Which Unit?
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Approach:  Independent  
Level: Year 4 and year 8
Focus: Units of measurement  
Resources:
Answer booklet
123kb
Questions/instructions:  
Units provided for Year 4
tonne (t) kilogram (kg)
gram (g) millimetre (mm)
centimetre (cm) metre (m)
kilometre (km)  
Units provided for Year 8
tonne (t) kilogram (kg)
gram (g) millimetre (mm)
centimetre (cm) metre (m)
kilometre (km) square centimetres (cm2)
square metres (m2) square kilometres (km2)
hectare (h)  
Which unit of measurement would you use to measure each of these?
 
% responses
2009 ('05)
y4
y8
1. The length of a piece of ribbon. ticktick centimetre
52 (50) 74 (80)
  tick millimetre
14 (15) 9 (10)
  tick metre 18 (17) 7 (6)
2. The weight of a big truck. ticktick tonne 53 (48) 81 (86)
  tick kilogram 24 (24) 9 (9)
3. The amount of butter needed for a cake. ticktick gram 53 (58) 84 (84)
  tick kilogram 22 (17) 8 (11)
4. Carpet for your bedroom floor. ticktick (Y8) square metre   57 (54)
  tick metre 46 (48) 16 (23)
5. The distance between Auckland and Taupo. tick kilometre 62 (62) 82 (88)
6. The length of a football field. tick metre 41 (41) 55 (59)
YEAR 8 ONLY:      
7. The thickness of a nail. ticktick millimetre   68 (70)
  tick centimetre   10 (9)
8. The area of a farm. ticktick hectare   58 (57)
  tick square metre   19 (24)

Y4 Total Score:
 8–9
25 (24)      
6–7
 		 28 (30) 
4–5
 		 23 (20) 
2–3
17 (18) 
0–1
  		 7 (8) 
Y8 Total Score: 14 0
  18 (17)
12–13
34 (36)
10–11
 21 (26)
7–9
16 (14)
0–6 11 (7)
Subgroup Analysis [Click on charts to enlarge] :
Year 4
Year 8
Commentary:
At both year levels, performance was very similar in 2005 and 2009. Mäori and Pasifika year 4 students scored much lower, on average, than the year 4 Pakeha students, and the performance difference between year 8 Pakeha and Pasifika students was very large.