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Resources: Domestic letter rate chart (shown)
                      Four letters addressed within New Zealand:
                      1: Susan Cross:        E24 envelope (165x241mm)
                      2: Kala Tom:               E12 envelope (114x162mm)
                      3: Paul Thompson:   E31 envelope (229x324mm)
                      4: Sam Reed:             E20 envelope (114x225mm)

1. How much will it cost to send this letter to Susan Cross by fastpost?

$1.20

2. How much will it cost to send this letter to Kala Tom by ordinary post ?

45¢

3. How much will it cost to send this letter to Paul Thompson by ordinary post?

80¢

4. How much will it cost to send this letter to Sam Reed by fastpost?

80¢

Commentary:
By the time the year 4 assessments took place, the postal rate for "medium" sized ordinary letters had been reduced to 40¢. Students were marked correct for Question 2 if they said the cost would be 40¢.

The very poor results at both levels for Question 1 suggests that the letter rate chart was difficult to use for E24 envelopes. Perhaps the problem arose from the words used on the chart for envelope size: "medium" and "extra large." Since the envelope in Question 3 was much larger than the envelope in Question 1, the students may have been unwilling to call both "extra large." Perhaps New Zealand Post should redesign its domestic letter rate chart!