Week 9 Term 3: English Department: PART ONE - NCEA Level 1 English Internal Assessment: 1.2 91926 (September 01 - September 05)

NZQA Weaving Knowledge

Over the next two weeks I am going to reflect on the NCEA Level 1 English internal assessment 1.2: 91926 - Develop ideas in writing using stylistic and written conventions. This is a new internal assessment. Originally it was flagged as a submitted external assessment. We started our new curriculum for NCEA Level 1 English we decided not to do the submitted external and opted for the two internal assessments. This year, the internal assessment (1.1) that we planned on doing was converted into an external assessment and 1.2 was introduced as a internal assessment. 

In this post I am going to reflect on what the assessment entails and my understanding on what the teachers and students need to know with this new assessment. In my up and coming posts, I will highlight what the English Department have planned and designed as a unit of learning for 1.2 and the journey on how the plan has come to life in our classrooms this term. 

The big thing is different with the standard this year is that it is internally assessed, not externally assessed. It is an internal assessment, fully internally assessed and marked.

The two key assumptions or driving principles of the assessment is:

Student agency - the assessment is looking for students to have agency and choice with the assessment they are writing.

Independence - its an assessment on what the students are able to do entirely independently

This assessment, in contrast with the old 1.4 and 1.5, this one is not over scaffolded. Students are getting an opportunity to write different types of texts (formal writing, poetry, character description). The assessment encourages the students to do the assessment independently as they have skills on how to craft different texts. The assessment should enable students to write independently with little feedback and scaffolding.

Teaching and learning which is then assessed by the standard.

• The intent of the standard is not to return to how we have assessed writing in the past.
• The intent of the standard is that students are getting exposed and learn how to write a range of different types of writing - Formal Writing, Persuasive Writing, Creative Writing, Poetry
• Using language appropriately for purpose and audience
• What stylistic features are appropriate for the purpose and audience for your written text
• The standard is trying to assess, can the student INDEPENDENTLY craft the text

Conditions of the assessment and how you run the assessment.

• When the students do their writing, it still hands off from the teacher
• The students need to independently need to plan and draft their writing once they get the assessment
• Teacher can give some brief, general feedback for example “you need to look at your accuracy” - general commentary
• EXPLICITLY - students cannot do a piece of writing for this standard that they have done for another standard - they cannot study a novel, teach the kids to write an essay about the novel and use that essay for the writing standard.
• The writing assessment needs to be assessed in and around 6-8 hours (during a week) in an exam setting or in class.

In my next post I am going highlight the unit of learning that the English Department has designed for 91926.