then testing the values against each of the options, was a valid but more time-consuming alternative method.

Item 17: This item is based on Figure 1, which represents a four-skip throw. The key, option C, is arrived at by calculating 0.8 x 0.8 x 4.5. Option A is determined by (1– 0.8) x 4.5. Option B gives the distance for X4 and option D gives the distance for X2.

Item 18: This item required students to generalise. The schematic view of a four-skip throw, Figure 1, helped model the relationship between the first skip and the nth skip. Those options with 0.8 included as the denominator, i.e. options B and D, actually increase the skipping distance. After the first skip each

subsequent skip is 80% or 0.8 of the preceding skip. Therefore option A with 0.8n-1 X1 is the key.

12

------- 11.4---------=


6

Items 19 to 21 are based on an experiment in which it was recorded whether or not a spinning disc skipped for a selection of the tilt angles , impact angle and launch velocities. Zones on the figures indicated when the disc skipped or did not skip. Students were required to interpret the relevant information from Figures 3a and 3b.

Item 19: This item was based on Figure 3b (launch velocity fixed at 3.5 m/s). The widest range of impact angles over which the disc skipped was required. Option B shows the widest range of angle , but within this range there are impact angles (values of ) for which the disc does not skip. The range given in option A was the next widest but the range includes impact angles at which the disc does not skip. Of the two remaining options, option D specified the widest range across which the disc skips and so is the key.

Item 20: Both Figures 3a and 3b were required for this item. Options A and D use Figure 3a where it shows that at a launch velocity of 2.4 m/s there were no tilt angles at which the disc skips. Figure 3a also shows that a disc launched at 4.4 m/s with a tilt angle of 50° will not skip. Options B and C use Figure 3b which was generated with a launch velocity of 3.5 m/s. For option B, the intersection of = 20° and = 44° lies in the no skip zone. The intersection of = 43° and = 19°, with the launch velocity of 3.5 m/s (option C) lies in the skip zone. Option C is therefore the key.

Item 21: This item required students to make generalisations based on the experimental conditions and/or results that were presented. The lines on the graphs separate where skipping did or did not occur depending on launch velocity and tilt angle. Option A is an invalid interpretation as Figure 3a shows a no skip zone below a launch velocity of 2.4 m/s. This does not mean that no launch velocities below 2.4 m/s were tested, but that the disc simply did not skip at the lower launch velocities. Figure 3b is the focus for option B. If angles and have an inverse relationship, as one increases the other would decrease. Figure 3b shows this is the case for some combinations of the angles but not for all. Option B is not a valid statement. Option C is not a valid statement as it is a combination of the three experimental conditions tested, i.e. launch velocity and tilt and impact angles that determines whether there is skip or no skip. In Figure 3b there are tilt angles for which skip occurs at more than one impact angle so is not the most important determinant of whether the disc skips or not. Figure 3b deals with a single launch velocity so to investigate ‘at high launch velocities’ for option D, Figure 3a must be investigated. This graph shows that for launch velocities below 2.8 m/s, the disc does not skip at any tilt angle. At velocities above 2.8 m/s, it begins to skip across a narrow range of tilt angles but as the launch velocity increases the range widens as shown by the ‘arms’ of the line in Figure 3a diverging. Therefore option D is the key.

Unit 6 Hannah

This unit is based on a piece from a short story which focuses on an interaction between two characters, a young girl selling items in a car-boot sale, and one of her customers. Many of the items were intended to pick up on the subtle nature of the interaction between them.

Unit 7 Polygons

This unit combined elements of geometry and algebra, by looking at the side-lengths and areas of inscribed regular polygons.

Unit 8 Sweet potatoes

This unit is based on an experiment investigating the mass of sweet potatoes grown under various conditions. Students were required to read and understand an expository text that set out the framework of the experiment, and then to interpret a pair of graphs that modelled data collected during the experiment.

Unit 9 Obama

The text for this unit is from a memoir by American president Barack Obama. In it Obama comments on the impact on his life of his parents’ mixed-race marriage. Some of the items in this unit dealt with word meanings, others with comprehension, while others required students to assess more subtle tonalities and sub-texts.


Unit 10 Magic trick

This unit uses a simple, but clever, magic trick involving coloured tokens. Students were required to comprehend instructions and to make correct deductions.

Unit 11 Bolt

The verbally rich text in this unit is from the Dramatis Personae of Robert Bolt’s famous stage play A Man For All Seasons. Rationales for the options provided in the items for this unit are given below.

Item 41: Option A is not correct as there is no evidence that More tries and fails to be outgoing; rather, that he is outgoing by nature. Option B is not correct as the comment about More’s behaviour when under pressure is intended to emphasise that this sort of behaviour is unnatural for him but the text makes clear that for More the ‘norm’ is otherwise. Option C is the key as the notion of ‘balanced’ is underwritten by ‘natural moderation’ in the text; we gain the impression that More is strongly empathetic. Option D is not correct as the notion that More has mood swings is countered by the reference to ‘natural moderation’ in line 3.

Item 42: Option A is the key as ‘at odds with himself’ relates back to ‘longing to be rescued from himself’, ‘self-doubt’ and ‘unhappy face’ in the text, while ‘at odds with the world’ draws from ‘self-doubt to enter the world of affairs’. Option B is not correct as nearly the opposite is true — too much talent yet not enough ambition. Option C is not correct as there is no evidence in the text that Rich’s academic sensibilities would be wasted at the royal court. Option D is not correct as, in fact, Rich is comfortable with neither doing nor thinking — he is caught in a sort of paralysis of doubt.

Item 43: This is a vocabulary item that required students to understand that ‘banked-down’ connotes ‘suppressed’, or ‘locked up’. Option B is the key.

Item 44: To answer this item correctly, students were required to appreciate the strong irony present in the last part of the text. Option A completely misses the irony — there is nothing at all humble about the Duke of Norfolk. Option B is easily relatable to the first part of the text, which refers to Norfolk as a sportsman and soldier; but in fact Norfolk is hardly a leader at all, being aware of his moral and intellectual insignificance. Option C is not correct as though Norfolk is clearly a duty-bound man, the text has little to say about his personal inclinations. Option D is the key as ‘awareness of his limitations’ is supported by ‘aware of his moral and intellectual insignificance’ in the text, while ‘self-importance’ is the correct, i.e. ironic reading of ‘untouchably convinced that his acts and ideas are important because they are his’.

Item 45: Option A is the key as the notion of ‘ill-equipped’ is supported in the text by ‘troubled by and defiant toward both’. Option B is not correct as the text paints Alice More as vain, but does not give this as the primary cause of her marital problems; indeed, she ‘worships’ her husband. Option C is too positive a reading of the tone of the text, even if it finds some support in ‘impressive close to’; there is no comment on Alice’s intellect in the text. Whatever social shackles exist are of her own manufacture. Option D is not correct as it is not that Alice wants too much, only that her desires find themselves in eternal conflict with each other.

Item 46: For option A it is difficult to draw ‘ignorance’ from the text’s ‘subtle and serious’; likewise, the text makes clear that Cromwell drives his own destiny, and therefore cannot be said to be ‘blinded’. Option B is not correct as to ‘cradle’ gross crimes is clearly not to ‘investigate’ them, but to instigate and nurture them. Option C (key): ‘clever’ relates to ‘subtle and serious’, ‘worst deeds’ is a direct rephrasing of ‘gross crimes’, ‘making … seem reasonable’ is a fair rendering of ‘cradle … in the name of effective action’. Option D is not correct as the notion of self-sacrifice does not sit easily with the text’s characterisation of Cromwell as conceited.

Item 47: Option A is not correct as ‘the values of ordinary people’ is not a plausible rendering of ‘a mental footpath as narrow as a peasant’s’, which clearly suggests Chapuys’ narrow-minded mentality. Option B is not correct as ‘much on his dignity as’ is an expression that means ‘prides himself on being’, and ‘carries himself with dignity’. The text says nothing about Chapuys’ origins, whether humble or otherwise. Option D is the key as Chapuys likes to think of himself as a ‘man of the world’ whereas in fact his outlook is as ‘narrow as a peasant’s’.


8

Unit 12 Napkins

This unit which is based on procedural information about how to fold paper napkins involved pattern recognition and visualising.

MC II commentaryIn this section, the main aims of each unit are briefly outlined. Two units (16 and 20) are singled out for detailed analysis.

Unit 13 Milky Way

This single-item unit required students to understand the essential meaning of a cartoon. Students were required to interpret the illustration as referring to dullness and mundanity, and then to relate that to the general understanding of the Milky Way galaxy, which is of grandeur, awesomeness and beauty.

Unit 14 Gossip

This unit is based on a short piece from a book commenting on the role of gossip in society.

Unit 15 Maze

This unit is based on a maze consisting of nine ‘rooms’, each connected to other rooms by three ‘corridors’. The items required students to investigate pathways and make deductions about movements through the maze.

Unit 16 Silk

The two passages in this unit are from the novel Silk by Alessandro Baricco and focus on the subtleties of an interaction between two characters.

Item 60: This item required students to infer the meaning of the word ‘prudence’ from its context. Students were required to understand that ‘prudence’ is something other than being open and truthful and that Joncour rejects ‘prudence’. Option B is the key as Joncour is careful to tell the whole truth plainly; thus, he is not avoiding trouble by ‘concealing information’. Option C is not correct because this is arguably what Joncour did in fact do; it is not a course of action that he rejected. Option D is not correct because the behaviour described is not ‘prudent’, nor does the passage imply that Joncour acts unscrupulously in telling ‘everything that was true’. Option A is not correct as Joncour is said to have been guided in his actions by instinct rather than by ‘reason’, whereas a rejection of ‘prudence’ in terms of Option A would lean toward the use of reason and the downplaying of feelings.

Item 61: This item required students to identify a reason for Joncour’s rejection of prudence. To answer this item, it is necessary to glean from both passages that Joncour was in the weaker position and that he had already given Hara Kei reason to doubt his honesty. Joncour rejected ‘prudence’ (further deceitful behaviour) to try to rebuild credibility with Hara Kei. Option C is the key. Option A is not correct as it ignores Joncour’s truthfulness in giving an account of himself. Option B is not correct because Joncour has shown himself willing to use deceit in the recent past. Option D is not correct because Joncour rejects ‘prudence’ in the context of making disclosures about himself, not as a means of confronting Hara Kei.

Item 62: This item focuses on the manner in which Joncour speaks about himself. Joncour, we are told, said everything ‘in the same tone, and with barely visible gestures … hypnotic … melancholy and neutral’. Students were required to infer a reason for this behaviour by noticing that, like Hara Kei, Joncour conceals all but the facts required by maintaining a carefully controlled, neutral tone of voice, and by suppressing any clues as to his attitudes or feelings. For this reason, option B is the key. Option A is not correct, because a person who really thinks they are not being understood would not limit their means of communication (by suppressing intonation and gestures) nor would they go into such detail as Joncour did. Option C is not correct because there is no hint of anxiety or struggle in Joncour’s manner. In fact, Joncour’s ‘hypnotic’


manner might even be read as an attempt to control Hara Kei. Option D is a misreading of the context and of Joncour. The details that he relates do not bore him, nor are they obnoxious to him; rather, they are ‘crucial’ to his gaining Hara Kei’s business.

Item 63: In this item, students were directed to lines 7–10 of Passage 2 and were required to assess Joncour’s behaviour. Up to this point in the narrative, Joncour has given little away concerning his attitude toward Hara Kei or his own feelings. In the lines indicated, Joncour drops his eyes, notices his cup of tea, picks it up, turns it searchingly, drinks and sets the cup down again. If there is any ‘anger’ (option A), or ‘lack of regard’ (option B), or ‘embarrassment’ (option C) in these actions, we have no way of discovering it. What is evident is that Hara Kei’s revelation about the fish eggs requires a response, and Joncour uses the tea to gain time before answering. The key is therefore option D.

Item 64: This item required students to assess Hara Kei’s manner throughout the interview. Option A is not correct as Hara Kei is not aloof in Passage 2, but allows himself to joke frankly with Joncour about their business dealings. The fact that he gave worthless fish eggs instead of silkworm eggs casts some doubt on his generosity. Option B is not correct as Hara Kei does not always act in a formal manner during the interview: he unwinds with a smile and a laugh in Passage 2, yet his demeanour in Passage 1 (lines 9–11), as well as the incident with the eggs, would tend to unnerve rather than reassure. Option C is not correct since Hara Kei’s initial request, ‘try to tell me who you are’, is made politely, even though it might have something of a challenge in it. His later request to see Joncour again is respectful and allows Joncour to decide whether or not he will return. Option D is the key since Hara Kei is very comfortable throughout the interview and he avoids any extremes in language or action.

Item 65: In this item, students were required to make a judgment about Joncour’s way of doing business in Japan. Students needed to recognise that Joncour is both courageous and shrewd in the face of danger: he meets Hara Kei’s inscrutability with his own, he is not deceived by the fish eggs, he pays ‘the most invincible man in Japan’ fool’s gold, and he defends his part in these business dealings to Hara Kei’s face. The key is option A. Option B is not correct because Joncour surrenders nothing to Hara Kei, but even lays down the terms by which he will pay for the silkworm eggs. Option C is not correct because there is sufficient evidence that Joncour is prepared to challenge Hara Kei when he deems it necessary. Option D is not correct because Joncour is quite prepared to be underhanded and deceitful when needed.

Unit 17 Hydrographs

This unit required students to understand data presented in the form of graphs, relating to the measurement of water flows following rainstorms.

Unit 18 Hope

This unit required students to compare and contrast seven comments about hope, along with a dictionary definition.

Unit 19 Muffins

This single-item unit required students to organise the given data and deduce an answer through calculation.

Unit 20 Billiard tables

This essentially geometrical unit makes use of an artificial scenario involving a computer game similar to billiards (the resemblance with the real game is merely notional).

Item 80: This item required students to use Pythagoras’ theorem to find the total distance travelled by the ball as shown on Figure 1. One method of finding the correct answer is to see that the total distance travelled as the sum of the hypotenuses of the right-angled isosceles triangles formed by the path of the ball. The

sides of the two large triangles are 4 units long. The hypotenuse of one of these triangles is , which is 5.656 units. The sides of the two smaller triangles are 2 units long. The hypotenuse of one of these triangles

is , which is 2.828 units. The total distance is 2 x 5.656 + 2 x 2.828 which gives 16.968 and rounds

42 42+

22 22+


10

up to 17 units. Option B is the key. Option A can result if a student simply counts the 12 lines in the individual squares and wrongly thinks that the total length is 12 units and rounds up to 14 as the nearest option. In Option C a hypotenuse length is incorrectly multiplied by 4, since there are four triangles visible in Figure 1.

Option D would be chosen if a student wrongly thinks that is the same as and similarly for

and finds the hypotenuse lengths of 8 and 4; 2 x 8 + 2 x 4 = 24.

Item 81: In this item, students were required to determine at which corner a ball will stop for two other billiard tables of different sizes. All billiard tables are presented in an m x n configuration. In a 3 x 2 table, a ball shot from Q will rebound from the top side at a point one unit from the right side, then from the right side at its halfway point, then from the bottom side at a point one unit from the right side; the ball will then reach the P corner of the table. In a 4 x 3 table, a ball shot from Q will rebound from the top side one unit from the right side, then from the right side at a point one unit from the top side, then from the bottom side at a point two units from the right side, then from the left side at a point one unit from the top side, then from the top side one unit from the left side; the ball will then reach the R pocket. Using Figure 1 to set up these two tables and then to sketch the path of the balls would be useful. Option D is the key. Option A would be chosen if using an incorrect table, e.g. a 2 x 3 table instead of a 3 x 2. Option B gives the correct destination for the 4 x 3 table, but not for the 3 x 2. Option C would be chosen if a correct method is used while incorrectly thinking that the tables are 2 x 3 and 3 x 4 respectively.

Item 82: This item required students to find how many times a ball shot on a 5 x 4 table will traverse the lengths m and n. As the tables are always longer than they are wide, the number of times the distance n is traversed will be greater than the number of times the distance m is traversed by the time a ball reaches a pocket. For this reason, option A is the key and the other options are incorrect due to miscounting or confusing m and n. Using Figure 1 to sketch the ball’s path on a 5 x 4 table and tallying the times the lengths m and n are traversed is also a valid though more time-consuming method of obtaining the answer.

Item 83: This item required students to determine what proportion of the billiard table is shaded blue. The first two lines, indicating the path of the ball, divide the table into three sections. One section is 8 square units, one is 2 square units and the section shaded blue is 14 square units. The proportion of the table

shaded blue is . The key is option D. Option A is chosen after miscounting the half square units of the

shaded area to give 12 of 24 (or 10 of 20) to obtain . Option B is chosen after incorrectly dividing the table

along the first path line only, and placing 16 over 24 to arrive at . Option C is found by incorrectly placing 10

over 14, to obtain .

Item 84: In this item, students were required to substitute values into a given formula and then to solve the equation to obtain the key. Option D is the key. The other options are based on predicted mistakes during the solving process. Option A is obtained if 2 is incorrectly subtracted from 11 instead of added. Option B is found if 24 alone is divided by 3; that error results in the value 5. Option C is achieved if 11 is incorrectly multiplied by 3 and if 2 is taken from 24 so that 22 is subtracted from 33.

Item 85: This item required students to find the number of points scored in a game based upon the number of rebounds achieved on a billiard table. In this game, one point is awarded for the first rebound, and each additional rebound is awarded twice the points of the preceding rebound. In order to get a score of 63, a player needs a table that will give six rebounds that are scored: 1 + 2 + 4 + 8 + 16 + 32 = 63. Option B is the key. Option A is based on miscounting the number of rebounds. Option C is obtained if the score is doubled until a result near to ‘63’ is found. This is from the seventh rebound (64). Option D involves the double error of doubling incorrectly as in Option C and miscounting the resultant number of rebounds.

Item 86: This item introduces the idea that the ball may be shot from Q at any angle between 0° and 90°, rather than at 45° only. The ball is shot at an angle so that the ball first rebounds from the right side of the table, 1.5 units from corner R. Students were required to find where the ball first rebounds from the top side of the table. Option C is the key. If students measured 1.5 units up from R on the right side of the table and drew the path line from Q to that point, then using an equal angle drew the next path line to the left side it would hit one unit from P, and then, once again with an equal angle drew a line to show the rebound it would

42 42+ 4 4 2+

22 22+

1424------- 7

12-------=

12---

23---

57---


hit a point that would be 0.5 units directly above S. This last line will cross the top side at a point 4 units from P. Option A is obtained if the units from S instead of P were counted. The other options result from the careless drawing of lines or measuring of angles.

Unit 21 Lord of the Rings

This unit includes a short comprehension piece about attitudes toward the literary merit of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

Unit 22 Peano-Jordan

This unit is based on a technique for estimating the areas of irregular, closed shapes, especially those with curved boundaries. Students were required to understand and apply the given rules and processes.

Unit 23 Rational thought

This unit is based on an adapted extract and sits squarely within the broader debate that sees some sort of conflict between religion and science, between non-rational and rational modes of thought. To attend to the items students were required to manage the conceptual and linguistic loading of the text.

Common Curriculum Elements (CCEs) and the MC formatOf the 49 CCEs, the following cannot be tested directly in MC format, though a few CCEs such as graphing, summarising and manipulating equipment, may be tested at ‘second order’ i.e. indirectly:• 11 Summarising/condensing written text• 12 Compiling lists/statistics• 13 Recording/noting data• 14 Compiling results in a tabular form• 15 Graphing• 20 Setting out/presenting/arranging/displaying• 21 Structuring/organising extended written text• 22 Structuring/organising a mathematical argument• 26 Explaining to others• 27 Expounding a viewpoint• 46 Creating/composing/devising• 53 Observing systematically• 55 Gesturing• 57 Manipulating/operating/using equipment• 60 Sketching/drawing.

These CCEs can be validly tested in Short Response (SR) format.


12

Short Response (SR)This year’s SR subtest comprised 16 items across nine units. As students worked through each unit, they interacted with stimulus material that was chosen to be challenging and engaging. Test developers paid careful attention to framing each item in a way that made it accessible to most students. The SR testpaper comprised units with stimulus material selected from fields such as mathematics, science, history, the social sciences and literature.

This year’s paper was varied in its content, covering a broad range of CCEs. The different tasks included drawing and labelling a mud-map, calculating the value of a numerical expression, estimating area on a map, measuring carefully and locating features on a diagram, providing clear explanations and giving evidence to justify a point of view.

Model responses and commentaries on student performance

What follows is an item-by-item report that includes model responses and marking schemes, tables and graphs of the distributions of grades, and commentaries that discuss the tasks. At times, references to specific student responses are included to exemplify observations. As much as possible, model responses are actual student responses. Model responses are those that demonstrate a high level of performance and would have been awarded the highest grade.

For some items, especially the more open-ended items, responses were extremely varied. For these responses it is not possible to provide examples of the many ways students responded. The detailed, item-specific marking schemes indicate the scope of acceptable responses for different grades. Even for the more closed items the marking schemes demonstrate that different ways of perceiving ‘the solution’ were able to gain credit.

Marking schemes

The marking schemes used during the marking operation and included in this section of the Retrospective are not designed to be read in isolation. They are only one element of the marking prescription. During the marking operation markers undergo rigorous training in how to apply the marking schemes to student responses of one marking unit. The training involves careful consideration and application of the material presented by immersers.

All SR items are double marked. This means that a student’s response booklet is marked by at least 10 different, independent markers. Referee marking also occurs when necessary.

For organisational purposes during the marking operation, the testpaper units were grouped into five marking units. In 2015, Marking Unit 1 contained testpaper units One and Five, Marking Unit 2 contained testpaper units Two and Three, Marking Unit 4 contained testpaper units Four and Nine, Marking Unit 6 contained testpaper units Six and Seven and Marking Unit 8 contained testpaper unit Eight.

Each marking scheme provides descriptors for up to five creditable grades, as well as the non-contributory grades N (where the response is unintelligible or does not satisfy the requirements of any other grade) and O (where no response has been given).


SR 2015 summary

Note: CCEs specific to an item are listed on the item’s marking scheme.The baskets into which CCEs are grouped are shown in Appendix 3.

Unit Item Basket Common Curriculum Elements by unit

OnePerspectives

1 4 Interpreting the meaning of words …28 Empathising

TwoK-maps

2 6 Interpreting the meaning of … diagrams …29 Comparing, contrasting30 Classifying44 Synthesising3

ThreeWater diviner

4 26 Explaining to others43 Analysing

FourMud-map

5 16 Calculating with or without calculators50 Visualising60 Sketching/drawing

FiveAgatha

6 5 Interpreting the meaning of … illustrations

26 Explaining to others31 Interrelating … ideas43 Analysing44 Synthesising46 Creating/composing/devising50 Visualising

7

SixEngineer

8 16 Calculating with or without calculators36 Applying strategies to trial and test ideas and procedures38 Generalising from information46 Creating/composing/devising48 Justifying

9

SevenAnt wall

10 6 Interpreting the meaning of … maps …7 Translating from one form to another

17 Estimating numerical magnitude29 Comparing, contrasting45 Evaluating

11

EightLiar

12 10 Using vocabulary appropriate to a context29 Comparing, contrasting32 Deducing33 Reaching a conclusion which is consistent with a given set of assumptions42 Criticising48 Justifying52 Searching and locating … information

13

14

NineTaking off

15 15 Graphing16 Calculating with or without calculators17 Estimating numerical magnitude18 Approximating a numerical value22 Structuring … a mathematical argument44 Synthesising48 Justifying

16


14

Unit OneThe item in this unit is about how a partly-filled glass of water is described by a person and what that says about their attitude to life.

The following table shows the percentage of responses awarded the various grades for the item in this unit.

Item 1

Commentary

Item 1 is a two-star item that tested achievement in CCEs 28 Empathising and 4 Interpreting the meaning of words.

The item required students to consider five words that can be used for people with various perspectives on life. Next to each word are letters A–E. Students were required to match each word to the best associated comment, regarding the glass of water, by writing the appropriate letter in the box provided.

The cue directed students to use each letter once only.

An A-grade response needed to show the five correct matches.

Students should remember to follow cues carefully. Some students used the first letter of the words provided or used a letter more than once which impacted on their ability to achieve the highest grade. Particularly in closed items such as this one, students are encouraged not to leave blanks.

Model response

A B C D E N O

Item 1 58.8 21.1 17 2.8 0.3

A shaded box indicates that the grade was not available for that item.

A B C N O

100%

The glass is half empty.

Break the glass.

The glass should be full.

The glass is half full.

The glass is too big.

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

OPTIMIST

IDEALIST

ANARCHIST

PRAGMATIST

PESSIMIST

E

C

A

B

D


PER

FOR

MA

NC

E D

OM

AIN

Mar

king

Sch

eme

Mar

king

Uni

t 1 1

of 3

UN

IT O

NE

ITEM

1

N

Res

pons

e is

un

inte

lligi

ble

or d

oes n

ot

satis

fy th

e re

quir

emen

ts

for

any

othe

r gr

ade. O

No

resp

onse

ha

s bee

n m

ade

at a

ny ti

me.

28E

mpa

this

ing

4In

terp

retin

g th

e m

eani

ng o

f wor

ds �

C

The

res

pons

e sh

ows o

ne c

orre

ct m

atch

.

A

The

res

pons

e sh

ows t

he fi

ve c

orre

ct m

atch

es.

E C B A D

B

The

res

pons

e sh

ows t

hree

cor

rect

mat

ches

.

Not

e:1.

In th

e ca

se o

f

�ot

her

lett

ers h

avin

g be

en u

sed

�an

y le

tter

hav

ing

bein

g us

ed m

ore

than

onc

e

�lin

es h

avin

g be

ing

used

rat

her

than

lette

rs

�bo

th li

nes a

nd le

tter

s hav

ing

bein

g us

ed,

grad

e th

e re

spon

se o

n th

e ba

sis o

f the

num

ber

of m

atch

es a

ccor

ding

to th

e m

arki

ng sc

hem

e.

Mod

el R

espo

nse:

Th

e g

lass

is

hal

f em

pty

.

Bre

ak t

he

gla

ss.

Th

e g

lass

sh

ou

ld b

e fu

ll.

Th

e g

lass

is

hal

f fu

ll.

Th

e g

lass

is

too

big

.

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

OP

TIM

IST

IDE

AL

IST

AN

AR

CH

IST

PR

AG

MA

TIS

T

PE

SS

IMIS

T

E C AB D


16

Unit TwoThe items in this unit are based on information about using diagrams to indicate the splitting of a given group into sub-groups.

The following table shows the percentage of responses awarded the various grades for the items in this unit.

Item 2

Commentary

Item 2 is a three-star item that tested achievement in CCEs 29 Comparing, contrasting and 6 Interpreting the meaning of diagrams.

A diagrammatic method of representing a group of people with sub-groups based on various attributes was presented. The example given considered whether people were under 14 years of age or aged 14 years and over and whether or not they owned an iPod. The same group of people was further subdivided according to whether they liked or did not like music and the diagram was adjusted to show this.

The item comprised two parts. In the first part students were required to provide a succinct definition of the people in the cell marked as x. In the second part, students had to compare the characteristics of the people in the cells marked as y and z and say in what ways they differed and how they were similar.

A cue for the second part instructed students to give details.

An A-grade response needed to provide the three required attributes for part I and correctly explain the shared attribute and the two different attributes for part II. The six points needed to be correct and complete with no incorrect or extraneous information included.

Students should remember that where the stimulus explains a new concept and gives examples/models to aid in comprehension they should spend time interrogating the examples/models and any given information to gain a full understanding before responding to the items.

Model response

A B C D E N O

Item 2 32.9 43.6 13.3 7.6 1.5 1.1

Item 3 7.2 30.9 39.3 13.5 6.7 2.4


A B C N O

100%

D

Do not own an iPod, aged under 14, like music.

Group y members own an iPod and are aged under 14 while

group z do not own an iPod and are aged 14 and over.

Those in groups y and z are similar in their dislike of music.


PER

FOR

MA

NC

E D

OM

AIN

Mar

king

Sch

eme

Mar

king

Uni

t 2 1

of 3

UN

IT T

WO

ITEM

2

C

The

res

pons

e sa

tisfie

s FO

UR

of t

he

follo

win

g po

ints

.

For

part

Ipr

ovid

es

�do

es n

ot o

wn

an iP

od�

aged

und

er 1

4�

likes

mus

ic.

For

part

II

clea

rly

iden

tifie

s tha

t the

gro

ups a

re

�di

ffere

nt �

gro

up y

ow

n an

iPod

bu

t gro

up z

do n

ot o

wn

an iP

od�

diffe

rent

� g

roup

y a

re a

ged

unde

r 14

bu

t gro

up z

are a

ged

14 a

nd o

ver /

ove

r 14

�si

mila

r �

gro

up y

do

not l

ike

mus

ican

d gr

oup

z do

not l

ike

mus

ic.

No

inco

rrec

t inf

orm

atio

n is

incl

uded

in th

e cr

edita

ble

poin

ts.

A

The

res

pons

e sa

tisfie

s all

SIX

of t

he

follo

win

g po

ints

.

For

part

Ipr

ovid

es

�do

es n

ot o

wn

an iP

od�

aged

und

er 1

4�

likes

mus

ic.

For

part

II

clea

rly

iden

tifie

s tha

t the

gro

ups a

re

�di

ffer

ent �

gro

up y

ow

n an

iPod

bu

t gro

up z

do n

ot o

wn

an iP

od�

diff

eren

t � g

roup

y a

re a

ged

unde

r 14

bu

t gro

up z

are

aged

14

and

over

�si

mila

r �

gro

up y

do

not l

ike

mus

ican

d gr

oup

z do

not l

ike

mus

ic.

No

inco

rrec

t or

extr

aneo

us in

form

atio

n is

in

clud

ed.

B

The

resp

onse

satis

fies F

IVE

of t

he fo

llow

ing

poin

ts.

For

part

Ipr

ovid

es

�do

es n

ot o

wn

an iP

od�

aged

und

er 1

4�

likes

mus

ic.

For

part

II

clea

rly

iden

tifie

s tha

t the

gro

ups a

re

�di

ffere

nt �

gro

up y

ow

n an

iPod

bu

t gro

up z

do n

ot o

wn

an iP

od�

diffe

rent

� g

roup

y a

re a

ged

unde

r 14

bu

t gro

up z

are a

ged

14 a

nd o

ver /

ove

r 14

�si

mila

r �

gro

up y

do

not l

ike

mus

ican

d gr

oup

z do

not l

ike

mus

ic.

No

inco

rrec

t inf

orm

atio

n is

incl

uded

in th

e cr

edita

ble

poin

ts.

D

The

resp

onse

satis

fies T

WO

of t

he fo

llow

ing

poin

ts.

For

part

Ipr

ovid

es

�do

es n

ot o

wn

an iP

od�

aged

und

er 1

4�

likes

mus

ic.

No

inco

rrec

t inf

orm

atio

n is

incl

uded

in th

e cr

edita

ble

poin

ts.

The

resp

onse

satis

fies O

NE

of t

he fo

llow

ing

poin

ts.

For

part

II

clea

rly

iden

tifie

s tha

t the

gro

ups a

re

�di

ffer

ent �

gro

up y

ow

n an

iPod

bu

t gro

up z

do n

ot o

wn

an iP

od�

diff

eren

t � g

roup

y a

re a

ged

unde

r 14

bu

t gro

up z

are a

ged

14 a

nd o

ver /

ove

r 14

�si

mila

r �

gro

up y

do

not l

ike

mus

ican

d gr

oup

z do

not l

ike

mus

ic.

No

inco

rrec

t inf

orm

atio

n is

incl

uded

in th

e cr

edita

ble

poin

t.

OR

N

Res

pons

e is

un

inte

lligi

ble

or d

oes n

ot

satis

fy th

e re

quir

emen

ts

for

any

othe

r gr

ade. O

No

resp

onse

ha

s bee

n m

ade

at a

ny ti

me.

29C

ompa

ring

, con

tras

ting

6In

terp

retin

g th

e m

eani

ng o

f � d

iagr

ams �

Not

es:

1.Fo

r al

l gra

des a

ccep

t iP*

d as

iPod

rega

rdle

ss o

f the

lette

r in

the

* po

sitio

n.

2.W

ithin

a r

espo

nse,

a p

oint

can

not g

ain

cred

it if

who

le o

r pa

rt o

f the

poi

nt

is o

mitt

ed o

r w

hole

or

part

of t

he p

oint

is in

corr

ect.

3.Fo

r th

e B

-, C

- and

D-g

rade

s �do

not

list

en to

mus

ic� i

s acc

epta

ble

for

�do

not l

ike

mus

ic�.

Sim

ilarl

y, �l

iste

n to

mus

ic� i

s acc

epta

ble

for

�like

mus

ic�.

4.E

xtra

neou

s inf

orm

atio

n is

una

ccep

tabl

e at

the

A-g

rade

. Ext

rane

ous

info

rmat

ion

attr

ibut

es a

cha

ract

eris

tic th

at is

not

iden

tifia

ble

from

the

diag

ram

. Thi

s app

lies t

o bo

th p

arts

I an

d II

. An

exam

ple

of e

xtra

neou

s in

form

atio

n is

�onl

y ge

eky

guys

ow

n an

iPod

so g

roup

x a

re g

eeky

mal

es�.

Mod

el R

espo

nse:

Part

I.

Do

not o

wn

an iP

od, a

ged

unde

r 14

, lik

e m

usic

.

Part

II.

Gro

up y

mem

bers

ow

n an

iPod

and

are

age

d un

der

14

whi

le g

roup

z do

not

ow

n an

iPod

and

are

age

d 14

and

ove

r.

Tho

se in

gro

ups y

and

z ar

e sim

ilar i

n th

eir d

islik

e of m

usic

.


18

Item 3

Commentary

Item 3 is a three-star item that tested achievement in CCEs 44 Synthesising and 30 Classifying.

The stimulus material provided a rectangular grid representing the whole numbers from 1 to 99. Five sub-groups were specified in the legend and labelled on the diagram. The stimulus explained that for each specified sub-group there was an opposite sub-group that had to be inferred. For example the cells labelled ‘odd numbers’ left other cells unlabelled and so by inference these contained even numbers.

The item comprised four parts. An A-grade response needed to provide correct answers to all four parts. Part I could not include incorrect surplus information and part III could provide only one number.

Students should remember not to add non-required information. Examples particular to this item are: giving incorrect surplus information for part I such as ‘half are odd numbers and half are even numbers’ when in fact the distribution of odd and even numbers in the shaded cells is not half and half; providing all six possible answers for part III when the requirement was for an example of a number.

Model response

A B C N O

100%

D

60

w

less than 50, divisible by 3, does not contain 7

97


PER

FOR

MA

NC

E D

OM

AIN

Mar

king

Sch

eme

Mar

king

Uni

t 2 2

of 3

UN

IT T

WO

ITEM

3

N

Res

pons

e is

un

inte

lligi

ble

or d

oes n

ot

satis

fy th

e re

quir

emen

ts

for

any

othe

r gr

ade. O

No

resp

onse

ha

s bee

n m

ade

at a

ny ti

me.

44Sy

nthe

sisi

ng30

Cla

ssify

ing

C

The

res

pons

e pr

ovid

es c

orre

ct a

nsw

ers t

o T

WO

par

ts:

I.le

ss th

an 5

0,

divi

sibl

e by

3,

does

not

con

tain

7

II.

�60�

cor

rect

ly p

ositi

oned

in th

e di

agra

m

III.

one

of 6

7, 7

1, 7

3, 7

7, 7

9, 9

7

IV.�

w� c

orre

ctly

pos

ition

ed in

the

diag

ram

.

A

The

res

pons

e pr

ovid

es c

orre

ct a

nsw

ers t

o al

l FO

UR

par

ts:

I.le

ss th

an 5

0,

divi

sibl

e by

3,

does

not

con

tain

7

(no

inco

rrec

t sur

plus

info

rmat

ion

is

incl

uded

)

II.

�60�

cor

rect

ly p

ositi

oned

in th

e di

agra

m

III.

only

one

of

67,

71,

73,

77,

79,

97

IV.�

w� c

orre

ctly

pos

ition

ed in

the

diag

ram

.

B

The

res

pons

e pr

ovid

es c

orre

ct a

nsw

ers t

o al

l FO

UR

par

ts:

I.le

ss th

an 5

0,

divi

sibl

e by

3,

does

not

con

tain

7

(no

inco

rrec

t sur

plus

info

rmat

ion

is

incl

uded

)

II.

�60�

cor

rect

ly p

ositi

oned

in th

e di

agra

m

III.

one

of 6

7, 7

1, 7

3, 7

7, 7

9, 9

7

IV.�

w� c

orre

ctly

pos

ition

ed in

the

diag

ram

.

D

The

resp

onse

pro

vide

s the

corr

ect a

nsw

er to

O

NE

par

t:

I.le

ss th

an 5

0,

divi

sibl

e by

3,

does

not

con

tain

7

II.

�60�

cor

rect

ly p

ositi

oned

in th

e di

agra

m

III.

one

of 6

7, 7

1, 7

3, 7

7, 7

9, 9

7

IV.�

w� c

orre

ctly

pos

ition

ed in

the

diag

ram

.

Mod

el R

espo

nse:

part

I �

less

than

50,

div

isib

le b

y 3,

doe

s not

con

tain

7pa

rt II

� o

n di

agra

mpa

rt II

I � 9

7pa

rt IV

� o

n di

agra

m

A

B

v

C

D

EE

w

60

Not

es:

1.Fo

r pa

rt I,

resp

onse

s MU

ST in

clud

e A

LL

thre

e st

atem

ents

. Fai

lure

to h

ave

all t

hree

mea

ns th

is p

art i

s no

t cre

dita

ble.

2.If

ther

e is

surp

lus i

nfor

mat

ion

prov

ided

in p

art I

, det

erm

ine

whe

ther

the

info

rmat

ion

is c

orre

ct o

r in

corr

ect i

n co

nsid

erin

g th

e A

- and

B-g

rade

s. T

here

are

add

ition

al st

atem

ents

stud

ents

MAY

incl

ude

in p

art I

� st

atem

ents

that

are

cor

rect

but

do

not d

efin

e.E

xam

ples

of C

OR

RE

CT

stat

emen

ts a

re: �

num

bers

can

be

both

eve

n an

d od

d� o

r �n

umbe

rs m

ay o

r m

ay n

ot b

e di

visi

ble

by 5

�. E

xam

ples

of I

NC

OR

RE

CT

stat

emen

ts a

re: �

half

of th

e nu

mbe

rs a

re o

dd a

nd h

alf e

ven�

or

�tw

o of

th

em a

re d

ivis

ible

by

5�.

3.If

ther

e ar

e m

ultip

le e

ntri

es fo

r pa

rt II

or

for

part

IV, t

hat p

art d

oes n

ot g

ain

cred

it.

4.If

ther

e ar

e m

ultip

le e

ntri

es fo

r pa

rt II

I, th

at p

art w

ill n

ot g

ain

cred

it to

war

ds a

n A

-gra

de; c

onsi

der

the

first

ent

ry o

nly

to d

eter

min

e w

heth

er th

e pa

rt m

ay c

ontr

ibut

e to

the

awar

d of

a B

-, C

- or

D-g

rade

.

5.C

ell w

is a

nul

l set

.


20

Unit ThreeThe item in this unit is based on a poem titled The Diviner which describes a water diviner going about the business of finding water without using any scientific apparatus.


Item 4

Commentary

Item 4 is a three-star item that tested achievement in CCEs 43 Analysing and 26 Explaining to others.

The item required students to investigate the poet’s use of language to establish the sense that the water diviner has mastery over his craft. Students were required to cite a specific instance of this deliberate use of language from each stanza and make clear how this sense of mastery is established. At all creditable grades the response needed to be consistent with a reasonable reading of the poem.

An A-grade response needed to be consistent with a reasonable reading of the poem; cite three instances (one from each stanza) and explain how the use of language in each instance clearly established the diviner’s mastery over his craft.

The majority of responses cited three relevant instances of the deliberate selection of language. However some did not provide a clear explanation of how the language establishes the diviner’s mastery.

Students should remember to unpack all aspects of the stem and ensure that they address each and every aspect, e.g. citing a deliberate use of language and then making clear how this establishes the idea of mastery over his craft.

A B C D E N O

Item 4 3.3 17.1 47 13.8 12.9 5.9


A B C N O

100%

D


Model response

In stanza one ‘nervous, but professionally’ says that, despite the pressure of being

watched, the diviner remains composed and focused on doing his job. His nervousness

shows he is psyched up, a bit like a professional before a performance.

The diviner is a master at his job, expertly working under pressure even when nervous.

The second stanza features the words, ‘suddenly broadcasting through a green aerial

its secret stations’. The use of the word ‘secret’ makes it seem that the water diviner

is privy to something that others are not. He is unique.

In stanza three ‘the hazel stirred’ refers to the diviner’s tool, basically a dead stick.

Stirred is often used to describe a person waking up. Here ‘stirred’ tells us that this

simple tool becomes alive even when not in direct contact with the diviner’s hands.

Describing a simple dead stick as stirring and turning it into a useful living tool adds to

the idea that the diviner has power and mastery over his craft.


22

UN

IT T

HR

EEIT

EM 4

PER

FOR

MA

NC

E D

OM

AIN

Mar

king

Sch

eme

Mar

king

Uni

t 2 3

of 3

N

Res

pons

e is

un

inte

lligi

ble

or d

oes n

ot

satis

fy th

e re

quir

emen

ts

for

any

othe

r gr

ade. O

No

resp

onse

ha

s bee

n m

ade

at a

ny ti

me.

43A

naly

sing

26E

xpla

inin

g to

oth

ers

C

The

resp

onse

is co

nsis

tent

with

a re

ason

able

re

adin

g of

the

poem

and

�ci

tes O

NE

inst

ance

�ex

plai

ns h

ow th

e us

e of

lang

uage

in th

is

inst

ance

cle

arly

est

ablis

hes t

he d

ivin

er�s

m

aste

ry o

ver

his c

raft

.

The

resp

onse

is co

nsis

tent

with

a re

ason

able

re

adin

g of

the

poem

and

�pr

ovid

es T

WO

exa

mpl

es o

f rel

evan

t ph

rase

s/wor

ds fr

om d

iffer

ent s

tanz

as�

for

each

exa

mpl

e, g

ives

an

acco

unt t

hat

poin

ts to

the

divi

ner�

s mas

tery

ove

r hi

s cr

aft.

OR

A

The

resp

onse

is co

nsis

tent

with

a re

ason

able

re

adin

g of

the

poem

and

�

cite

s TH

RE

E in

stan

ces w

ith o

ne fr

om

each

stan

za�

expl

ains

how

the

use

of la

ngua

ge in

eac

h in

stan

ce c

lear

ly e

stab

lishe

s the

div

iner

�s

mas

tery

ove

r hi

s cra

ft.

B

The

resp

onse

is co

nsis

tent

with

a re

ason

able

re

adin

g of

the

poem

and

�

cite

s TW

O in

stan

ces e

ach

from

a

diff

eren

t sta

nza

�ex

plai

ns h

ow th

e us

e of

lang

uage

in e

ach

inst

ance

cle

arly

est

ablis

hes t

he d

ivin

er�s

m

aste

ry o

ver

his c

raft

.

D

The

resp

onse

is co

nsis

tent

with

a re

ason

able

re

adin

g of

the

poem

and

�pr

ovid

es O

NE

exa

mpl

e of

a r

elev

ant

phra

se/w

ords

from

the

poem

�fo

r th

is e

xam

ple,

giv

es a

n ac

coun

t tha

t po

ints

to th

e di

vine

r�s m

aste

ry o

ver

his

craf

t.

Not

es:

1.T

he st

anza

s fro

m w

hich

inst

ance

s/ex

ampl

es a

re c

ited

do n

ot n

eed

to b

e st

ated

.

2.T

he u

se o

f �bu

t pro

fess

iona

lly ..

. Unf

usse

d.� c

an b

e at

trib

uted

to

EIT

HER

stan

za 1

OR

stan

za 2

but

not

to b

oth.

Ano

ther

exa

mpl

e fr

om

eith

er st

anza

1 o

r st

anza

2 m

ust t

hen

be u

sed.

The

thir

d ex

ampl

e m

ust

com

e fr

om st

anza

3.

Mod

el R

espo

nse:

In st

anza

one

�ner

vous

, but

pro

fess

iona

lly� s

ays t

hat,

desp

ite th

e pr

essu

re o

f bei

ng w

atch

ed, t

he d

ivin

er

rem

ains

com

pose

d an

d fo

cuse

d on

doi

ng h

is jo

b. H

is n

ervo

usne

ss sh

ows h

e is

psy

ched

up,

a b

it lik

e a

prof

essi

onal

bef

ore a

per

form

ance

. The

div

iner

is a

mas

ter a

t his

job,

expe

rtly

wor

king

und

er p

ress

ure e

ven

whe

n ne

rvou

s. T

he se

cond

stan

za fe

atur

es th

e w

ords

, �su

dden

ly b

road

cast

ing

thro

ugh

a gr

een

aeri

al it

s sec

ret s

tatio

ns�.

The

use

of t

he w

ord

�sec

ret�

mak

es it

seem

that

the

wat

er d

ivin

er is

pri

vy to

som

ethi

ng th

at o

ther

s are

not

. H

e is

uni

que.

In

stan

za th

ree �

the

haze

l stir

red�

ref

ers t

o th

e di

vine

r�s t

ool,

basi

cally

a d

ead

stic

k. S

tirre

d is

oft

en u

sed

to

desc

ribe

a p

erso

n w

akin

g up

. Her

e �s

tirre

d� te

lls u

s tha

t thi

s sim

ple

tool

bec

omes

aliv

e ev

en w

hen

not i

n di

rect

con

tact

with

the

divi

ner�

s han

ds. D

escr

ibin

g a

sim

ple

dead

stic

k as

stir

ring

and

turn

ing

it in

to a

us

eful

livi

ng to

ol a

dds t

o th

e id

ea th

at th

e di

vine

r ha

s pow

er a

nd m

aste

ry o

ver

his c

raft

.

Las

t Pag

e C

ount


Unit FourThe item in this unit is based on information about the highway between Meekatharra and Newman in Western Australia.


Item 5

Commentary

Item 5 is a three-star item that tested achievement in CCEs 50 Visualising, 60 Sketching/drawing and 16 Calculating with or without calculators.

The item comprised two parts. In part I, students were required to draw a simple sketch or mud-map of a section of highway between the towns Meekatharra and Newman. They needed to draw two side roads which meet this highway, label their destinations and then indicate, with a cross, the location of a given sign. Part II of the item required students to complete a blank sign as it would appear to a person turning onto the highway from the intersection that did not have the given sign at it. The map did not need to be drawn to scale.

An A-grade response needed to provide a diagram which correctly showed the six pieces of data described in the stimulus material and correctly complete the blank sign. All creditable grades required the representation of the highway on the diagram to be oriented in a north-south direction.

Some responses indicated that locating east to show the side road that ‘comes in from the east’ caused some difficulty. A good many students, incorrectly, placed a cross at both intersections. This was presumably a result of misreading ‘this sign’s position’ as ‘signs’.

Students should be instructed to read the stem carefully and not to do more than what is required, e.g. only one sign’s position was to be marked on the diagram not the positions of two signs as some responses showed. Where more than one response or part of a response is provided and it is not clear which is to be marked or which is the first response, credit cannot be given.

A B C D E N O

Item 5 41.5 15 19 5 16.4 3.2


A B C D N O

100%


24

Model response


PER

FOR

MA

NC

E D

OM

AIN

Mar

king

Sch

eme

Mar

king

Uni

t 4 1

of 5

UN

IT F

OU

RIT

EM 5

N

Res

pons

e is

un

inte

lligi

ble

or d

oes n

ot

satis

fy th

e re

quir

emen

ts

for

any

othe

r gr

ade. O

No

resp

onse

ha

s bee

n m

ade

at a

ny ti

me.

50V

isua

lisin

g60

Sket

chin

g/dr

awin

g16

Cal

cula

ting

with

or

with

out c

alcu

lato

rs

C

The

res

pons

e

for

part

Ish

ows a

dia

gram

on

whi

ch th

e hi

ghw

ay is

or

ient

ed c

orre

ctly

and

�tw

o si

de r

oads

and

no

othe

r ro

ads a

re

show

n�

one

side

roa

d is

mar

ked

Plut

onic

Air

port

�on

e si

de r

oad

is m

arke

d Pe

ak H

ill.

The

res

pons

e

for

part

IIpr

ovid

es a

sign

whi

ch sh

ows

�M

eeka

thar

ra o

n th

e le

ft an

d N

ewm

an o

n th

e ri

ght

�18

1 on

the

left

and

241

on

the

righ

t.

OR

A

The

res

pons

e

for

part

Ish

ows a

dia

gram

on

whi

ch th

e hi

ghw

ay is

or

ient

ed c

orre

ctly

and

�M

eeka

thar

ra a

nd N

ewm

an a

re m

arke

d co

rrec

tly�

two

side

roa

ds a

nd n

o ot

her

road

s are

sh

own

�on

e si

de ro

ad is

show

n on

the

righ

t of t

he

high

way

and

is m

arke

d Pl

uton

ic A

irpo

rt�

one

side

roa

d is

show

n on

the

left

of t

he

high

way

and

is m

arke

d Pe

ak H

ill�

the

Plut

onic

Air

port

roa

d is

pos

ition

ed

low

er th

an th

e ot

her

side

roa

d�

the

sign

is po

sitio

ned

corr

ectly

AND

for

part

IIpr

ovid

es a

sign

whi

ch sh

ows

�M

eeka

thar

ra o

n th

e le

ft an

d N

ewm

an o

n th

e ri

ght

�18

1 on

the

left

and

241

on

the

righ

t.

B

The

res

pons

e

for

part

Ish

ows a

dia

gram

on

whi

ch th

e hi

ghw

ay is

or

ient

ed c

orre

ctly

and

pro

vide

s FIV

E of

�M

eeka

thar

ra a

nd N

ewm

an a

re m

arke

d co

rrec

tly�

two

side

roa

ds a

nd n

o ot

her

road

s are

sh

own

�on

e si

de ro

ad is

show

n on

the

righ

t of t

he

high

way

and

is m

arke

d Pl

uton

ic A

irpo

rt�

one

side

roa

d is

show

n on

the

left

of t

he

high

way

and

is m

arke

d Pe

ak H

ill�

the

Plut

onic

Air

port

roa

d is

pos

ition

ed

low

er th

an th

e ot

her

side

roa

d�

the

sign

is p

ositi

oned

con

sist

ent w

ith th

e re

st o

f the

dia

gram

AND

for

part

IIpr

ovid

es a

sign

whi

ch sh

ows

�M

eeka

thar

ra a

nd N

ewm

an c

onsis

tent

w

ith th

e di

agra

m in

par

t I.

D

The

res

pons

e

for

part

Ish

ows a

dia

gram

on

whi

ch th

e hi

ghw

ay is

or

ient

ed c

orre

ctly

and

pro

vide

s ON

E o

f

�on

ly tw

o si

de r

oads

are

show

n�

a si

de r

oad

is m

arke

d Pl

uton

ic A

irpo

rt

�a

side

roa

d is

mar

ked

Peak

Hill

.

Not

es:

1.T

he h

ighw

ay is

ori

ente

d co

rrec

tly if

it is

run

ning

bas

ical

ly n

orth

-sou

th.

2.In

the

abse

nce

of a

labe

lled

high

way

, the

hig

hway

goe

s bet

wee

n M

eeka

thar

ra a

nd N

ewm

an.

3.M

eeka

thar

ra a

nd N

ewm

an a

re m

arke

d co

rrec

tly if

Mee

kath

arra

is sh

own

belo

w N

ewm

an o

n th

e hi

ghw

ay.

4.Si

de r

oads

are

roa

ds th

at m

eet t

he h

ighw

ay b

ut d

o no

t cro

ss th

e hi

ghw

ay.

5.W

here

a n

ame

or si

gn is

mar

ked

in m

ore

than

one

pos

ition

, non

e ca

n ga

in c

redi

t.

6.Fo

r th

e B

-gra

de

�if

Mee

kath

arra

and

/or

New

man

are

not

mar

ked,

then

trea

t the

res

pons

e as

hav

ing

them

in th

e co

rrec

t pos

ition

/s fo

r th

e re

mai

ning

dot

poi

nts

�if

the

posi

tion

of th

e si

gn in

par

t I is

om

itted

or

is a

t bot

h si

de r

oads

, the

n tr

eat t

he

resp

onse

as h

avin

g it

in th

e co

rrec

t pos

ition

whe

n m

arki

ng p

art I

I.


26

Mar

king

Sch

eme

UN

IT F

OU

RIT

EM 5

Mar

king

Uni

t 4 2

of 5

Mod

el R

espo

nse:

18

1M

ee

ka

th

ar

ra

Ne

wm

an

24

1

I.II

.

no

t t

o s

ca

leN

Ne

wm

an

Pe

ak

Hil

l

Plu

to

nic

Air

po

rt

Me

ek

at

ha

rra

X


Unit FiveThe items of this unit are based on two pages from a comic book version of a novel set in Paris in 1928.


Item 6

Commentary

Item 6 is a four-star item that tested achievement in CCEs 43 Analysing, 31 Interrelating ideas, 5 Interpreting the meaning of illustrations and 26 Explaining to others.

The item required students to describe the atmosphere created across the two pages of the comic book and discuss how this atmosphere was developed and conveyed.

The cue instructed students to refer to features such as characters, setting and lighting.

An A-grade response needed to identify an atmosphere, explain how two observable features within the panels conveyed this atmosphere and to reveal how a feature in the final panel contributed to the atmosphere.

Some responses merely explained the progress of the story across the panels instead of explaining how the atmosphere is conveyed. This was not what the stem required.

Students should remember to consider all the stimulus provided and to give clear and detailed explanations. An error sometimes made is that only cursory links or references are provided which do not give enough information and depend on the reader to infer meaning. Identifying specific details of features (e.g. dim, yellow lighting) rather than just the feature itself (lighting) can help with a detailed explanation.

A B C D E N O

Item 6 8.8 28.8 28.1 22.7 8.4 1.5 1.7

Item 7 21.8 24.8 41 5.4 1.5 5.5


A B C D N O

100%

E


28

Model response

There is a tangible sense of fear and foreboding across the comic panels.

The night time se�ing, derelict buildings, shadowy �gures and dim lighting

adds to this atmosphere. The �rst panel establishes the cold, alienating street scene. It is

clear this is not a place where you would feel safe at night. The street lights, lit windows and

car headlights offer some comfort from the darkness but this does nothing to ease the

atmosphere of fear and foreboding when the shadowed �gure in panels 2, 3, 5 is seen

following the �rst man. The cloaked man’s mysterious presence, furtive actions and concealed

appearance all contribute to this tension as we sense his motivations are sinister. The

organisation of the panels and the artist’s ability to conceal elements (faces) and reveal

details (mist in panel 3, cracked walls in all panels) adds to the fear, as a clear picture of what

is going on or about to happen isn’t apparent. The relief as the pursued man �nds safety in the

building is temporary as panel 6 reveals the masked man staring up at the window. The sharp,

skeleton-like features of the mask and even the shirt adds fear as they look sinister and also

conceal the character’s face and identity. This causes suspicion in the viewer about the

masked man. We can assume by all these elements that the masked man is intent on

something untoward in the room above the cold, dark, disquieting street.


UN

IT F

IVE

ITEM

6

PER

FOR

MA

NC

E D

OM

AIN

Mar

king

Sch

eme

Mar

king

Uni

t 1 2

of 3

N

Res

pons

e is

un

inte

lligi

ble

or d

oes n

ot

satis

fy th

e re

quir

emen

ts

for

any

othe

r gr

ade. O

No

resp

onse

ha

s bee

n m

ade

at a

ny ti

me.

43A

naly

sing

31In

terr

elat

ing

idea

s �

5In

terp

retin

g th

e m

eani

ng o

f � il

lust

ratio

ns26

Exp

lain

ing

to o

ther

s

C

The

res

pons

e

�id

entif

ies a

n at

mos

pher

e �

links

TW

O o

bser

vabl

e fe

atur

es

with

in th

e pa

nels

to th

is

atm

osph

ere

�in

add

ition

, als

o re

fers

to a

fe

atur

e in

the

final

pan

el th

at

cont

ribu

tes t

o th

is a

tmos

pher

e.

A

The

res

pons

e

�id

entif

ies a

n at

mos

pher

e �

expl

ains

how

TW

O o

bser

vabl

e fe

atur

es w

ithin

the

pane

ls

conv

ey th

is a

tmos

pher

e �

in a

dditi

on, a

lso

reve

als h

ow a

fe

atur

e in

the

final

pan

el

cont

ribu

tes t

o th

is a

tmos

pher

e.

B

The

res

pons

e

�id

entif

ies a

n at

mos

pher

e �

expl

ains

how

ON

E o

bser

vabl

e fe

atur

e w

ithin

the

pane

ls

conv

eys t

his a

tmos

pher

e �

in a

dditi

on, a

lso

refe

rs to

a

feat

ure

in th

e fin

al p

anel

that

co

ntri

bute

s to

this

atm

osph

ere.

D

The

res

pons

e

�id

entif

ies a

n at

mos

pher

e �

links

TW

O o

bser

vabl

e fe

atur

es

with

in th

e pa

nels

to th

is

atm

osph

ere.

E

The

res

pons

e in

clud

es

�a

wor

d or

phr

ase

that

is

indi

cativ

e of

an

atm

osph

ere

�a

link

betw

een

an o

bser

vabl

e fe

atur

e w

ithin

the

pane

ls a

nd

this

indi

cativ

e w

ord

or p

hras

e.

Not

es:

1.A

tmos

pher

e re

fers

to th

e m

ood,

tone

or

feel

ing.

2.M

ore

than

one

atm

osph

ere

may

be

iden

tifie

d in

a

cred

itabl

e re

spon

se a

s lon

g as

ther

e is

no

cont

radi

ctio

n.

Exa

mpl

es o

f con

trad

ictio

n in

clud

e ro

man

tic a

nd sc

ary,

fo

rebo

ding

and

hap

py�

Mod

el R

espo

nse:

The

re is

a ta

ngib

le se

nse

of fe

ar a

nd fo

rebo

ding

acr

oss t

he c

omic

pan

els.

The

nig

ht ti

me

sett

ing,

de

relic

t bui

ldin

gs, s

hado

wy

figur

es a

nd d

im li

ghtin

g ad

ds to

this

atm

osph

ere.

The

firs

t pan

el

esta

blish

es th

e co

ld, a

liena

ting

stre

et sc

ene.

It is

cle

ar th

is is

not a

pla

ce w

here

you

wou

ld fe

el sa

fe

at n

ight

. The

stre

et li

ghts

, lit

win

dow

s and

car

hea

dlig

hts o

ffer

som

e co

mfo

rt fr

om th

e da

rkne

ss

but t

his d

oes n

othi

ng to

eas

e th

e at

mos

pher

e of

fear

and

fore

bodi

ng w

hen

the

shad

owed

figu

re in

pa

nels

2, 3

, 5 is

seen

follo

win

g th

e fir

st m

an. T

he c

loak

ed m

an�s

mys

teri

ous p

rese

nce,

furt

ive

actio

ns a

nd c

once

aled

app

eara

nce

all c

ontr

ibut

e to

this

tens

ion

as w

e se

nse

his m

otiv

atio

ns a

re

sini

ster

. The

org

anis

atio

n of

the

pane

ls a

nd th

e ar

tist�s

abi

lity

to c

once

al e

lem

ents

(fac

es) a

nd

reve

al d

etai

ls (m

ist i

n pa

nel 3

, cra

cked

wal

ls in

all

pane

ls) a

dds t

o th

e fe

ar, a

s a c

lear

pic

ture

of

wha

t is g

oing

on

or a

bout

to h

appe

n is

n�t a

ppar

ent.

The

rel

ief a

s the

pur

sued

man

find

s saf

ety

in

the

build

ing

is te

mpo

rary

as p

anel

6 re

veal

s the

mas

ked

man

star

ing

up a

t the

win

dow

. The

shar

p,

skel

eton

-like

feat

ures

of t

he m

ask

and

even

the

shir

t add

s fea

r as

they

look

sini

ster

and

als

o co

ncea

l the

cha

ract

er�s

face

and

iden

tity.

Thi

s cau

ses s

uspi

cion

in th

e vi

ewer

abo

ut th

e m

aske

d m

an. W

e ca

n as

sum

e by

all

thes

e el

emen

ts th

at th

e m

aske

d m

an is

inte

nt o

n so

met

hing

unt

owar

d in

the

room

abo

ve th

e co

ld, d

ark,

dis

quie

ting

stre

et.


30

Item 7

Commentary

Item 7 is a three-star item that tested achievement in CCEs 44 Synthesising, 50 Visualising and 46 Creating, composing, devising.

The item required students to imagine and then to explain what they would draw in the newly created panel 7 of the comic book.

Students were told the new panel had to be in keeping with the panels already presented and progress the story without introducing new characters. They had to explain what they would draw and why, with respect to consistency of style, what

the established characters are doing and where they are.

An A-grade response needed to give a detailed description of what is to be drawn that is supported by an explanation. The explanation and description of the new single panel had to progress the story logically, introduce no new characters, use a setting that connected to the previous panels, account for both characters and consider how lighting is to be used. The response had to be consistent with the existing panels.

Some responses did not provide enough explanation or detail for the description of the drawing to be envisaged or understood. Responses that did not say how lighting was to be used in the new panel did not account for consistency of style (panels 1–6 each used yellow lighting) and so did not fully attend to the task.

Students should remember to follow all instructions in the stem carefully and use available planning space to help formulate their response.

Model response

A B C N O

100%

D

The drawing would be of the same apartment at night, still seen from the outside but

with the apartment window as the main feature in the new panel. The window would have

the yellow light spilling out of it to show, as do the previous panels, comfort and warmth.

In the bo�om right corner of the window the face of the man from panel 2 would be

looking out down to the street as he knew he was being followed but now looks out as he

feels safe inside. On the bo�om right of the new panel the cloaked and masked man is

seen walking away with only his back shown as he disappears into the gloomy night.

The masked man knows it is a waste of time to continue to chase his victim who is now

safe inside his apartment.


UN

IT F

IVE

ITEM

7

PER

FOR

MA

NC

E D

OM

AIN

Mar

king

Sch

eme

Mar

king

Uni

t 1 3

of 3

N

Res

pons

e is

un

inte

lligi

ble

or d

oes n

ot

satis

fy th

e re

quir

emen

ts

for

any

othe

r gr

ade. O

No

resp

onse

ha

s bee

n m

ade

at a

ny ti

me.

44Sy

nthe

sisi

ng50

Vis

ualis

ing

46C

reat

ing

/com

posi

ng /

dev

isin

g

C

The

resp

onse

giv

es a

des

crip

tion

of w

hat i

s to

be

draw

n.

The

des

crip

tion

�pr

ogre

sses

the

stor

y lo

gica

lly�

uses

a se

ttin

g th

at c

onne

cts t

o th

e pr

evio

us p

anel

s�

acco

unts

for

one

char

acte

r.

A

The

resp

onse

giv

es a

det

aile

d de

scri

ptio

n of

w

hat i

s to

be d

raw

n th

at is

supp

orte

d by

an

expl

anat

ion.

It is

evi

dent

from

the

expl

anat

ion

and

the

desc

ript

ion

that

the

new

sing

le p

anel

to b

e dr

awn

�pr

ogre

sses

the

stor

y lo

gica

lly�

intr

oduc

es n

o ne

w c

hara

cter

s�

uses

a se

ttin

g th

at c

onne

cts t

o th

e pr

evio

us p

anel

s�

acco

unts

for

both

cha

ract

ers

�co

nsid

ers h

ow li

ghtin

g is

to b

e us

ed.

The

res

pons

e is

con

sist

ent w

ith th

e ex

istin

g co

mic

boo

k pa

nels

.

B

The

res

pons

e gi

ves a

des

crip

tion

of w

hat i

s to

be

draw

n th

at is

supp

orte

d by

an

expl

anat

ion.

It is

evi

dent

from

the

expl

anat

ion

and

the

desc

ript

ion

that

the

new

sing

le p

anel

to b

e dr

awn

�pr

ogre

sses

the

stor

y lo

gica

lly�

intr

oduc

es n

o ne

w c

hara

cter

s�

uses

a se

ttin

g th

at c

onne

cts t

o th

e pr

evio

us p

anel

s�

acco

unts

for

one

char

acte

r�

cons

ider

s how

ligh

ting

is to

be

used

.

The

res

pons

e is

con

sist

ent w

ith th

e ex

istin

g co

mic

boo

k pa

nels

.

The

res

pons

e gi

ves a

des

crip

tion

of w

hat i

s to

be

draw

n th

at is

supp

orte

d by

an

expl

anat

ion.

It is

evi

dent

from

the

expl

anat

ion

and

the

desc

ript

ion

that

the

new

sing

le p

anel

to b

e dr

awn

�pr

ogre

sses

the

stor

y lo

gica

lly�

intr

oduc

es n

o ne

w c

hara

cter

s�

uses

a se

ttin

g th

at c

onne

cts t

o th

e pr

evio

us p

anel

s�

acco

unts

for

both

cha

ract

ers.

The

res

pons

e is

con

sist

ent w

ith th

e ex

istin

g co

mic

boo

k pa

nels

.OR

D

The

wri

tten

res

pons

e an

d su

pple

men

tary

m

ater

ial

�pr

ogre

ss th

e st

ory

�in

clud

e fea

ture

s tha

t con

nect

to p

revi

ous

pane

ls�

acco

unt f

or o

ne c

hara

cter

.

Not

es:

1.To

acc

ount

for

a ch

arac

ter,

the

resp

onse

mus

t ind

icat

e w

hat t

he c

hara

cter

is

doin

g or

whe

re th

e ch

arac

ter

is p

ositi

oned

.

2.Ig

nore

mat

eria

l in

the

draf

t spa

ce a

t the

A-,

B- a

nd C

-gra

des.

At t

he D

-gra

de, t

reat

mat

eria

l in

the

draf

t spa

ce a

s sup

plem

enta

ry m

ater

ial.

Mod

el R

espo

nse:

The

draw

ing

wou

ld b

e of

the

sam

e ap

artm

ent a

t nig

ht, s

till s

een

from

the

outs

ide

but w

ith th

e ap

artm

ent w

indo

w a

s the

mai

n fe

atur

e in

the

new

pan

el. T

he w

indo

w

wou

ld h

ave

the

yello

w li

ght s

pilli

ng o

ut o

f it t

o sh

ow, a

s do

the

prev

ious

pan

els,

com

fort

and

war

mth

. In

the

bott

om r

ight

cor

ner

of th

e w

indo

w th

e fa

ce o

f the

man

fr

om p

anel

2 w

ould

be

look

ing

out d

own

to th

e st

reet

as h

e kn

ew h

e w

as b

eing

fo

llow

ed b

ut n

ow lo

oks o

ut a

s he

feel

s saf

e in

side

. On

the

bott

om r

ight

of t

he n

ew

pane

l the

clo

aked

and

mas

ked

man

is se

en w

alki

ng a

way

with

onl

y hi

s bac

k sh

own

as h

e di

sapp

ears

into

the

gloo

my

nigh

t. Th

e m

aske

d m

an k

now

s it i

s a w

aste

of t

ime

to c

ontin

ue to

cha

se h

is v

ictim

who

is n

ow sa

fe in

side

his

apa

rtm

ent.

Las

t Pag

e C

ount


32

Unit SixThe items in this unit are based on an adapted copy of an advertisement used by a recruitment office. The advertisement was for the recruitment of engineers.


Item 8

Commentary

Item 8 is a three-star item that tested achievement in CCEs 16 Calculating with or without calculators, 36 Applying strategies to trial and test ideas and procedures and 46 Creating/composing/devising.

The item comprised two parts. Part I of the item required students to calculate the first four terms of the expression given in the advertisement, resulting in the six-digit telephone number of the recruitment office.

Part II of the item required students to follow a set of guidelines to create a three-term expression that used whole numbers and had a value of 209871.

The cue instructed students not to use zero or one as either of the numbers.

An A-grade response needed to show the number 132901 for part I and provide an expression that correctly attended to each of the four guidelines for part II. There were a limited number of solutions to part II. These were based on the five factors of 52 (excluding 1). Their squares were the only numbers that could be correctly used beneath the square root sign. The use of addition (+) or subtraction (–) in the triangle determined the numbers able to be used in the rectangles.

Some responses to part I showed that there were errors with the calculation of the powers 213 and 143. Some responses could not gain credit for part II as incorrect expressions were formed because the concept of order of operations was not applied correctly.

Students should revise basic mathematical concepts such as order of operations and know when to apply the concepts. In preparation for the test, students should practice using the approved calculator they will use in the test. For example, knowing how to make use of the necessary functions (such as the power function in this particular item) on their calculator is essential.

A B C D E N O

Item 8 20.3 3 58.7 16 1.9

Item 9 25.2 52.7 9.6 4.9 7.7


A B C N O

100%


1 3 2 9 0 1

2 0 9 8 8 4 1 6


34

UN

IT S

IXIT

EM 8

PER

FOR

MA

NC

E D

OM

AIN

Mar

king

Sch

eme

Mar

king

Uni

t 6 1

of 6

N

Res

pons

e is

un

inte

lligi

ble

or d

oes n

ot

satis

fy th

e re

quir

emen

ts

for

any

othe

r gr

ade. O

No

resp

onse

ha

s bee

n m

ade

at a

ny ti

me.

16C

alcu

latin

g w

ith o

r w

ithou

t cal

cula

tors

36A

pply

ing

stra

tegi

es to

tria

l and

test

idea

s and

pro

cedu

res

46C

reat

ing/

com

posi

ng/d

evis

ing

C

The

res

pons

e

for

part

I

�sh

ows 1

3290

1.

A

The

res

pons

e

for

part

I

�sh

ows 1

3290

1

AND

for

part

II

�pr

ovid

es a

n ex

pres

sion

that

cor

rect

ly a

tten

ds to

eac

h of

th

e fo

ur g

uide

lines

.

B

The

res

pons

e

for

part

II

�pr

ovid

es a

n ex

pres

sion

that

cor

rect

ly a

tten

ds to

eac

h of

th

e fo

ur g

uide

lines

.

Not

es:

1.In

sum

mar

y, th

e gu

idel

ines

are

:�

the

valu

e of

the

expr

essi

on is

209

871

� po

sitio

ns o

f �52

�, ,

can

not b

e ch

ange

d�

use

eith

er +

or

- in

the

tria

ngle

� w

hole

num

bers

onl

y to

be

used

in r

ecta

ngle

s. N

ot 0

or

1.

2.L

ist o

f all

poss

ible

res

pons

es fo

r pa

rt II

:

20

98

45

+5

2÷

4

20

98

58

+5

2÷

16

20

98

67

+5

2÷

16

9

20

98

69

+5

2÷

67

6

20

98

70

+5

2÷

27

04

20

98

97

–5

2÷

4

20

98

84

–5

2÷

16

20

98

75

–5

2÷

16

9

20

98

73

–5

2÷

67

6

20

98

72

–5

2÷

27

04

Mod

el R

espo

nse:

Part

I T

he si

x-di

git t

elep

hone

num

ber

for

the

recr

uitm

ent o

ffic

e is

132

901.

Part

II

=2

09

87

15

2÷

20

98

84

–1

6


Item 9

Commentary

Item 9 is a two-star item that tested achievement in CCEs 38 Generalising from information and 48 Justifying.

The item required students to suggest two qualities in applicants that the recruitment office appeared to be targeting with the advertisement. The two qualities had to be completely different. For each quality, the students were asked to explain the relationship between the quality and the advertisement.

An A-grade response needed to show two clearly different qualities and then convincingly explain the relationship of each quality to the advertisement. Two

common qualities that were cited included ‘mathematical ability’ and ‘perseverance’.

Some responses had the same quality used twice and merely expressed in different ways. Only one of the qualities could gain credit as the stem explicitly stated that they had to be completely different. Responses that used job titles instead of qualities, e.g. engineer or mathematician could also gain no credit.

Students need to pay careful attention to the explicit directions given in the stems of items and ensure they are responding as directed.

Model response

A B C N O

100%

Mathematical ability

A person would need good maths ability to be able

to complete the expressions in the advertisement to �nd the phone number.

Perseverance

A person would need to be prepared to persevere as they

worked through all the calculations in the advertisement.


36

PER

FOR

MA

NC

E D

OM

AIN

Mar

king

Sch

eme

Mar

king

Uni

t 6 2

of 6

UN

IT S

IXIT

EM 9

N

Res

pons

e is

un

inte

lligi

ble

or d

oes n

ot

satis

fy th

e re

quir

emen

ts

for

any

othe

r gr

ade. O

No

resp

onse

ha

s bee

n m

ade

at a

ny ti

me.

38G

ener

alis

ing

from

info

rmat

ion

48Ju

stify

ing

C

The

res

pons

e

�gi

ves o

ne q

ualit

y th

at th

e re

crui

tmen

t off

ice

wou

ld b

e se

ekin

g.

The

res

pons

e

�ex

plai

ns a

qua

lity

that

the

recr

uitm

ent o

ffic

e w

ould

be

seek

ing.

OR

A

The

res

pons

e

�gi

ves t

wo

clea

rly

diff

eren

t qua

litie

s tha

t the

rec

ruitm

ent

offic

e w

ould

be

seek

ing

�fo

r eac

h qu

ality

, con

vinc

ingl

y ex

plai

ns th

e rel

atio

nshi

p to

th

e ad

vert

isem

ent.

B

The

res

pons

e

�gi

ves o

ne q

ualit

y th

at th

e re

crui

tmen

t off

ice

wou

ld b

e se

ekin

g�

for

that

qua

lity,

con

vinc

ingl

y ex

plai

ns th

e re

latio

nshi

p to

th

e ad

vert

isem

ent.

The

res

pons

e

�gi

ves t

wo

clea

rly

diff

eren

t qua

litie

s tha

t the

rec

ruitm

ent

offic

e w

ould

be

seek

ing.

OR

Not

es:

1.Fo

r an

exp

lana

tion

to b

e co

nvin

cing

ther

e m

ust b

e an

exp

licit

link

to th

e ad

vert

isem

ent.

2.A

qua

lific

atio

n or

job

title

is n

ot a

qua

lity.

Mod

el R

espo

nse:

Qua

lity:

Mat

hem

atic

al a

bilit

y

A p

erso

n w

ould

nee

d go

od m

aths

abi

lity

to b

e ab

le to

com

plet

e th

e ex

pres

sion

s in

the

adve

rtis

emen

t to

find

the

phon

e nu

mbe

r.

Qua

lity:

Per

seve

ranc

e

A p

erso

n w

ould

nee

d to

be

prep

ared

to p

erse

vere

as t

hey

wor

ked

thro

ugh

all t

he c

alcu

latio

ns in

the

adve

rtis

emen

t.


Unit SevenThe items in this unit are based on a map showing the position of the Antonine Wall as well as diagrams and information about the Antonine Wall.


Item 10

Commentary

Item 10 is a three-star item that tested achievement in CCEs 6 Interpreting the meaning of maps and 17 Estimating numerical magnitude.

The item required students to use Figure 1 (a map) to help estimate the area of the mainland between Hadrian’s Wall and the Antonine Wall. They were instructed to clearly indicate the method they used.

The cues instructed students to show all steps, use pencil if working on Figure 1 and to round their estimate to the nearest 100 km2.

An A-grade response needed to involve only the relevant area, i.e. the area between the two walls on the mainland, indicate that an appropriate strategy was

used, explicitly apply the scale correctly and give an estimate of the area between 22400 and 24000 rounded to the nearest 100 km2. No incorrect working could be used to obtain the area. Units did not need to be shown, but for the A-grade, if units were shown, they had to be the correct units.

Responses indicated that the two most commonly used strategies were using an overlay of rectangles to fit the required area and then finding the area of the rectangles and summing the existing whole squares and the number of ‘whole’ squares formed by combining fractions of squares. Some responses showed incorrect use of the scale, using the linear scale factor of 20 rather than the area scale factor of 400 per square.

Students should check the reasonableness of their answers. A revision of scale factors especially as applied to areas and volumes would benefit students preparing for the test.

A B C D E N O

Item 10 18.4 16.9 22.7 28.7 9.7 3.7

Item 11 5.6 21.3 21 24.4 11.6 11.4 4.7


A B C N O

100%

D


38

Model response

Antonine WallAntonine Wall

Hadrian’s WallHadrian’s Wall

0 20 40 60 80 100

KilometresKilometres

N

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 4434

46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 5545

57 58 5956

The numbers show the squares counted.

Any square more than half-covered has been counted.

Area is 59 squares x 400 = 23 600 km²


PER

FOR

MA

NC

E D

OM

AIN

Mar

king

Sch

eme

Mar

king

Uni

t 6 3

of 6

UN

IT S

EVEN

ITEM

10

N

Res

pons

e is

un

inte

lligi

ble

or d

oes n

ot

satis

fy th

e re

quir

emen

ts

for

any

othe

r gr

ade. O

No

resp

onse

ha

s bee

n m

ade

at a

ny ti

me.

6In

terp

retin

g th

e m

eani

ng o

f � m

aps �

17E

stim

atin

g nu

mer

ical

mag

nitu

de

C

The

res

pons

e

�gi

ves a

n es

timat

e be

twee

n 22

000

and

2480

0.

The

res

pons

e

�gi

ves t

he n

umbe

r of

squa

res f

or th

e re

leva

nt a

rea

as b

etw

een

56 a

nd 6

0.

The

res

pons

e

�ex

plic

itly

appl

ies t

he sc

ale

corr

ectly

to

give

an

area

.

OR

OR

A

The

res

pons

e

�in

volv

es o

nly

the

rele

vant

are

a�

indi

cate

s tha

t an

appr

opri

ate

stra

tegy

is

use

d�

expl

icitl

y ap

plie

s the

scal

e co

rrec

tly�

give

s an

estim

ate

of th

e ar

ea

betw

een

2240

0 an

d 24

000,

roun

ded

to th

e ne

ares

t 100

km

2 .

No

inco

rrec

t wor

king

is u

sed

to o

btai

n th

e ar

ea.

B

The

res

pons

e

�in

volv

es o

nly

the

rele

vant

are

a�

indi

cate

s tha

t an

appr

opri

ate

stra

tegy

is

use

d�

expl

icitl

y ap

plie

s the

scal

e co

rrec

tly�

allo

win

g fo

r at

mos

t one

obs

erva

ble

min

or e

rror

, giv

es a

con

sequ

entia

lly

corr

ect e

stim

ate

of th

e ar

ea.

D

The

res

pons

e

�gi

ves a

n es

timat

e be

twee

n 21

600

and

2520

0.

The

res

pons

e

�in

dica

tes t

hat a

n ap

prop

riat

e st

rate

gy

is u

sed.

The

res

pons

e

�at

tend

s to

the

scal

e co

rrec

tly.

OR

OR

Not

es:

1.T

he r

elev

ant a

rea

is fo

r th

e m

ainl

and

betw

een

Had

rian

�s W

all a

nd th

e A

nton

ine

Wal

l.

2.A

ll ra

nges

stip

ulat

ed a

re in

clus

ive.

3.R

ound

ing

to th

e ne

ares

t 100

km

2 is o

nly

a re

quir

emen

t at t

he A

-gra

de.

4.Sh

owin

g un

its fo

r th

e ar

ea is

not

a re

quir

emen

t. H

owev

er fo

r th

e A

-gra

de o

nly,

if u

nits

are

giv

en in

the

answ

er

they

mus

t be

corr

ect.

5.A

min

or e

rror

may

incl

ude

a si

ngle

tran

scri

ptio

n er

ror

or a

n in

corr

ect r

esul

t to

a co

rrec

tly st

ated

ope

ratio

n.


40

Mar

king

Sch

eme

UN

IT S

EVEN

ITEM

10

Mar

king

Uni

t 6 4

of 6

Mod

el R

espo

nse:

The

num

bers

show

the

squa

res c

ount

ed. A

ny sq

uare

mor

e th

an h

alf-c

over

ed h

as b

een

coun

ted.

Are

a is

59

squa

res x

400

= 2

3600

km

2

An

ton

ine W

all

An

ton

ine W

all

Had

ria

n’s

Wall

Had

ria

n’s

Wall

020

40

60

80

100

Kilom

etr

es

Kilom

etr

es

N

12

34

5

67

89

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

34

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

45

57

58

59

56


Item 11

Commentary

Item 11 is a four-star item that tested achievement in CCEs 29 Comparing, contrasting, 7 Translating from one form to another and 45 Judging.

This item comprised two parts. Part I required students to annotate a cross-sectional diagram of the Antonine Wall with the five features and five measurements printed in bold in the given description of the wall and its defences. Part II of the item required students to label a reproduction of the diagram with two positions, A and B. The positions had to be ones that the

Romans may have contemplated for a field of lilia. Position A was to be the better of the two. Students had to compare the two positions and explain why position A would be a better placement than position B.

An A-grade response needed to show the ten notations correctly marked on the diagram, have positions A and B marked on the north side of the wall within the diagram and for each position establish a valid reason why it would assist in the defence of the wall. The response also had to provide a comparison to show position A is better than position B.

Some responses to part I showed that the nature of a cross-section had not been understood correctly (the width of the cross-section was interpreted as the length of the wall). Other responses indicated carelessness in terms of making sure all ten of the annotations were accounted for. Some responses in part II did not give a valid reason why each position would have been considered for the placement of a field of lilia or did not provide a comparison between the two positions.

Students need to remember that, when annotating a diagram with information provided in text, a systematic approach would reduce the likelihood of omitting relevant information. When asked to compare two positions, students need to be able to identify significant features of each and to identify similarities and differences, or strengths and weaknesses. They could then use these to make a statement as to why one position is preferred.

A B C N O

100%

D E


42

Model response

outer mound

defensive ditch

fence

foundation

6 m

12 m

4.2 m

3 m

4.3 m

northern side of wall

The best location for the lilia would be position A. The a�ackers would be within range of

the spears of the Romans and would have just emerged from climbing the ditch.

They would probably be breaking into a run on what they assumed would be open �at ground

and would be likely to either stumble into the lilia or be slowed down by having to avoid

them making them easy close-range targets. Position B is further from the wall, probably

just within range of spears. It is exposed and within sight of the defenders. Invaders would

not see the lilia until the last moment and would �nd it hard to safely negotiate a �eld of

lilia. But position A is preferred because of its proximity to the defenders.

AB


UN

IT S

EVEN

ITEM

11

PER

FOR

MA

NC

E D

OM

AIN

Mar

king

Sch

eme

Mar

king

Uni

t 6 5

of 6

C

The

resp

onse

for

part

I

�sh

ows t

he te

n an

nota

tions

co

rrec

tly m

arke

d on

the

diag

ram

.

The

resp

onse

for

part

II

�ha

s pos

ition

s A a

nd B

mar

ked

on th

e no

rth

side

of t

he w

all

with

in th

e di

agra

m�

for

each

pos

ition

, est

ablis

hes a

va

lid re

ason

why

it w

ould

ass

ist

in th

e de

fenc

e of

the

wal

l.

OR

A

The

res

pons

e

for

part

I

�sh

ows t

he te

n an

nota

tions

co

rrec

tly m

arke

d on

the

diag

ram

AN

D

for

part

II

�ha

s pos

ition

s A a

nd B

mar

ked

on th

e no

rth

side

of t

he w

all

with

in th

e di

agra

m�

for

each

pos

ition

, est

ablis

hes a

va

lid re

ason

why

it w

ould

ass

ist

in th

e de

fenc

e of

the

wal

l�

prov

ides

a c

ompa

riso

n to

show

po

sitio

n A

is b

ette

r th

an

posi

tion

B.

No

inco

rrec

t inf

orm

atio

n is

in

clud

ed.

B

The

res

pons

e

for

part

I

�sh

ows e

ight

ann

otat

ions

co

rrec

tly m

arke

d on

the

diag

ram

AN

D

for

part

II

�ha

s pos

ition

s A a

nd B

mar

ked

on th

e no

rth

side

of t

he w

all

with

in th

e di

agra

m�

for

a po

sitio

n, e

stab

lishe

s a v

alid

re

ason

why

it w

ould

ass

ist i

n th

e de

fenc

e of

the

wal

l�

prov

ides

a c

ompa

riso

n to

show

po

sitio

n A

is b

ette

r th

an

posi

tion

B.

D

The

res

pons

e

for

part

I

�sh

ows e

ight

ann

otat

ions

co

rrec

tly m

arke

d on

the

diag

ram

.

The

res

pons

e

for

part

II

�ha

s pos

ition

s A a

nd B

mar

ked

on th

e no

rth

side

of th

e w

all

with

in th

e di

agra

m�

for

a po

sitio

n, e

stab

lishe

s a v

alid

re

ason

why

it w

ould

ass

ist i

n th

e de

fenc

e of

the

wal

l.

OR

N

Res

pons

e is

un

inte

lligi

ble

or d

oes n

ot

satis

fy th

e re

quir

emen

ts

for

any

othe

r gr

ade. O

No

resp

onse

ha

s bee

n m

ade

at a

ny ti

me.

29C

ompa

ring

, con

tras

ting

7Tr

ansl

atin

g fr

om o

ne fo

rm to

ano

ther

45E

valu

atin

g

E

The

res

pons

e

for

part

I

�sh

ows s

ix a

nnot

atio

ns

corr

ectly

mar

ked

on th

e di

agra

m.

The

res

pons

e

for

part

II

�ha

s a p

ositi

on m

arke

d on

the

nort

h si

de o

f the

wal

l with

in th

e di

agra

m

�su

gges

ts w

hy th

is p

ositi

on w

ould

as

sist

the

Rom

ans.

OR

Not

es:

1.T

he a

nnot

atio

ns r

efer

to th

e fe

atur

es a

nd m

easu

rem

ents

giv

en in

bol

d.

2.A

val

id r

easo

n is

bas

ed o

n th

e in

tend

ed d

eter

rent

effe

ct o

f the

lilia

.


44

Mar

king

Sch

eme

UN

IT S

EVEN

ITEM

11

Mar

king

Uni

t 6 6

of 6

Mod

el R

espo

nse:

I. II.

The

bes

t loc

atio

n fo

r th

e lil

ia w

ould

be

posi

tion

A.

The

atta

cker

s wou

ld b

e w

ithin

ran

ge o

f the

spea

rs o

f the

Rom

ans a

nd w

ould

hav

e ju

st e

mer

ged

from

clim

bing

the

ditc

h.T

hey

wou

ld p

roba

bly

be b

reak

ing

into

a r

un o

n w

hat t

hey

assu

med

wou

ld b

e op

en fl

at g

roun

d an

d w

ould

be

likel

y to

eith

er

stum

ble

into

the

lilia

or

be sl

owed

dow

n by

hav

ing

to a

void

them

mak

ing

them

eas

y cl

ose-

rang

e ta

rget

s.Po

sitio

n B

is fu

rthe

r fr

om th

e w

all,

prob

ably

just

with

in r

ange

of s

pear

s. It

is e

xpos

ed a

nd w

ithin

sigh

t of t

he d

efen

ders

. In

vade

rs w

ould

not

see

the

lilia

unt

il th

e la

st m

omen

t and

wou

ld fi

nd it

har

d to

safe

ly n

egot

iate

a fi

eld

of li

lia.

But

pos

ition

A is

pre

ferr

ed b

ecau

se o

f its

pro

xim

ity to

the

defe

nder

s.

ou

ter

mo

un

d

defe

nsiv

e d

itch

fen

ce

fou

nd

ati

on

6 m

12

m

4.2

m

3 m

4.3

m

no

rth

ern

sid

e o

f w

all

AB

Las

t Pag

e C

ount


Unit EightThe items in this unit are based on an extract from a film script about a defence lawyer’s representation of his client.


Item 12

Commentary

Item 12 is a three-star item that tested achievement in CCEs 52 Searching and locating information and 32 Deducing.

The item required students to outline the particular points the prosecuting lawyer would have put forward in the ‘open-and-shut’ case against the defence lawyer’s client.

The cue directed students to respond in point form.

An A-grade response needed to provide a strong case for the four aspects of the prosecutor’s case: serious assault, theft of the money, theft of the wallet and unlawful possession of the car. No incorrect information could be included.

Some responses provided a weaker case by using descriptions such as ‘he hurt the victim’ rather than indicating the seriousness of the assault or by being less than definite about the defendant’s clear intention to steal the wallet or money by describing it as ‘he picked up the money’. These types of responses did not attend to the part of the stem that said the prosecutor presented an ‘open-and-shut’ case, i.e. one in which there would be little doubt about the outcome.

Students should remember that careful reading of the stem is always a requirement if the best response is to be made. A cue to use point form indicates that the response does not need to be in sentences and should include the pertinent points in a very direct form.

Model response

A B C D E N O

Item 12 12.9 11.5 20.9 19.8 31.5 3.4

Item 13 6.6 8.3 20.8 27.3 19.4 11.3 6.4

Item 14 12.8 27.6 26.4 12.2 7.2 5.8 8


A B C N O

100%

D

• the man’s arm and collar bone was sha�ered

• the man’s money is stolen

• his wallet is taken

• the defendant tried to steal the man’s car.


46

PER

FOR

MA

NC

E D

OM

AIN

Mar

king

Sch

eme

Mar

king

Uni

t 8 1

of 3

UN

IT E

IGH

TIT

EM 1

2

N

Res

pons

e is

un

inte

lligi

ble

or d

oes n

ot

satis

fy th

e re

quir

emen

ts

for

any

othe

r gr

ade. O

No

resp

onse

ha

s bee

n m

ade

at a

ny ti

me.

52Se

arch

ing

and

loca

ting

� in

form

atio

n32

Ded

ucin

g

C

The

res

pons

e pr

ovid

es a

stro

ng c

ase

for

two

of

�se

riou

s ass

ault

�th

eft o

f mon

ey�

thef

t of w

alle

t�

unla

wfu

l pos

sess

ion

of c

ar.

AND

�a

wea

k ca

se fo

r on

e ot

her

poin

t.

[3 c

an b

e 2

stro

ng +

1 w

eak

or c

an b

e 3

stro

ng]

A

The

res

pons

e pr

ovid

es a

stro

ng c

ase

for

all f

our

of

�se

riou

s ass

ault

�th

eft o

f mon

ey�

thef

t of w

alle

t�

unla

wfu

l pos

sess

ion

of c

ar.

No

inco

rrec

t inf

orm

atio

n is

incl

uded

.

[4 is

4 st

rong

]

B

The

res

pons

e pr

ovid

es a

stro

ng c

ase

for

thre

e of

�se

riou

s ass

ault

�th

eft o

f mon

ey�

thef

t of w

alle

t�

unla

wfu

l pos

sess

ion

of c

ar.

AND

�a

wea

k ca

se fo

r th

e ot

her

poin

t.

No

inco

rrec

t inf

orm

atio

n is

incl

uded

.

[4 is

3 st

rong

+ 1

wea

k]

D

The

res

pons

e pr

ovid

es a

wea

k ca

se fo

r tw

o of

�se

riou

s ass

ault

�th

eft o

f mon

ey�

thef

t of w

alle

t�

unla

wfu

l pos

sess

ion

of c

ar.

[2 c

an b

e 1

stro

ng +

1 w

eak]

or c

an b

e 2

stro

ng o

r ca

n be

2 w

eak]

Not

es:

1.A

stro

ng c

ase

for

the

seri

ous a

ssau

lt m

entio

ns th

e sp

ecifi

cs o

f sha

tter

ed a

rm a

nd c

olla

rbon

e or

use

s a w

ord

mea

ning

ass

ault/

ed, a

ttac

k/ed

, mug

ged,

ac

com

pani

ed b

y a

qual

ifier

abo

ut th

e se

riou

snes

s of t

he a

ssau

lt, e

.g. v

icio

us a

ttac

k, b

adly

bea

ten,

seve

rely

inju

red,

com

preh

ensi

ve m

uggi

ng �

A w

eak

case

for

the

seri

ous a

ssau

lt us

es a

wor

d m

eani

ng a

ssau

lt/ed

, atta

ck/e

d, m

ugge

d w

ithou

t a q

ualif

ier

or a

com

men

t suc

h as

�he

was

hur

t�.

2.A

stro

ng c

ase

for

the

thef

t of m

oney

men

tions

taki

ng /

stea

ling

/ thi

evin

g m

oney

(or

cash

or

bills

). A

wea

k ca

se fo

r th

e th

eft o

f mon

ey is

a c

omm

ent o

n w

antin

g / p

icki

ng u

p / c

olle

ctin

g m

oney

(or

cash

or

bills

) or

taki

ng p

erso

nal b

elon

ging

s.

3.A

stro

ng c

ase

for

the

thef

t of w

alle

t men

tions

taki

ng /

stea

ling

/ thi

evin

g w

alle

t (or

iden

tific

atio

n or

ID).

A w

eak

case

for

the

thef

t of w

alle

t is a

com

men

t on

wan

ting

/ pic

king

up

wal

let (

or id

entif

icat

ion

or ID

) or

taki

ng p

erso

nal b

elon

ging

s.

NB

�Tak

ing

pers

onal

bel

ongi

ngs�

can

onl

y be

use

d as

bei

ng a

wea

k ca

se fo

r on

e of

the

wal

let o

r th

e m

oney

not

bot

h.

4.A

stro

ng c

ase

for

the

unla

wfu

l pos

sess

ion

of c

ar m

entio

ns th

at p

olic

e ca

me

acro

ss �b

rute

� in

the

car

or m

akes

cle

ar th

e �b

rute

� was

in th

e ot

her

man

�s c

ar.

Taki

ng /

taki

ng o

ff in

/ st

ealin

g / t

hiev

ing

the

car

is a

lso

cred

itabl

e as

a st

rong

cas

e.A

wea

k ca

se fo

r th

e un

law

ful p

osse

ssio

n of

car

is a

com

men

t con

nect

ing

�bru

te� a

nd o

ther

man

�s c

ar, e

.g. h

e ha

d th

e ca

r ke

ys �

5.�I

ncor

rect

� inf

orm

atio

n ca

n in

clud

e st

atem

ents

that

�

can

not b

e su

bsta

ntia

ted

from

a r

eadi

ng o

f the

ext

ract

� a

re in

cons

iste

nt w

ith th

e ex

trac

t�

ari

se fr

om a

mis

read

ing

of th

e si

tuat

ion

as g

iven

in th

e in

trod

uctio

n, i.

e. th

at th

e pr

osec

utor

spea

ks fi

rst s

o do

es n

ot r

ebut

wha

t Fle

tche

r la

ter

says

.

Mod

el R

espo

nse:

�th

e man

�s a

rm a

nd co

llar b

one w

as sh

atte

red

�th

e m

an�s

mon

ey is

stol

en�

his w

alle

t is t

aken

�th

e de

fend

ant t

ried

to st

eal t

he m

an�s

car

.


Item 13

Commentary

Item 13 is a three-star item that tested achievement in CCEs 10 Using vocabulary appropriate to a context and 48 Justifying.

The item required students to give an appropriate adjective to describe each of four different characteristics that Fletcher attributes to his client in the extract and to provide evidence to justify their choice of adjectives.

The cue instructed students to avoid using adjectives from the extract, or made from words given in the extract. ‘Avoid’ means to keep away from.

An A-grade response needed to provide four acceptable adjectives none of which was derived from words in the extract and to provide pertinent evidence for each adjective.

Some responses gave nouns, verbs or adverbs instead of providing adjectives. These responses did not meet a requirement in the stem and so could not be considered for a creditable grade. Responses that gave adjectives which described negative characteristics of Fletcher’s client did not consider the fact that Fletcher would have been trying to ‘talk-up’ the innocence of his client and so would only attribute positive characteristics to him.

Students should remember to attend to all parts of the stem and to follow instructions in the cues.

Model response

A B C N O

100%

D E

innocent

vulnerable

honourable

caring

‘true victim is my client’ (6)

‘walking home from church alone,

in a frightening part of the suburbs’ (8–9)

‘do what any respectable citizen would do’ (15)

‘your heart goes out to him’ (20–21)


48

UN

IT E

IGH

TIT

EM 1

3

PER

FOR

MA

NC

E D

OM

AIN

Mar

king

Sch

eme

Mar

king

Uni

t 8 2

of 3

N

Res

pons

e is

un

inte

lligi

ble

or d

oes n

ot

satis

fy th

e re

quir

emen

ts

for

any

othe

r gr

ade. O

No

resp

onse

ha

s bee

n m

ade

at a

ny ti

me.

10U

sing

voc

abul

ary

appr

opri

ate

to a

con

text

48Ju

stify

ing

C

The

res

pons

e pr

ovid

es

�th

ree

acce

ptab

le a

djec

tives

�

at m

ost o

ne is

a d

eriv

ed a

djec

tive

�a

rele

vant

con

nect

ion

for

each

ad

ject

ive.

A

The

res

pons

e pr

ovid

es

�fo

ur a

ccep

tabl

e ad

ject

ives

�

none

is a

der

ived

adj

ectiv

e�

pert

inen

t evi

denc

e fo

r ea

ch

adje

ctiv

e.

B

The

res

pons

e pr

ovid

es

�fo

ur a

ccep

tabl

e ad

ject

ives

�

at m

ost o

ne is

a d

eriv

ed a

djec

tive

�pe

rtin

ent e

vide

nce

for

each

ad

ject

ive.

D

The

res

pons

e pr

ovid

es

�tw

o ac

cept

able

adj

ectiv

es �

ea

ch m

ay b

e a

deri

ved

adje

ctiv

e�

a re

leva

nt c

onne

ctio

n fo

r ea

ch

adje

ctiv

e.

E

The

res

pons

e pr

ovid

es

�an

acc

epta

ble

adje

ctiv

e �

it

may

be

a de

rive

d ad

ject

ive

�a

rele

vant

con

nect

ion

for

that

ad

ject

ive.

Not

es:

1.A

n ac

cept

able

adj

ectiv

e - i

s a w

ord

that

is n

ot a

lrea

dy u

sed

in th

e ex

trac

t - d

escr

ibes

a q

ualit

y Fl

etch

er w

ould

hav

e at

trib

uted

to h

is c

lient

in o

rder

to m

ake

him

app

ear

as th

e vi

ctim

. - I

t wou

ld b

e a

qual

ity th

at w

ould

mak

e th

e ju

ry m

embe

rs m

ore

sym

path

etic

tow

ards

him

, e.g

. the

adj

ectiv

e - �

impo

sing

� (ev

iden

ce: �

a 25

0-po

und

brut

e in

a su

it�) w

ould

not

be

suita

ble

as it

wou

ld n

ot h

elp

conv

ince

the

- jur

y th

at h

e co

uld

be th

e vi

ctim

. - c

an b

e pa

ired

wor

ds, e

.g. o

verl

y ca

utio

us, g

ood

will

ed, f

alse

ly a

rres

ted.

2.Pe

rtin

ent e

vide

nce

(req

uire

men

t at A

- and

B-g

rade

s) c

omes

from

the

extr

act a

nd c

lear

ly e

xpla

ins t

he m

eani

ng

of th

e ad

ject

ive.

It is

not

inco

nsis

tent

with

its c

onte

xtua

l use

in th

e ex

trac

t.

3.Pe

rtin

ent e

vide

nce

look

s lik

e:- d

irec

t quo

te w

ith o

r w

ithou

t lin

e nu

mbe

r/s

- lin

e nu

mbe

r/s w

ith c

lari

fyin

g pa

raph

rase

of t

he si

tuat

ion

- lin

e nu

mbe

r/s o

nly.

The

ent

ire

line/

s mus

t be

the

supp

ortin

g ev

iden

ce n

ot m

erel

y a

sect

ion

of th

e lin

e/s t

hat

- the

rea

der

has t

o di

scer

n is

the

pert

inen

t par

t.

4.A

der

ived

adj

ectiv

e is

an

adje

ctiv

e m

ade

from

a w

ord

used

in th

e ex

trac

t, e.

g. h

elpf

ul is

der

ived

from

he

lp (w

ord

in e

xtra

ct),

afra

id is

der

ived

from

fear

(wor

d in

ext

ract

), ki

nd-h

eart

ed is

der

ived

from

he

art (

wor

d in

ext

ract

), fr

ight

ened

is d

eriv

ed fr

om fr

ight

enin

g (w

ord

in e

xtra

ct).

5.A

der

ived

adj

ectiv

e ca

nnot

be

supp

orte

d by

eith

er

- a d

irec

t quo

te th

at c

onta

ins t

he w

ord

it is

der

ived

from

, e.g

. hel

pful

can

not u

se �h

e w

ent t

o ge

t hel

p�- l

ine

num

ber/

s onl

y th

at c

onta

ins t

he w

ord

it is

der

ived

from

, e.g

. afr

aid

cann

ot u

se �l

ine

12�.

6.R

elev

ant c

onne

ctio

n (r

equi

rem

ent a

t C-,

D- a

nd E

-gra

des)

look

s lik

e:- a

par

aphr

ase

of th

e si

tuat

ion

that

exp

lain

s the

mea

ning

of t

he a

djec

tive

with

out l

ine

num

ber/

s- l

ine

num

ber/

s onl

y. W

ithin

the

iden

tifie

d lin

e/s t

here

is a

situ

atio

n th

at e

xpla

ins t

he m

eani

ng o

f the

adj

ectiv

e.

7.�P

ertin

ent e

vide

nce�

mee

ts th

e re

quir

emen

t for

�rel

evan

t con

nect

ion�

.

8.W

here

the

sam

e ev

iden

ce is

use

d fo

r tw

o or

mor

e ad

ject

ives

, cre

dit t

he u

se th

at w

ould

giv

e th

e be

st o

utco

me

for

the

resp

onse

. The

oth

er u

se/s

of t

hat e

vide

nce

cann

ot b

e cr

edite

d.

9.W

here

mor

e th

an o

ne e

ntry

is p

rovi

ded

in a

sing

le c

ell,

grad

e th

e fir

st e

ntry

onl

y.

Mod

el R

espo

nse:

My

clie

nt is

Evi

denc

e fr

om th

e ex

trac

t

�in

noce

nt�t

rue

vict

im is

my

clie

nt� (

6)

�vu

lner

able

�wal

king

hom

e fr

om c

hurc

h al

one,

in a

fr

ight

enin

g pa

rt o

f the

subu

rbs�

(8�9

)

�ho

nour

able

�do

wha

t any

resp

ecta

ble

citiz

en w

ould

do�

(15)

�ca

ring

�you

r he

art g

oes o

ut to

him

� (20

�21)


Item 14

Commentary

Item 14 is a four-star item that tested achievement in CCEs 42 Criticising, 33 Reaching a conclusion which is consistent with a given set of assumptions and 29 Comparing and contrasting.

The item required students to use information from the stimulus (a description of a court scene) as well as the additional information supplied to provide an effective argument about how well Fletcher conformed to three pieces of advice on ethics for defence lawyers.

The cue directed students to present their analysis effectively and logically and refer to the extract and the next scene.

An A-grade response needed to argue whether the pieces of advice were followed or not. The arguments presented had to be clear and unambiguous. An A-grade response also contained no inconsistencies.

Responses that gained creditable grades provided arguments that were well supported by details from the stimulus material. A range of arguments was acceptable: some responses stated that Fletcher conformed to all three pieces of advice; some claimed he did not; some argued that he conformed to some and not to others. While others stated an ambivalent view on the degree to which the lawyer conformed. If the arguments were presented logically and were not ambiguous all could be considered for the higher grades.

Some responses depended on a reader being able to guess at what the basis of the argument was and these responses could only be considered for a lower grade and then only if links were made to information from the extract and next scene.

Students should remember to give enough detail so the response is able to be understood without a reader having to refer to the stimulus material.

A B C D N O

100%

E


50

Model response

Fletcher did not knowingly ‘lie’ to the court but he presented a different view

of the incident. Fletcher does not deny that his client was involved in the

incidents. When he suggests to the court that his client jumped into the

man’s Lexus to get help he is shaping the truth to suit his purposes, not lying.

The same can be said for him presenting his client’s case to the best of his abilities.

He created an image of an innocent man to present to the court with statements that give

reasonable motives for bad deeds, e.g. ‘You want to help … you gather up the many bills he

dropped.’ He also created a physical image by dressing his client up in a suit to make him look

respectable. Therefore he has put the client’s case forward as well as he could.

When he tells his client to keep the suit after the court case it suggests that he has

discovered that his client was guilty and he tells him he will be needing it again.

This indicates Fletcher won’t represent him again. Therefore he has conformed to the third

piece of advice.


UN

IT E

IGH

TIT

EM 1

4

PER

FOR

MA

NC

E D

OM

AIN

Mar

king

Sch

eme

Mar

king

Uni

t 8 3

of 3

N

Res

pons

e is

un

inte

lligi

ble

or d

oes n

ot

satis

fy th

e re

quir

emen

ts

for

any

othe

r gr

ade. O

No

resp

onse

ha

s bee

n m

ade

at a

ny ti

me.

42C

ritic

isin

g33

Rea

chin

g a

conc

lusi

on w

hich

is c

onsi

sten

t with

a g

iven

set o

f ass

umpt

ions

29C

ompa

ring

, con

tras

ting

C

For

one

of th

e pi

eces

of a

dvic

e th

e re

spon

se

�ar

gues

eff

ectiv

ely

whe

ther

the

advi

ce is

follo

wed

or

not

�su

ppor

ts th

e ar

gum

ent/s

with

de

tail/

s fro

m th

e ex

trac

t or

the

next

scen

e.

A

For

the

thre

e pi

eces

of a

dvic

e th

e re

spon

se

�ar

gues

effe

ctiv

ely

whe

ther

the

advi

ce is

follo

wed

or

not

�su

ppor

ts th

e ar

gum

ents

with

de

tails

from

the e

xtra

ct a

nd th

e ne

xt sc

ene.

No

inco

nsist

enci

es a

re e

vide

nt.

B

For

two

of th

e pi

eces

of a

dvic

e th

e re

spon

se

�ar

gues

eff

ectiv

ely

whe

ther

the

advi

ce is

follo

wed

or

not

�su

ppor

ts th

e ar

gum

ents

with

de

tails

from

the

extr

act o

r th

e ne

xt sc

ene.

D

For

two

of th

e pi

eces

of a

dvic

e th

e re

spon

se

�al

low

s an

ethi

cal p

ositi

on to

be

infe

rred

�m

akes

reas

onab

le li

nks w

ith th

e ex

trac

t or

the

next

scen

e.

E

For

one

of th

e pi

eces

of a

dvic

e th

e re

spon

se

�al

low

s an

ethi

cal p

ositi

on to

be

infe

rred

�m

akes

reas

onab

le li

nks w

ith th

e ex

trac

t or

the

next

scen

e.

Not

es:

1.To

arg

ue e

ffec

tivel

y an

arg

umen

t is p

rese

nted

logi

cally

and

is n

ot a

mbi

guou

s.

2.�D

etai

l� pr

ovid

es d

irec

t ref

eren

ce to

a sp

ecifi

c si

tuat

ion

with

exp

licit

inte

rpre

tatio

n.

The

rea

der

does

not

nee

d to

�fill

in a

ny g

aps�

.

3.T

he a

rgum

ents

and

link

s are

bas

ed o

n th

e co

urt s

cene

, the

acq

uitt

al o

r w

hat i

s pr

esen

ted

as h

appe

ning

in th

e ne

xt sc

ene

rega

rdin

g th

e su

it. T

he a

rgum

ents

are

bas

ed

on F

letc

her�

s beh

avio

ur n

ot o

n st

atem

ents

abo

ut la

wye

rs in

gen

eral

.

Mod

el R

espo

nse:

Flet

cher

did

not

kno

win

gly

�lie�

to th

e co

urt b

ut h

e pr

esen

ted

a di

ffer

ent v

iew

of

the

inci

dent

. Fle

tche

r do

es n

ot d

eny

that

his

clie

nt w

as in

volv

ed in

the

inci

dent

s. W

hen

he su

gges

ts to

the

cour

t tha

t his

clie

nt ju

mpe

d in

to th

e m

an�s

L

exus

to g

et h

elp

he is

shap

ing

the

trut

h to

suit

his p

urpo

ses,

not l

ying

. T

he sa

me

can

be sa

id fo

r hi

m p

rese

ntin

g hi

s clie

nt�s

cas

e to

the

best

of h

is

abili

ties.

He

crea

ted

an im

age

of a

n in

noce

nt m

an to

pre

sent

to th

e co

urt w

ith

stat

emen

ts th

at g

ive

reas

onab

le m

otiv

es fo

r ba

d de

eds,

e.g.

�You

wan

t to

help

� y

ou g

athe

r up

the

man

y bi

lls h

e dr

oppe

d.� H

e al

so c

reat

ed a

phy

sica

l im

age

by d

ress

ing

his c

lient

up

in a

suit

to m

ake

him

look

res

pect

able

. T

here

fore

he

has p

ut th

e cl

ient

�s c

ase

forw

ard

as w

ell a

s he

coul

d.

Whe

n he

tells

his

clie

nt to

kee

p th

e su

it af

ter

the

cour

t cas

e it

sugg

ests

that

he

has d

isco

vere

d th

at h

is c

lient

was

gui

lty a

nd h

e te

lls h

im h

e w

ill b

e ne

edin

g it

agai

n. T

his i

ndic

ates

Fle

tche

r w

on�t

rep

rese

nt h

im a

gain

. The

refo

re h

e ha

s co

nfor

med

to th

e th

ird

piec

e of

adv

ice.

Las

t Pag

e C

ount


52

Unit NineThe items in this unit are based on information about take-off distances of planes and the factors that can affect them.


Item 15

Commentary

Item 15 is a three-star item that tested achievement in CCEs 18 Approximating a numerical value, 15 Graphing and 16 Calculating with or without calculators.

The item required students to calculate an adjusted standard distance for take-off. This included finding a ratio, plotting the ratio onto the graph and determining the percentage adjustment required.

The cue instructed students to show all steps.

An A-grade response needed to show: correct wind speed to take-off speed ratio; correct use of the graph to read the percentage adjustment and use of the percentage to correctly adjust the standard take-off distance. All steps in the process had to be consistent with each other.

Some responses used a ratio that was the reciprocal of the correct ratio. The first mentioned part of a ratio is always the numerator when a ratio is written as a fraction. Some responses showed a poor estimate of the percentage adjustment read from the graph. This was the result of inaccurate plotting in most cases.

Students should remember that the cue ‘show all steps’ indicates that detail is required about how numbers, different from those given in the stimulus material appear in the solution. To this end all operations should be shown, not just the result of an operation. A sharp pencil and a ruler should be used when working on graphs to allow accurate drawing and reading from the graph.

A B C D E N O

Item 15 13.4 4.3 9.7 14 36.5 22

item 16 4.7 13.7 21.1 14 5.5 16.2 24.6


DA B C N O

100%


Model response

ratio

wind speed take-off speed:

percentage increase

of distance

percentage decrease

of distance

tailwindheadwind

0 0.1 0.20.10.2

10

20

10

20

17

Ratio of wind velocity to take-off speed = = 0.08713

150

From graph this means percentage decrease in take-off distance is 17%.

Adjusted take-off distance is 83% of 1600 m = 0.83 × 1600 = 1328 m.


54

UN

IT N

INE

ITEM

15

PER

FOR

MA

NC

E D

OM

AIN

Mar

king

Sch

eme

Mar

king

Uni

t 4 3

of 5

N

Res

pons

e is

un

inte

lligi

ble

or d

oes n

ot

satis

fy th

e re

quir

emen

ts

for

any

othe

r gr

ade. O

No

resp

onse

ha

s bee

n m

ade

at a

ny ti

me.

18A

ppro

xim

atin

g a

num

eric

al v

alue

15G

raph

ing

16C

alcu

latin

g w

ith o

r w

ithou

t cal

cula

tors

C

The

res

pons

e pr

ovid

es T

WO

of

�th

e co

rrec

t win

d sp

eed

to ta

ke-o

ff sp

eed

ratio

�co

rrec

t use

of t

he g

raph

cons

iste

nt w

ith a

ra

tio g

iven

�ap

prop

riat

e w

orki

ng w

hich

lead

s to

a pe

rcen

tage

adj

ustm

ent o

f the

take

-off

di

stan

ce.

A

The

res

pons

e pr

ovid

es

�th

e co

rrec

t win

d sp

eed

to ta

ke-o

ff sp

eed

ratio

�

corr

ect u

se o

f the

gra

ph�

corr

ect a

ppro

pria

te w

orki

ng w

hich

lead

s to

a ta

ke-o

ff d

ista

nce

betw

een

1312

and

134

4 (in

clus

ive)

.

The

cal

cula

tion

of r

atio

, mar

king

s on

grap

h, p

erce

ntag

e us

ed, d

ista

nce

obta

ined

m

ust b

e co

nsis

tent

.

B

The

res

pons

e, a

llow

ing

for

at m

ost o

ne

mec

hani

cal e

rror

and

any

con

sequ

entia

lly

corr

ect w

orki

ng, p

rovi

des

�a

win

d sp

eed

to ta

ke-o

ff sp

eed

ratio

�

use

of th

e gr

aph

�ap

prop

riat

e w

orki

ng w

hich

lead

s to

a de

crea

sed

take

-off

dis

tanc

e.

The

cal

cula

tion

of r

atio

, mar

king

s on

grap

h, p

erce

ntag

e us

ed, d

ista

nce

obta

ined

m

ust b

e co

nsis

tent

.

D

The

res

pons

e pr

ovid

es O

NE

of

�th

e co

rrec

t win

d sp

eed

to ta

ke-o

ff sp

eed

ratio

�co

rrec

t use

of t

he g

raph

cons

iste

nt w

ith a

ra

tio g

iven

�ap

prop

riat

e w

orki

ng w

hich

lead

s to

a pe

rcen

tage

adj

ustm

ent o

f the

take

-off

di

stan

ce.

Not

es:

1.U

se o

f the

gra

ph in

volv

es m

arki

ng/s

on

the

grap

h (h

eadw

ind

side

) tha

t rev

eal a

n x-

axis

valu

e ha

s bee

n us

ed to

obt

ain

a pe

rcen

tage

on

the

y-ax

is.

2.C

orre

ct u

se o

f the

gra

ph sh

ows:

�fo

r th

e co

rrec

t rat

io (0

.086

7)�

mar

king

/s o

n th

e gr

aph

that

rev

eal a

n x-

axis

val

ue b

etw

een

0.08

and

0.0

9 (in

clus

ive)

whi

ch is

use

d to

obt

ain

a pe

rcen

tage

bet

wee

n 16

% a

nd 1

8% (i

nclu

sive

)

�fo

r ot

her

ratio

s giv

en in

the

resp

onse

� m

arki

ng/s

on

the

grap

h th

at r

evea

l an

x-ax

is v

alue

(one

mill

imet

re e

ither

side

) whi

ch is

use

d to

obt

ain

a pe

rcen

tage

that

is w

ithin

1%

of t

he e

xpec

ted

valu

e

�w

here

line

s are

use

d fr

om a

n ax

is to

the

grap

h th

ey m

ust b

e ve

rtic

al o

r ho

rizo

ntal

.

3.A

n er

ror

is m

echa

nica

l if i

t is:

�a

tran

scri

ptio

n er

ror

�an

inco

rrec

t res

ult t

o a

corr

ectly

stat

ed o

pera

tion

�in

appr

opri

ate

roun

ding

that

cha

nges

the

answ

er a

t the

exp

ecte

d ac

cura

cy

�in

accu

rate

mar

king

/s o

n th

e gr

aph

(hea

dwin

d si

de) t

hat r

evea

l an

x-ax

is v

alue

bet

wee

n 0.

075

and

0.1

(incl

usiv

e) w

hich

is u

sed

to o

btai

n a

perc

enta

ge b

etw

een

15%

and

19%

(inc

lusi

ve).


Mar

king

Sch

eme

UN

IT N

INE

ITEM

15

Mar

king

Uni

t 4 4

of 5

Mod

el R

espo

nse:

Rat

io o

f win

d ve

loci

ty to

take

-off

spee

d =

From

gra

ph th

is m

eans

per

cent

age

decr

ease

in ta

ke-o

ff d

ista

nce

is 1

7%.

Adj

uste

d ta

ke-o

ff d

ista

nce

is 8

3% o

f 160

0 m

= 0

.83

× 16

00 =

132

8 m

.

ratio

win

d s

pe

ed

take

-off s

pe

ed

:

pe

rce

nta

ge

in

cre

ase

of

dis

tan

ce

pe

rce

nta

ge

de

cre

ase

of

dis

tan

ce

tailw

ind

he

ad

win

d

00

.10

.20

.10

.2

10

20

10

20

17

13 150

---------

0.08

7=


56

Item 16

Commentary

Item 16 is a four-star item that tested achievement in CCEs 17 Estimating numerical magnitude, 48 Justifying, 44 Synthesising, 16 Calculating with or without calculators and 22 Structuring a mathematical argument.

The item comprised two parts. Part I required students to use the given method to demonstrate that the plane described would be unable to take off at the Mt Hotham airfield.

The cues instructed students to show all steps and to justify fully.

In part II, students were required to determine the temperature that must be reached for the plane from part I to just be able to take off from Mt Hotham airfield.

The cues instructed students to show all steps, give a clear explanation of their reasoning and to give the temperature to one decimal place.

An A-grade response, for part I, needed to provide correct mathematical justification to confirm that the plane would not be allowed to take off. A statement indicating the comparison the result was based on was required. For part II, the response needed to show a fully justified method used correctly to obtain the temperature which needed to be reached for the plane to just take off. The temperature had to be given to one decimal place.

For part I the most common comparisons used were the take-off distance compared to the runway length and the percentage of the runway required compared to the percentage permitted.

For part II, an error that occurred occasionally was that a temperature that had the correct numbers was given as a positive not a negative temperature as required.

Students should remember that a fully justified mathematical response requires written conclusions supported by correct mathematical calculations. They should attend to any cue given, so for this particular item, the final temperature should have been given correct to one decimal place. Trial and error methods showing details of the trials considered are acceptable but it should be noted that they can sometimes be very time consuming and may be unable to give an answer to the required degree of accuracy.

A B C N O

100%

D E


Model response

Altitude adjustment for 1298 m above sea level

= x 10% = 43.3% increase to the standard take-off distance

Adjusted take-off distance = 1.433 x 910 m = 1304.03 m

Permi�ed take-off distance = 85% of runway

= 0.85 x 1460 m = 1241 m

As adjusted take-off distance of 1304.03 m exceeds the permi�ed

take-off distance of 1241 m the plane cannot take off.

1298300

The plane’s take-off distance of 1304.03 m must be reduced to 1241 m

so the temperature must be reduced such that 1% decrease comes

from 1° C decrease.

Percentage decrease required = x 100%

= 4.8%

If the temperature drops to –4.8° C the plane will be permi�ed to take off.

(1304.03 – 1241)

1304.03


58

UN

IT N

INE

ITEM

16

PER

FOR

MA

NC

E D

OM

AIN

Mar

king

Sch

eme

Mar

king

Uni

t 4 5

of 5

N

Res

pons

e is

un

inte

lligi

ble

or d

oes n

ot

satis

fy th

e re

quir

emen

ts

for

any

othe

r gr

ade. O

No

resp

onse

ha

s bee

n m

ade

at a

ny ti

me.

17E

stim

atin

g nu

mer

ical

mag

nitu

de48

Just

ifyin

g44

Synt

hesi

sing

16C

alcu

latin

g w

ith o

r w

ithou

t cal

cula

tors

22St

ruct

urin

g �

a m

athe

mat

ical

arg

umen

t

C

The

resp

onse

, allo

win

g fo

r at m

ost

one

desi

gnat

ed e

rror

and

co

nseq

uent

ially

cor

rect

ca

lcul

atio

ns a

nd w

orki

ng,

prov

ides

for

part

I

�an

arg

umen

t with

cor

rect

m

athe

mat

ical

just

ifica

tion

that

co

nfir

ms t

he c

onje

ctur

e.

The

res

pons

e pr

ovid

es, a

llow

ing

for

at m

ost o

ne d

esig

nate

d er

ror,

cons

eque

ntia

lly c

orre

ct

calc

ulat

ions

and

wor

king

and

for

part

II

�a

suita

ble

met

hod

�a

tem

pera

ture

at t

he a

irfie

ld.

OR

A

The

res

pons

e pr

ovid

es

for

part

I

�an

arg

umen

t with

cor

rect

m

athe

mat

ical

just

ifica

tion

that

co

nfir

ms t

he c

onje

ctur

e�

a co

mpa

rativ

e st

atem

ent

for

part

II

�a

fully

just

ified

suita

ble

met

hod

�co

rrec

t tem

pera

ture

to th

e ne

ares

t one

dec

imal

pla

ce.

B

The

resp

onse

, allo

win

g fo

r at m

ost

one

desi

gnat

ed e

rror

in e

ach

of

part

s I a

nd II

and

cons

eque

ntia

lly

corr

ect c

alcu

latio

ns a

nd w

orki

ng,

prov

ides

for

part

I

�an

arg

umen

t with

m

athe

mat

ical

just

ifica

tion

that

co

nfir

ms t

he c

onje

ctur

e

for

part

II

�a

suita

ble

met

hod

�a

tem

pera

ture

at t

he a

irfie

ld.

D

The

res

pons

e sh

ows t

hree

pie

ces

of th

e dat

a fr

om th

e stim

ulus

use

d m

eani

ngfu

lly.

E

The

res

pons

e pr

ovid

es

for

part

I

�tw

o id

entif

ied

quan

titie

s tha

t ar

e us

ed in

a m

eani

ngfu

l co

mpa

riso

n th

at c

onfir

ms t

he

conj

ectu

re.

The

res

pons

e pr

ovid

es

for

part

II

�re

cogn

ition

that

the

tem

pera

ture

mus

t get

col

der

to

allo

w th

e pl

ane

to ta

ke o

ff.

OR

Not

es:

1.T

he d

esig

nate

d er

rors

are

:

�tr

ansc

ript

ion

erro

rs

�an

inco

rrec

t res

ult t

o a

corr

ectly

stat

ed o

pera

tion

�in

appr

opri

ate

roun

ding

that

cha

nges

the

answ

er a

t the

exp

ecte

d ac

cura

cy

�us

ing

a no

n-lin

ear

mod

el in

par

t I

�us

ing

40%

incr

ease

of s

tand

ard

take

-off

dis

tanc

e (1

274m

) fro

m p

art I

as

the

take

-off

dis

tanc

e of

the

plan

e fo

r pa

rt II

�in

par

t II,

wor

king

that

red

uces

the

take

-off

dist

ance

but

quo

tes

the

deri

ved

tem

pera

ture

as a

pos

itive

.

2.A

suita

ble

met

hod

in p

art I

I fin

ds th

e pe

rcen

tage

dec

reas

e of

the

altit

ude-

adju

sted

ta

ke-o

ff di

stan

ce r

equi

red

for

the

plan

e to

just

take

off

.

Mod

el R

espo

nse:

I. A

ltitu

de a

djus

tmen

t for

129

8 m

abo

ve se

a le

vel

= x

10%

= 4

3.3%

incr

ease

to th

e st

anda

rd ta

ke-o

ff d

ista

nce

Adj

uste

d ta

ke-o

ff d

ista

nce

= 1.

433

x 91

0 m

= 1

304.

03 m

Perm

itted

take

-off

dis

tanc

e =

85%

of r

unw

ay=

0.85

x 1

460

m =

124

1 m

As a

djus

ted

take

-off

dis

tanc

e of

130

4.03

m e

xcee

ds th

e pe

rmitt

ed

take

-off

dis

tanc

e of

124

1 m

the

plan

e ca

nnot

take

off

.

II.

The

pla

ne�s

take

-off

dis

tanc

e of

130

4.03

m m

ust b

e re

duce

d to

124

1 m

so

the

tem

pera

ture

mus

t be

redu

ced

such

that

1%

dec

reas

e co

mes

from

1° C

dec

reas

e

Perc

enta

ge d

ecre

ase

requ

ired

=

x 1

00%

= 4.

8%If

the

tem

pera

ture

dro

ps to

-4.8

° C th

e pl

ane

will

be

perm

itted

to ta

ke o

ff.

1298

300

--------

----

1304

.03

1241

–13

04.0

3----

--------

--------

--------

--------

------

Las

t Pag

e C

ount


Writing Task (WT)The Writing Task complements the other subtests by testing students’ abilities to produce a piece of continuous English prose about 600 words in length. Students write in response to written and visual stimulus material on an overall concept or theme. Each piece of stimulus material evokes a different aspect of the overall concept. Students can respond to the concept in any form or style except poetry.

This section describes the 2015 testpaper and provides comments on the writing that students produced. The comments are based on an analysis of a statistically significant random sample of student responses. The breakdown of student responses according to stimulus pieces selected and genres of responses is provided. Copyright restrictions do not allow the testpaper to be reproduced in this document.

WT 2015 Overall concept: What feeds usThe overall concept linking the 13 separate stimulus pieces on the 2015 Writing Task testpaper was What feeds us. The concept allows for a range of possible interpretations. Markers needed to be alert to the possible interpretations of the overall concept as they made their judgments on the criterion of Responsiveness.

Students were free to deal with the term ‘feeds’ literally, that is, what it is that actually provides food for all or for oneself. Equally acceptable were the many metaphorical ways in which students might interpret the word. These include: drives us, in the sense of competing or winning; gives meaning to our lives; makes it possible for us to thrive or flourish, or spurs us on, gives us purpose, and fulfils us spiritually. Students interpreted the word ‘us’ in the overall concept from personalising it to refer to oneself or an individual, to expanding on it to refer to a group, a community, society or all of humanity. Some of the contexts that students chose for their responses included: self-actualisation, for example, by considering what can drive us to be what we really want to be; responding to a need, or desire, or deficiency; and ambition, for example, by focusing on what spurs us to the heights.

Whichever interpretation was chosen, the overall concept allowed for a range of responses in a variety of text types: expository, imaginative, persuasive and reflective. Students also managed to produce creditable responses in a variety of genres. These ranged from a straightforward kitchen recipe, to a newspaper editorial, to a media interview, to a personal reminiscence or recount.

The most successful responses to the Writing Task are those that demonstrate higher achievement in the criteria identified in the marking guide (page 68). The criteria are: Central idea (CI); Vocabulary (V); Responsiveness (R); Grammar, punctuation, spelling (GPS); Structuring & sequencing (SS); and Length (L).

Each response is marked by three independent markers. Each marker assigns either four criteria-based standards, or three criteria-based standards and a judgment about Length. Different combinations of judgments are required of the three primary markers. Referee marking occurs as required. Markers consider the contribution to the holistic worth of the response of each of the criteria they are considering. On the marksheet, they record each of their judgments as a standard (from 1 to 6) with a qualifier (+,0,–) and, if required, they indicate a judgment about the length of the response.

The marking guide is included here to show the criteria and standards used to grade responses. Finally, a selection of student responses has been included to exemplify successful writing as defined by the task criteria.


60

Diagram of the testpaperThe testpaper includes 13 separate pieces of stimulus material relating to the concept.

Stimulus pieces

The following diagram shows the percentage of students who indicated that they selected a particular stimulus piece (or pieces) as the starting point or resource for their writing. In reality, most students used a combination of two or more stimulus pieces in developing a response to the concept, thus opening up a greater variety of possibilities for their writing. For this reason, the percentages shown in this diagram add to more than 100%.

Indication of stimulus pieces as starting point or resource

41 2 3

5

6

7

8 9 10

12

1311

41 2 3

5

6

7

8 9 10

12

1311

7%8%

21%

15% 10%9%

12%

10%18%

10%

14%

8%

11%


WT commentaryStudents were required to compose a response that demonstrated a clear connection to the overall concept and to one or more of the stimulus pieces.

The following commentary is based on the assumption that students used only one of the stimulus pieces as a starting point or source of ideas for their responses to the overall concept of the testpaper. The reality is that many, if not most, would have drawn ideas from two or more stimulus pieces. Therefore, the commentary suggests only a narrow view of the possibilities, and that there would be a much greater variety in the responses than is mentioned here.

1 Ingredients

The written text in this stimulus piece suggests an explanation for the composition and development of a human being. The image accompanying the text reinforces the idea that what each of us becomes will be a composite of the characteristics we have inherited from our ancestors, together with the effects of our experiences. Responses to the ideas in this piece elicited biographical or autobiographical accounts, reflections on personality and analyses of the deliberate development of character. Responses also included expositions on the evolution of living creatures and the biology of humans. Some students, who knew enough about the nature/nurture debate, developed a discussion or a persuasive response on this subject. The stimulus piece prompted both factual and imaginative pieces.

2 Greed

As a rule, greed is not looked on very favourably. In the Christian faith, greed is regarded as one of the seven deadly sins; for Buddhists it is one of the three ‘poisons’; Hindus believe that greed is not acceptable; Islam views greed as something that leads to evil. However, in this stimulus piece, the words appear to praise greed. The speaker, the character Gordon Gekko in the 1987 movie, Wall Street, points out that he refers to greed ‘for lack of a better word’. When he explains the kind of greed he is referring to, we realise that it is perhaps not what we usually think of as greed. Gekko lists some of the human hungers and desires that he claims have led to what he calls ‘the upward surge of humanity’.

There were saw many persuasive pieces written in response to this stimulus piece. Some students provided a synonym — the ‘better word’ that Gekko was searching for. These students argued that this kind of greed is necessary if humans are to gain greater knowledge, become happy people and make the world a better place. There were also reflections and stories that illustrated this kind of greed in practice.

3 Scientific discoveries

This stimulus piece provided opportunities for students interested in science and technology to share their knowledge. Some have seen, and in some cases used, a blood glucose monitor like the one shown. It was evident that some had personal knowledge and experience of diabetes and other significant illnesses. Although this stimulus piece prompted some to write expositions, it also provided a starting point for personal and reflective responses, and narratives, factual or imaginative, in which the writers focused on our dependence on scientific and technological developments for our survival and for many improvements in the quality of our lives.

4 Maslow

Although Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs may not be well known to all students, the simple diagram provided was clear and informative enough for them to use it as a source of ideas for their writing. Responses included reports, analytical expositions, reflective and imaginative pieces that used the contents of the diagram to explore the ways in which these needs motivate us and contribute to our wellbeing.


62

5 Joy

The written text in this stimulus piece and its accompanying images are clear and strong. They tell us that what we want most in life is joy. The images of activities and experiences suggest that life is an adventure, prompting some students to write about their own memories of the travel and leisure activities that have been adventures for them and that have fed their need for joy in life. Some students analysed the nature of that joy and why we need it. For others, the images prompted short stories and other imaginative texts that focused on what brings joy to people.

6 Food for the soul

This stimulus piece makes a clear and simple statement, one that prompted some students to respond with expositions on how music feeds us by enriching our lives. There were descriptions of favourite music and expositions about the work of certain composers or artists. The image of the concert ticket prompted some to describe a real or fictional concert or music festival. Some students explained their reasons for enjoying a particular style of music. Others shared their own experiences of performance. Imaginative responses included fictional reflections and accounts by a musician like the one shown on the concert ticket.

7 Faith

Faith is a word for trust in someone or something. This can be trust in a person, a principle, a community, an institution, the universe as a whole, or in oneself. Such trust or confidence, whether or not it is rational, can support a belief in the ability to achieve a goal and this can increase the power to do so. Responses to the stimulus piece included expositions that explored the nature of faith, and persuasive texts on the benefits or dangers of faith. There were real and fictional reflections on, or accounts of, the influence and effects of faith on human action.

8 Just food

The image in this stimulus piece is emotive. The tiny chick held in someone’s hands suggests the fragility of life and draws attention to human connections with other creatures. The juxtaposition of the delicacy of this image with the cynicism of the blunt question, ‘It’s just food, isn’t it?’ is confronting. This led some students to recognise an ethical dilemma that we face in using other creatures for food. Some chose to respond to this stimulus piece with expositions or persuasive texts. Others personalised the situation in reflections or imaginative texts such as short stories.

9 Bite and chew

The familiar warning, ‘Don’t bite off more than you can chew’ has clear connections with the idea of greed. It gives advice not to overreach, but rather, to be moderate about ambitions. This is turned on its head by the advice in this stimulus piece to bite off as much as you possibly can and then ‘chew like mad’. This suggests that one should be aggressive and enthusiastic in going after what it is that is wanted. It praises ambition and hunger for achievement. The sporting image that accompanies the words suggests competition. The stimulus piece exhorts us to be ambitious, work hard and aim for success. Some students used the field of competitive sport as the context for persuasive and expository pieces. Some wrote personal accounts of their successes and failures, in all sorts of areas. Some responded in biographical accounts of achievers in history. Of course, the ideas here also provided inspiration for a range of stories of action and endeavour.

10 Plain old conversation

This stimulus piece, with its image of a message on a phone, prompted responses that focused on the role of electronic communication in making and keeping friends. For those who agreed with the written statement, it provided ideas for persuasive pieces about the value of communication in friendships, and also, the pleasure of talking face to face with friends. Students used the words to begin a story or reflection focusing on a particular friendship. This piece provided a starting point for expositions that analysed the importance of having friends or persuasive pieces that assessed the power of technology in the development or destruction


of connections and relationships with others. The words and the image provided ideas for stories and other fictional pieces that featured conversations.

11 Without art

Like the previous stimulus piece, this one comments on the value of intangible elements in life. This time, there is a reminder of the importance of art in making life more palatable. An artist is shown, surrounded by the devastation caused by war as he sits in a trench and draws. There is no indication of which is more important, creating art or viewing art. The message is just that art is essential. It is clear that art can comment on or can suggest alternatives to some of the realities of life. This piece prompted persuasive and expository responses in which students supported the statement with examples of works of art of all kinds that lift the spirit and made people appreciate the fact that they are alive. Some students chose to tell the story of the man shown in the picture and some told the story of finding the drawing.

12 Hungry

The focus of this stimulus piece is the basic need for food, drink and shelter. While the quote from the Book of Matthew in the Bible is a simple statement, the emotion communicated is one of gratitude. This is especially implied in the words, ‘you welcomed me’. This piece was used in many ways, as material for short stories, accounts and personal reflections on experiences, and expositions or persuasive writing about current events. It prompted some students who had perhaps come to this country from elsewhere to write about aspects, good or bad, of becoming part of a community in a new country.

13 Improve your lot

This stimulus piece focuses on the need for education, learning and knowledge if people are to achieve their hopes and dreams. The written text points out that self-improvement is all important and depends largely on a decision to gain an education. Some students used ideas from the cover of Malala’s book to discuss her remarkable actions, instrumental in effecting changes for the better, for girls in particular. The other titles shown serve to reinforce the idea that all people have in their own power the means to achieve what they want. Some students wrote inspirational speeches to persuade an audience that each person is responsible for the future they want. Others wrote real or fictional accounts of the life of one of the other authors indicated or of people these authors may have written about.

Stimulus pieces: Visual, written or combination?Students have the option of responding to the visual images, the written texts, or a combination of both. This year, 49% of students responded to both visual and written stimulus pieces. An additional 41% responded to only written stimulus pieces and a mere 7% responded to only a piece of visual stimulus. Stimulus pieces for the WT are selected to maximise appeal for a wide cross-section of the Year 12 population. The material chosen is designed to engage students and prompt ideas for their writing. When considering a stimulus piece (or pieces) and what to write, students should remember that, by the time they reach Year 12, they have a wealth of personal and subject-based knowledge and experience that they can draw upon.

When students use ideas from the written stimulus pieces, there is a danger that they may quote large portions of text directly. This can affect markers’ judgments of Length (words from the stimulus pieces are not counted) and the Central idea (if the ideas being presented are not the student’s own). Direct quoting can also detract from a response when the language style of the quoted material differs from the student’s style, or when quotations are used out of context or incorrectly (affecting Structuring & sequencing, Vocabulary, and Grammar, punctuation, spelling).


64

Choice of text typeStudent responses to a WT testpaper may be categorised, according to their purpose, into four major text types: imaginative, expository, reflective and persuasive.

In 2015, the most popular text type for students was the expository response, with 36% of students writing in this form. This was closely followed by imaginative pieces, written by 31% of students. Persuasive responses accounted for 19% of scripts and 14% of responses were reflective.

When determining which text type to use, students need to consider the ultimate purpose of their writing. Do they wish to entertain their audience (imaginative)? Do they want to convey information (expository)? Would they like to recall, contemplate or share experiences (reflective)? Is it their intent to convince their audience of a particular viewpoint (persuasive)? Understanding this can help students to plan effectively and give focus to their writing.

Choice of genreWithin the broader categories of genre, students may write in whatever genre they wish, with the exception of poetry. This enables them to draw on their knowledge and strengths, and to match their ideas from the stimulus with a suitable style of response. They need to decide which genre will allow them to demonstrate their best writing. They should keep in mind, as they plan their response, that some genres, e.g. the speech and the essay, can have a variety of purposes such as exposition or persuasion. Also, when they choose a genre, they need to be sure they can control its conventions. A short story, for example, should cover a short span of time; a media article should have short paragraphs.

As shown in the diagram here, in 2015, the most popular genre was the essay, the next most popular the short story. Personal recounts, reflections and speeches were the next most popular. It is worth noting that, while genre conventions are not assessed specifically (although they may affect Structuring & sequencing), students should aim to make use of, and indeed exploit, these conventions for effect. Students should be encouraged to discover in which genres they write most confidently and competently. This should allow them to produce their best writing.

Essay

The definition of the essay is vague, as it has become a genre required in many school subjects. Perhaps the simplest definition is that it is a piece of writing that usually expresses the author’s personal point of view.

The essay was a popular choice. This is perhaps because essay writing lends itself to a range of different topics, is a writing style that students use across the majority of subject areas, and has elements that are similar to several other genres. The most successful of these responses were very clearly focused on purpose and audience and developed a clear thesis. Essays that were well written followed a clear structure, consisting of: an introduction (including a thesis statement); a body of writing (containing development and explanation of main points); and a concluding paragraph (presenting a summary).

Short story

The short story was one of the most popular genres and, not surprisingly, stories covered a wide variety of topics. The most successful were those that drew on students’ own knowledge and experiences and made effective language choices such as varied sentence length and use of description (including metaphor and personification). Also, successful stories tended to be written with a goal in mind from the outset — that is, there was an effective establishment and development of ideas, a clear resolution and a compelling

critique %0.5

drama script 1%

report 1%

%letter 1

journal 1%

media article 5%

short story 28%

speech 12%

essay 38%

personalrecount/reflection

12%

Popularity of genre: total sample


conclusion. Students should be wary of some strategies that are likely to have a negative impact on achievement. An example is the story that ends with the narrator waking to find it was all a dream or one that is written in the first person with the narrator dying at the end. This is significant to the criteria of Central idea and Structuring & sequencing. Many such stories indicated a lack of planning and, consequently, a lack of direction. Other common problems were inconsistencies and inaccuracies in using tense and narrative perspective.

Personal recount/reflection

Students can elect to write about themselves. They may produce a piece that recounts or reviews a personal experience or a piece that reflects on their lives or their ideas. This genre is reminiscent of some sorts of blog entries on the internet. The popularity of this genre is not surprising.

Speech

Speeches ranged from the informative to the persuasive. Having a clear understanding of the purpose and audience of the speech is crucial for success. This can be achieved by creating a context that establishes the speaker’s credentials and the audience’s potential interest. This means students need to ensure that their topic is suitable for this genre; that is, it should be a topic that is not contrived and that would interest the intended audience.

Media article

This genre includes texts such as feature articles, editorials and journal articles. Predominantly expositional in nature, media articles require students to have a reasonable knowledge of their topic. Therefore, students should carefully consider their own background knowledge and expertise when selecting this approach to respond to their chosen stimulus piece/s. They should also consider the conventions of the genre. For example, feature articles usually have shorter paragraphs than do essays.

Letter

Letters can often provide challenges in Vocabulary and in Structuring & sequencing. To be successful, students should ensure that the purpose, and consequently, the content of the letter is substantive enough to justify the choice of genre and also meet length requirements.

Drama script

There was only a small percentage of drama scripts this year. Students who write in this form need knowledge of the specific conventions of the genre, and need to be able to use them to effect.

Report

A small percentage of students chose to write a report. Many of these were scientific, perhaps suggesting that students were aware of the genre best suited to their knowledge and experience. The genre conventions of a report should be used. Reports should make use of features such as subheadings as well as sections including, for example, objectives, conclusions and recommendations, to add to the authenticity of the writing and, consequently, the authority of the writer. It would not be a good idea to write up a scientific experiment with just a list of materials and procedures. Rather, the writing should focus on a discussion of the findings.

Journal

Journal writing included texts such as a diary entry and were usually reflective in style. This genre is often difficult for students, because writing ‘as themselves’ may limit opportunities for selecting and demonstrating a wide or discriminating vocabulary. Also, they tend to lose focus as they are writing, which can affect the criteria of Central idea and Structuring & sequencing. If students do choose to write a diary, the entries should not be short as the result can be a rather disjointed response. Paragraphs are still essential.


66

Critique

Many of the students who wrote in this genre chose to write reviews about books or films that have had an impact on their lives.

Achievement in specific criteria

In discussing specific criteria, reference is made to selected student responses which begin on page 70.

Central idea

When assessing this criterion, a marker is essentially asking what the response is about. That is, what is the student writing about and how well has the student deliberately and clearly developed this idea to reach an intended conclusion? The most successful responses will demonstrate direction — whether explicit or implicit — and resolution. Responses suffer in the criterion of central idea when there is uneven development of the idea or when there are several, perhaps vague, ideas present. A lack of resolution often results from lack of direction and, consequently, this has a negative impact on the judgment of this criterion.

Vocabulary

Many believe that ‘the bigger the word, the better’. However, this is not necessarily the case. It is never a good idea to sacrifice meaning for style. Success in Vocabulary is determined by word choices: words that have been selected deliberately for effect and exactly fit their location within the text. While students should aim to demonstrate a knowledge and range of vocabulary, their control of language is also crucial. Incorrect and/or inappropriate word choice, lack of variety, and language that gets in the way of meaning will all influence a student’s success in this criterion. Trying too hard to use complex vocabulary can also detract from a response. The biggest word is not always the best word, and sometimes, something as simple as using the wrong preposition can destroy meaning.

Making use of language devices such as metaphor and personification, as well as using ‘technical’ language suited to the context, proved to be very effective for many students. Less effective was the often jarring use of exaggeration and hyperbole, tautology and sweeping generalisations. Maintaining an awareness of the purpose and audience of the writing is essential for success in this criterion.

Responsiveness

The piece of writing that a student produces must clearly be a response to the testpaper on the day, showing a connection to both the overall concept and the stimulus piece/s. Therefore, of all the criteria, Responsiveness is the one weighted most heavily. Achievement will suffer where the connection is weak, or where the student responds to either the concept or stimulus, but not to both. The higher achieving scripts in this criterion will exhibit a strong and sustained connection to both. It is important to be aware that simply repeating the concept, What feeds us, several times is not demonstrating the criterion of Responsiveness. Evidence also suggests that responding to too many stimulus pieces reduces a student’s likelihood of achieving well in this criterion. This is because a piece of this kind tends to make only passing or glancing reference to the concept or the stimulus pieces.

Students may benefit from a different approach in their planning. Rather than looking at the testpaper and asking, ‘What can I write about?’, it may be better to ask, ‘What do I know a lot about that I can relate to something on this testpaper?’

Grammar, punctuation, spelling

Within this criterion, grammar is deemed more important than punctuation which, in turn, is more important than spelling. This is because each one of these can affect meaning more than the next. To achieve a high standard, students must consistently demonstrate precise and effective use of grammar, punctuation and spelling with few errors. This includes exploiting the conventions of writing for specific purposes and effects. Student achievement in this criterion will be affected by the degree to which errors detract from meaning. Proofreading is vital.


Regardless of achievement level, this is the criterion in which students performed most poorly. Some of the most frequent problems evident in responses were:• inconsistencies with tense• errors in antecedent agreement (particularly with singular, plural and indefinite pronouns)• omission or incorrect use of punctuation, e.g. failing to end questions with question marks• absence of apostrophes to identify possession or adding apostrophes to plurals.

Structuring & sequencing

This criterion requires markers to consider the architecture of the piece, that is, the way in which the ideas in the response are arranged. To be successful, the writing must demonstrate controlled structuring and deliberate sequencing of ideas. The writing needs to be fluent, logical and flexible. Achievement is hampered where there are weaknesses evident, such as gaps in logic, poor paragraphing or randomness in the arrangement of ideas.

Some of the problems with Structuring & sequencing arise when students do not clearly establish the context of their writing and, consequently, the development of ideas is less sequential. Also, poor editing can have a negative impact, particularly when students include information that is superfluous to the purpose, thereby weakening the response. In short stories, this often results from including too much unnecessary description. Of course, one thing that students can do to contribute to a well-structured response is to plan a clear strategy that is best suited to their individual writing abilities.

Students should consider their choice of genre when thinking about the structure and sequence of their writing. Although poetry is the only genre that is specifically forbidden, they should think about whether their genre choice will allow them to develop an idea in a clear sequence. For example, writing a 600-word grocery list would be a very bad idea. Students need to consider and discuss what genres or forms will allow them to develop and demonstrate their best writing in about 600 words of continuous prose.

Length

This subtest requires students to produce a piece of continuous prose, approximately 600 words in length. Penalties are applied for too short, far too short, too long, and far too long responses. While each criterion is considered and assessed independently, Length has the potential to have the greatest impact on achievement in other criteria. In terms of overall performance, scripts that are far too short are the most likely to be among the lower achieving responses.


68

Criteria and standards

Con

trib

utio

n to

the

holis

tic g

rade

mad

e by

:D

ecis

ion

abou

t:

CEN

TRA

L ID

EAVO

CA

BU

LARY

RES

PON

SIVE

NES

SG

RA

MM

AR

, PU

NC

TUAT

ION

, SPE

LLIN

GST

RU

CTU

RIN

G &

SE

QU

ENC

ING

LEN

GTH

For a

1+

the

writ

ing

dem

onst

rate

s th

e de

liber

ate,

focu

sed

deve

lopm

ent o

f a c

lear

, ce

ntra

l ide

a (e

xplic

it or

im

plic

it).

For a

1+

the

writ

ing

dem

onst

rate

s th

e us

e of

wor

ds s

elec

ted

for t

heir

effe

ct a

nd e

xact

ly

fitte

d to

thei

r loc

atio

n (th

e rig

ht w

ords

in th

e rig

ht

plac

es).

For a

1+

the

writ

ing

dem

onst

rate

s se

nsiti

vitie

s to

nua

nces

of

the

conc

ept a

nd s

timul

us

mat

eria

l.

For a

1+

the

writ

ing

cons

iste

ntly

dem

onst

rate

s a

com

man

d of

: �t

he c

onve

ntio

ns o

f writ

ing

(sub

ject

-ve

rb a

gree

men

t, pa

rtici

ple

use,

an

tece

dent

agr

eem

ent,

pron

oun

choi

ce, t

ense

, etc

.)�c

orre

ct p

unct

uatio

n�c

orre

ct s

pelli

ng.

For a

1+

the

writ

ing

dem

onst

rate

s co

here

nce

and

cohe

sion

thro

ugh:

�con

trolle

d st

ruct

urin

g�d

elib

erat

e se

quen

cing

of i

deas

an

d im

ages

.

abou

t rig

ht50

0�75

0 w

ords

too

long

750�

1000

wor

ds

too

shor

t40

0�50

0 w

ords

far t

oo lo

ng>

1000

wor

ds

far t

oo s

hort

< 40

0 w

ords

iden

tifia

ble

for i

nten

ded

audi

ence

; dire

ctio

n an

d re

solu

tion

reve

aled

1co

ntro

lled

(dis

crim

inat

ing,

im

agin

ativ

e)1

stro

ng (i

mm

edia

te o

r sub

tle)

and

sust

aine

d co

nnec

tedn

ess

to b

oth

the

conc

ept a

nd

stim

ulus

mat

eria

l

1pr

ecis

e an

d ef

fect

ive

use

1flu

ent,

logi

cal a

nd fl

exib

le

22

22

iden

tifia

ble

but

unev

enly

dev

elop

ed3

appr

opria

te3

conn

ecte

dnes

s to

the

conc

ept

and

stim

ulus

mat

eria

l3

laps

es in

trude

but

do

not d

etra

ct

from

mea

ning

3w

eakn

esse

s ar

e ev

iden

t

iden

tifia

ble

but p

oorly

de

velo

ped

or n

ot re

adily

id

entif

iabl

e bu

t som

e de

velo

pmen

t evi

dent

4in

appr

opria

te, i

nter

ferin

g w

ith m

eani

ng a

t tim

es4

conn

ecte

dnes

s to

eith

er th

e co

ncep

t or s

timul

us m

ater

ial;

orw

eak

conn

ecte

dnes

s to

bot

h th

e co

ncep

t and

stim

ulus

m

ater

ial

4la

pses

obt

rude

and

det

ract

fro

m m

eani

ng4

wea

knes

ses

detra

ct

55

55

not i

dent

ifiab

le6

limite

d6

no c

onne

cted

ness

to th

e co

ncep

t or s

timul

us m

ater

ial

6in

ept

6in

cohe

rent

Gra

ding

a s

crip

t�R

ead

the

scrip

t as

a w

hole

.�T

hink

abo

ut th

e w

orth

of t

he s

crip

t hol

istic

ally.

�Mak

e a

judg

men

t abo

ut th

e co

ntrib

utio

n to

the

holis

tic w

orth

of t

he s

crip

t of e

ach

crite

rion

you

are

cons

ider

ing

(CI,

V, R

, GP

S, S

S).

�Ass

ign

a gr

ade

and

a qu

alifi

er, t

hen

reco

rd e

ach

judg

men

t.

Writ

ing

Task

mar

king

gui

de:

Crit

eria

and

sta

ndar

ds

2015


Selected student responsesThe responses that follow were selected from those that met the standards for successful writing as defined by the criteria and standards for judging student responses. These responses appear in their original handwritten form. They may contain errors in expression and factual inaccuracies but, for the sake of authenticity, they have been published as they were written.

With respect to handwriting, students should be aware that legibility is important. Markers will make a committed attempt to read poor handwriting but they cannot ignore errors due to missing or indecipherable letters. In schools, teachers may become familiar with a student’s handwriting and may guess at their meaning or their spelling. Markers of these responses cannot do this. They must assess what they see. While there is no specific criterion that applies, it is inevitable that illegible handwriting will affect the judgments that can be made in all the criteria.

The selection of the examples here does not indicate a preference for any particular form of writing; nor are the sentiments expressed in these responses necessarily endorsed by the QCAA. Before publication, the QCAA attempted to establish, but cannot guarantee, the originality of the writing in the responses.

Response 1

Painting Memories is a short story in which a daughter visits her mother in a care facility. She brings with her the paints and brushes that her mother once loved to use and watches her come alive again as she paints. As she arrives for her visit, the daughter is ‘fighting against the coil of dread in her stomach’; later, as her mother becomes absorbed in her painting the daughter is ‘smiling happily’. The change in the daughter’s emotions is used effectively in the development and resolution of the central idea of this simple story. The links to the overall concept and to stimulus piece 11 are subtle but strong.

Response 2

In the defense (sic) of fangirling uses stimulus piece 11 as a starting point for a persuasive feature article that encourages readers to enjoy, rather than dismiss this new form of storytelling. It argues that rather than being trivial and unrealistic, it can, like some earlier forms, satisfy the need to escape from the realities of life and has the potential to inspire us with hope for mankind. The control of language shown in the conversational style of the writing contributes to the success of this response.

Response 3

The Culinary Composition of Life represents the writer’s life as being food. In this novel approach to the events and to the associated discussion, it develops the metaphor as it deals with the various chapters of the writer’s life. The links to the overall concept and to stimulus pieces 1 and 12 are overt throughout.

Response 4

The Fundamental ‘Food’ of Humankind is a formal essay that suggests how it is that we become individuals. It develops its thesis by referring to the works of poets and writers, and then to the psychoanalytical theories of Freud, Lyotard and Maslow. The discriminating selection of vocabulary in this discussion indicates a clear understanding of the subject matter that has been used and adapted to result in a strong response to the overall concept and to stimulus pieces 1 and 4.

Response 5

Tiers of Humiliation is an engaging and humorous reflection on what is presented as being real‐life experience for the writer. It is presented as a narrative of ‘the first step on the bumpy path to self‐improvement’. The chronological structure has allowed for the development of the suspense that drives the response. There are clear connect ions to both the overall concept and to the ideas in stimulus piece 13.


70

Response 1



72


74

Response 2



76

Response 3


78


80

Response 4



82

Response 5


84


86

Relative worth of each subtest

Relative worth of parts of the QCS Test

Worth SR paper

Paper Worth Comment

1 WT 68 Two grades on each of the five substantive criteria, plus two judgments on Length

2 MC I 50 50 items of equal worth

3 SR 66.5 16 items with up to five grades each

4 MC II 50 50 items of equal worth

Total 234.5

UnitItem

number

Grade awarded and CodeWorth

A B C D E N O

One 1 4 2 1 2

Two2 7 6 4 1 3.5

3 8 6 4 2 4

Three 4 10 8 5 2 5

Four 5 8 6 3 1 4

Five6 10 8 5 3 1 5

7 8 7 4 2 4

Six8 7 5 2 3.5

9 5 3 2 2.5

Seven10 9 7 4 2 4.5

11 11 9 6 4 2 5.5

Eight

12 7 5 4 2 3.5

13 9 7 5 2 1 4.5

14 11 9 7 4 2 5.5

Nine15 9 7 4 2 4.5

16 10 8 5 3 2 5

A2

A2----

66.5=


88

Deemed CCEs and QCS Test itemsTables showing CCEs tested within the MC and SR subtests are presented earlier in this document. One or more CCEs appear next to each item (or unit). What does this mean?

The QCS Test assesses students in terms of the common elements of the Queensland senior curriculum: analysing and synthesising, evaluating, comparing, interrelating ideas, graphing, estimating, compiling statistics, and so on. There is not, however, a simplistic match of CCEs and individual items in the QCS Test — there is not exactly one item for each CCE or exactly one CCE for each item. Some CCEs are obviously widely present — interpreting words and symbols, analysing and interpreting the meaning of diagrams, justifying. Other CCEs, such as graphing, may be absent from all but one or two specific items.

The CCE given for an item is not, therefore, a claim that this is the only skill required to complete this item successfully. Nor is it a claim that the CCE should be understood as meaning only the skills apparently required by the item. There may even seem to be ways of completing the item successfully that do not appear to involve the given CCE/s.

Listing CCEs against items provides information about how the test constructors view each item in the context of the particular QCS Test.

Balance of the QCS Test in terms of CCEsListing CCEs against items may suggest that the balance of a particular QCS Test or a series of QCS Tests can be assessed by tallying the number of times each CCE is listed.

It is wrong to expect such a tally to show an equal number of items for each of the 49 CCEs because they are not, and were not developed to be, either equal or equivalent, or in any other sense, interchangeable.

A reasonable assessment of the balance of the QCS Test will take into account that• the 49 CCEs are not equal• no CCE is trivial• some CCEs are more substantial than others• no single CCE fails to occur in the Queensland senior curriculum• some CCEs are diffused generally across a wide range of items (and are therefore not listed frequently)• some CCEs can only be tested through particular kinds of items that require a substantial proportion of

the total test item (and therefore these CCEs will not occur very often).


Appendixes

Appendix 1: The 49 Common Curriculum Elements

Descriptors and Notes

Note: The numbering system given for the testable Common Curriculum Elements is that used within the QCS Test Unit. Readers should not be perturbed to find that, while the list is in numerical order, there are numbers missing. All 49 elements appear in the list.

1 Recognising letters, words and other symbols

2 Finding material in an indexed collection:

Note: Examples of an indexed collection are — a dictionary, an encyclopaedia, a library catalogue, a road map, an art catalogue, an instruction booklet, a share register, a classified advertisement column.

3 Recalling/remembering:

Note: Consult Test Specifications Section 2.3 to establish what might reasonably be regarded as assumed knowledge, i.e. ‘an elementary level of general knowledge, and a knowledge of vocabulary and mathematical operations at a level of sophistication consistent with a sound general Year 10 education … basic arithmetic operations involved in calculation, also include fundamental mathematical concepts such as simple algebra, percentage, ratio, area, angle and power of ten notation.’

4 Interpreting the meaning of words or other symbols


6 Interpreting the meaning of tables or diagrams or maps or graphs

7 Translating from one form to another:

Expressing information in a different form

Note: Translation could involve the following forms:verbal information (in English)algebraic symbolsgraphsmathematical material given in wordssymbolic codes (e.g. Morse code, other number systems)picturesdiagramsmaps.

9 Using correct spelling, punctuation, grammar

10 Using vocabulary appropriate to a context

11 Summarising/condensing written text:

Presenting essential ideas and information in fewer words and in a logical sequence

Note: Simply listing the main points in note form is not acceptable, nor is ‘lifting’ verbatim from the given passage.

12 Compiling lists/statistics:

Systematically collecting and counting numerical facts or data

13 Recording/noting data:

Identifying relevant information and then accurately and methodically writing it down in one or more predetermined categories

Note: Examples of predetermined categories are — female/male; odd/even; mass/acceleration.


90

14 Compiling results in a tabular form:

Devising appropriate headings and presenting information using rows and/or columns

15 Graphing:

Note: Students will be required to construct graphs as well as to interpret them (see CCE 6).

16 Calculating with or without calculators

17 Estimating numerical magnitude:

Employing a rational process (such as applying an algorithm, or comparing by experience with known quantities or numbers) to arrive at a quantity or number that is sufficiently accurate to be useful for a given purpose

18 Approximating a numerical value:

Employing a rational process (such as measuring or rounding) to arrive at a quantity or number that is accurate to a specified degree

19 Substituting in formulae

20 Setting out/presenting/arranging/displaying

21 Structuring/organising extended written text

22 Structuring/organising a mathematical argument:

Generating and sequencing the steps that can lead to a required solution to a given mathematical task

26 Explaining to others:

Presenting a meaning with clarity, precision, completeness, and with due regard to the order of statements in the explanation

27 Expounding a viewpoint:

Presenting a clear convincing argument for a definite and detailed opinion

28 Empathising:

Appreciating the views, emotions and reactions of others by identifying with the personalities or characteristics of other people in given situations

29 Comparing, contrasting:

Comparing: displaying recognition of similarities and differences and recognising the significance of these similarities and differences

Contrasting: displaying recognition of differences by deliberate juxtaposition of contrary elements

30 Classifying:

Systematically distributing information/data into categories that may be either presented to, or created by, the student

31 Interrelating ideas/themes/issues

32 Reaching a conclusion which is necessarily true provided a given set of assumptions is true:

Deducing

33 Reaching a conclusion which is consistent with a given set of assumptions:

Inferring

34 Inserting an intermediate between members of a series:

Interpolating

35 Extrapolating:

Logically extending trends or tendencies beyond the information/data given


36 Applying strategies to trial and test ideas and procedures

37 Applying a progression of steps to achieve the required answer:

Making use of an algorithm (that is already known by students or that is given to students) to proceed to the answer

38 Generalising from information:

Establishing by inference or induction the essential characteristics of known information or a result

41 Hypothesising:

Formulating a plausible supposition to account for known facts or observed occurrences

The supposition is often the subject of a validation process.

42 Criticising:

Appraising logical consistency and/or rationally scrutinising for authenticity/merit

Note: also critiquing — critically reviewing

43 Analysing:

Dissecting to ascertain and examine constituent parts and/or their relationships

44 Synthesising:

Assembling constituent parts into a coherent, unique and/or complex entity

The term ‘entity’ includes a system, theory, communication, plan, set of operations.

45 Judging/evaluating:

Judging: applying both procedural and deliberative operations to make a determination

Procedural operations are those that determine the relevance and admissibility of evidence, whilst deliberative operations involve making a decision based on the evidence.

Evaluating: assigning merit according to criteria

46 Creating/composing/devising

48 Justifying:

Providing sound reasons or evidence to support a statement

Soundness requires that the reasoning is logical and, where appropriate, that the premises are likely to be true.

49 Perceiving patterns:

Recognising and identifying designs, trends and meaningful relationships within text

50 Visualising:

Note: Examples of aspects of this element that might be tested include:visualising spatial concepts (e.g. rotation in space) visualising abstractions in concrete form (e.g. kinetic theory — the movement of molecules) visualising a notion of a physical appearance from a detailed verbal description.

51 Identifying shapes in two and three dimensions

52 Searching and locating items/information:

Note: This element as it occurs in syllabuses usually refers to field work. As these conditions are plainly impossible to reproduce under QCS Test conditions, testing can only be performed at a ‘second order’ level.

In the sense of looking for things in different places, ‘searching and locating items/information’ may be taken to include quoting, i.e. repeating words given in an extract in the stimulus material.


92

53 Observing systematically:

Note: This element as it occurs in syllabuses usually refers to laboratory situations. As these conditions are plainly impossible to reproduce under QCS Test conditions, testing can only be performed at a ‘second order’ level.

55 Gesturing:

Identifying, describing, interpreting or responding to visual representations of a bodily or facial movement or expression, that indicates an idea, mood or emotion

Note: This element as it occurs in syllabuses refers to acting and other forms of movement. It is possible to test only the interpretation of movement and expression. It is understood that there are cultural variations relating to the meanings of particular gestures.

57 Manipulating/operating/using equipment:

Displaying competence in choosing and using an implement (in actual or representational form) to perform a given task effectively

60 Sketching/drawing:

Sketching: executing a drawing or painting in simple form, giving essential features but not necessarily with detail or accuracy

Drawing: depicting an object, idea or system pictorially, such as in a clearly defined diagram or flowchart.

Note: Sketching/drawing does not include the representation of numerical data as required in CCE 14 and CCE 15.



Appendix 2: CCEs


2 Finding material in an indexed collection

3 Recalling/remembering




7 Translating from one form to another



11 Summarising/condensing written text

12 Compiling lists/statistics

13 Recording/noting data

14 Compiling results in a tabular form

15 Graphing


17 Estimating numerical magnitude

18 Approximating a numerical value




22 Structuring/organising a mathematical argument

26 Explaining to others

27 Expounding a viewpoint

28 Empathising

29 Comparing, contrasting

30 Classifying


32 Reaching a conclusion which is necessarily true provided a given set of assumptions is true

33 Reaching a conclusion which is consistent with a given set of assumptions

34 Inserting an intermediate between members of a series

35 Extrapolating


37 Applying a progression of steps to achieve the required answer

38 Generalising from information

41 Hypothesising

42 Criticising

43 Analysing

44 Synthesising

45 Judging/evaluating


48 Justifying

49 Perceiving patterns

50 Visualising


52 Searching and locating items/information

53 Observing systematically

55 Gesturing

57 Manipulating/operating/using equipment

60 Sketching/drawing

| Retrospective 2015 QCS Test 94

Appendix 3: CCEs grouped by baskets Comprehend and collect


2 Finding material in an indexed collection

3 Recalling/remembering




7 Translating from one form to another

12 Compiling lists/statistics

13 Recording/noting data

28 Empathising


52 Searching and locating items/information

53 Observing systematically

55 Gesturing

57 Manipulating/operating/using equipment

Structure and sequence


22 Structuring/organising a mathematical argument

29 Comparing, contrasting

30 Classifying



38 Generalising from information

49 Perceiving patterns

50 Visualising

Analyse, assess and conclude

32 Reaching a conclusion which is necessarily true provided a given set of assumptions is true

33 Reaching a conclusion which is consistent with a given set of assumptions

34 Inserting an intermediate between members of a series

35 Extrapolating

41 Hypothesising

42 Criticising

43 Analysing

44 Synthesising

45 Judging/evaluating

48 Justifying

Create and present



11 Summarising/condensing written text

14 Compiling results in a tabular form

15 Graphing


26 Explaining to others

27 Expounding a viewpoint


60 Sketching/drawing

Apply techniques and procedures


17 Estimating numerical magnitude

18 Approximating a numerical value


37 Applying a progression of steps to achieve the required answer

Appendix 4: Glossary of terms used in relation to the QCS Testacceptable minimum standards: the description of a marking process whereby markers are required to use their assessment skills to interpret a student response and match it to a standard in each performance domain being tested by the item. Predetermined trade-offs are already incorporated. Markers then award a grade for that performance domain for that item.

adjacent grades: on a short response marking scheme, a pair of available grades in direct proximity, e.g. A and B, D and E, N and O (see grade)

assumed knowledge: the benchmark of students’ required learning in terms of QCS testing; taken to be the possession of both an elementary level of general knowledge and a knowledge of vocabulary and mathematical operations at a level of sophistication consistent with that of a student with a sound general Year 10 education

batched items: a group of items which relate to the same stimulus material

built-in trade-off: a property of a marking scheme that ensures that the performance domains contribute to the grade in a manner reflective of their hierarchical position in that item

calibration: a routine process aimed at controlling reliability loss by removing irregularities in a marker’s judgment ‘gauge’ before that marker is free to ‘gauge standards’, i.e. to mark

check marking: a process involving scrutiny by marking supervisors (WT), immersers (SR) and unit managers (SR) of grades awarded by markers

closed response item: a short response item which involves the student in the production of an answer and requires the marker to assess the accuracy of the response. This type of item usually produces a definite number of response types.

common curriculum element (CCE): one of the 49 generic skills that are common to at least two subjects in the Queensland senior curriculum, testable in the current format of the QCS Test, and within the learning opportunities of a high proportion of students

creditable response: a response (to a short response item) that is awarded one of the available grades, A to E, and thus attracts credit

criterion (also called basket): macroskill. The QCS Test measures achievement in five criteria, each of which is symbolised by a letter of the Greek alphabet:

The 49 common curriculum elements can be distributed among these five criteria, each criterion representing a set of related CCEs.

cue: an instruction attached to a short response item, situated next to the space provided for the student response. The cue gives students a clear idea of what is required of them, sometimes providing essential further information on how to respond.

curriculum element: identifiable coherent activity specified by a syllabus as relevant to the pursuit of the aims and objectives of that syllabus

denotation: descriptor and/or notes related to a CCE, which represent the meaning of that CCE for the purpose of the QCS Test. Denotations are circulated to the appropriate audiences.

descriptor: see standard descriptor

comprehend and collect

structure and sequence

analyse, assess and conclude

create and present

apply techniques and procedures.


96

desirable feature: item-specific characteristic of a student’s short response that demonstrates achievement and therefore contributes to the determination of attainment in a particular performance domain

dimension: one of nine defined characteristics of a test item. Each item can be classified in terms of each of these nine dimensions. This classification is used for assessing range and balance in the test.

discrepant marker: a marker whose marking differences (compared with other markers) are either not acceptably small or not apparently random

dissonant markings: binders whose items have been given significantly different marks by different markers

essential equipment: ‘tools of the trade’ listed in the Student Information Bulletin and in Directions on the cover of the testpaper, and which the student must provide in order to complete the test, namely:• pens (black ink)• pencil (for drawing and sketching, but not for writing)• protractor• drawing compass• eraser• coloured pencils• ruler• calculator with spare batteries.

exemplar: example of a response included in the marking scheme as an indication to markers of the acceptable standard for the award of an A-grade

flyer: a written mechanism by which unit managers and immersers can communicate to markers any decisions regarding the treatment of scripts made after marking has commenced

footnote: additional information provided at the end of the relevant piece of stimulus material, with reference to the stimulus material via a superscript. It may take various forms such as a commentary on word usage or sourcing of an extract.

gloss: definition of a term that students are not expected to know. When substantive vocabulary of a high level of sophistication, whose meaning cannot be determined from the context is used, a meaning or explanation is provided at the end of the relevant passage. Reference to the passage is made via a superscript.

grade (response grade): a measure of performance on a short response item on the basis of a student’s response. Grades are consecutive letters, with A denoting the grade pertaining to the highest performance level. The number of grades may vary from item to item. The lowest available grade identifies the threshold for creditable performance.

hierarchy: a ranking of the performance domains of an item, indicating their relative contributions to the award of the grades

immerser (SR): a person who trains markers to apply the prescribed marking schemes and standards for each item; conducts check marking and refocusing sessions as determined by quality control; supports markers with advice on marking; and maintains the standards of the marking

immersion: instruction to acquaint markers with details and subtleties of the marking schemes for the items in an allocated unit, discussion of common response types and marking of real student responses

immersion notes: unit-specific script prepared by immersers for use in training markers

immersion session: a set period of time when immersers train markers in the marking scheme and provide them with guided assistance in practice marking. Verbal instructions which form part of the marking prescription may be given at this time.

incline of difficulty: the sequencing of units within a testpaper in such a way that units tend to become progressively more difficult towards the end of the testpaper

introduction: a block of text at the beginning of a unit that, when necessary, gives a reference for the stimulus material and items to follow


item: comprises the stem, cue and response area

item-specific: pertaining to a particular item. Usually, item-specific documents contain information that can only pertain to one of the items on a particular subtest.

item writer: a person who writes and develops items for inclusion in the itembank. Test specifications are heeded in the writing of items.

key term: one of a list of verbs used in the stems of short response items as commands or task setters, and for which clear definitions are appropriately circulated to students and markers for the purposes of the QCS Test. The key terms include the following:

line numbers: numbers situated in the left-hand margin of some passages of stimulus material to help students locate details mentioned in associated items

marker training: a process which occurs during the days immediately preceding the marking proper, and consists of a pretraining/administration session and an immersion session in an allocated marking unit, together with preliminary marking and feedback sessions

marking history: a collection of marking schemes for all items in the unit in which a marker is trained to mark, together with the marker manual. Running rules and flyers are sometimes added to the folio during the course of the marking operation.

marking grid: an item-specific sheet, accompanying the marking scheme, designed to assist markers’ decision making when the application of descriptors is particularly complex. The use of such grids may be either compulsory or non-compulsory.

marking pool: the total group of markers selected from the register of markers to be involved in the marking operation for a given year

marking scheme: the item-specific criteria and standards schema from which markers can determine grades; the marking scheme may not include all of the instructions to the markers. Most marking schemes are presented as a table in which the cells of each column give the descriptors of standards for the grade shown in that column’s heading.

marking supervisor (WT): a person who trains markers to apply the prescribed criteria and standards; conducts check marking and refocusing sessions as determined by quality control; supports markers with advice on marking; and maintains the standards of marking.

marking unit: a collection of items that is to be marked using a single marksheet. An individual marking unit may include items from more than one test unit. The items of an individual test unit may be spread over more than one marking unit.

marksheet: a pre-printed sheet markers use to record information about marking

mathematical operations: at the level of QCS testing, the basic operations involved in calculation (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), as well as fundamental mathematical concepts such as simple algebra, percentage, ratio, area, angle, and power of ten notation

account for draw (cf. sketch) illustrate/exemplify show (calculations)

approximate estimate indicate sketch (cf. draw)

argue evaluate justify state

comment on explain list substitute in

compare expound outline (in words) suggest

contrast express present summarise

derive extrapolate prove transcribe

describe find rank verify

determine generalise refer

discuss identify quote


98

miniature SR paper: an A3 sheet containing abbreviated versions of the items in the testbook. Students may retain this at the conclusion of the test.

model response: an example of a response that demonstrates the highest level of performance and would invariably be awarded the highest grade

monitoring (marker monitoring): comparison of markers (many pairings) to identify responses to be re-marked, markers who require refocusing, and aspects of marking schemes which need attention during calibration

non-contributory: term applied to the grade given to a short response item when a response is unintelligible or does not satisfy the requirements for any other grade (N), or when the item is omitted (O)

notes: a note on a marking scheme that clarifies features of the item; defines, qualifies or explains terms used in the descriptors; and gives additional information about the treatment of particular types of response

omit: label given to that category of response to a test item where the student fails to provide a response, i.e. the student makes no apparent attempt to respond to the task set and leaves the response space completely blank

open-ended response item: a short response item that involves the student in generative thinking and requires the marker to assess the quality of the response. No exhaustive list of desirable features can be identified a priori to describe a given response type.

optional equipment: ‘tools of the trade’ (other than essential equipment) normally used in a course of study, which students may choose to provide for the test, e.g.• set square• correction fluid• sharpener.

pathological response: one of the 2% or less of different or unpredictable responses not covered directly by the descriptors in the marking scheme, and discovered after marking commences

performance domain/s: common curriculum element/s tested by a particular item. For items that are associated with more than one CCE, the influence of each CCE is clearly evident in the marking scheme.

practice effect: an increase in marking speed as the marker gains experience in reading student responses and grading them with the marking scheme

practice set: booklet of authentic student responses given to markers within an immersion session to reinforce learning

preliminary marking: mandatory initial session of actual marking conducted under normal conditions with grades to stand. Preliminary marking usually occurs immediately after immersion and before the feedback session.

primary marking: the totality of the first two independent markings of all items on the testpaper

The number of marker judgments in the primary marking is , where N = number of students,

n = number of items on the testpaper, and pi = number of performance domains for the i th item.

refocusing: a one-on-one counselling session between an immerser and a marker who is experiencing problems with his/her marking, as identified by quality-control procedures

referee marking: an independent third marking of a student response, which occurs when two independent markers disagree to an extent that is regarded as significant for that item

registered marker: a marker who has successfully completed a recruitment session

reliability: the degree to which measurements are consistent, dependable or repeatable; i.e. the degree to which they are free of errors

reliability of grades: the degree to which there is marker agreement as to the grade awarded (although some grades are truly borderline)

n

�=i 1

2N pi


response: the student’s work on an item as communicated to the marker. In writing, drawing, calculating and so on in the case of a short response item. By blackening a circle corresponding to the selected response option in the case of a multiple choice item.

response alternative: one of four options from which students choose the best response for a multiple choice item. Students record their responses on a mark-sensitive sheet which is computer scanned for scoring.

response area: the space provided in the short response testbook where students give their response. It may be a ruled area or grid or a designated space in which to write, draw, complete a diagram, fill in a table, or other task.

richness: a property of a test item whereby the item can provide more than the usual single piece of information about student achievement. In the case of a rich short response item, markers are required to award a grade in more than one, usually two, performance domains.

running rules: decisions made by unit managers and immersers after the marking has commenced to supplement the application of marking schemes

sample response: authentic student response used for the purposes of training

second guessing: anticipating the grade selected by other markers by considering ‘What will other markers do?’ rather than by applying the marking scheme

standard: a reference point for describing the quality of student responses in performance domains (see marking scheme)

standard descriptor: a statement or list of statements that succinctly conveys the standard or features required in a response to be awarded that grade in a particular performance domain

star-value: a rating for a short response item relative to other items on the short response paper, in terms of worth/effort, from [*] lowest to [*****] highest. The star-value is printed beside the item number.

stem: that part of the item that indicates the task set or the question to be answered

stimulus material: verbal, numerical, pictorial, tabular, or graphical material that sets the context for the item/s to follow with the aim of promoting students’ responses

testbook (testpaper): the booklet provided to a student for the SR subtest; the cover carries directions to students; the booklet contains items arranged within units. The booklet also contains spare pages (in case the student needs extra response space, or decides to rewrite a response after cancelling the initial attempt) and a fold-out section inside the back cover containing the item and star-value distribution.

training: see marker training

unit: a part of a test consisting of stimulus material and associated items, and often an introduction

unit manager (SR): a person who trains the immersers of a particular unit so that they can train the markers with due regard to the construct of the test. Unit managers direct, assist and monitor the performance of immersers; provide clarification of marking schemes when required; and assist with check marking, referee marking and other quality-control procedures.

validity: the extent to which an assessment instrument measures what it is claimed to measure

validity of grades: the extent to which the item and marking scheme measure achievement in the designated CCE/s

verbal instructions: information given to markers by immersers to acquaint them with the details and subtleties of marking schemes, and with common response types gleaned from a sample of student responses


Queensland Curriculum & Assessment AuthorityPO Box 307, Spring Hill QLD 4004 AustraliaLevel 7, 154 Melbourne Street, South BrisbaneT + 61 7 3864 0299F + 61 7 3221 2553

www.qcaa.qld.edu.au

Documents

Retrospective: 2015 Queensland Core Skills Test · Queensland Core Skills (QCS) Test and the responses of students. The core skills are the common curriculum elements that are within