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The
assessments included 10 tasks investigating students’ knowledge,
understandings and processes in the area of culture and heritage.
This area focuses on the contribution of culture and heritage
to identity and exploration of the nature and consequences of
cultural interaction.
Eight tasks were identical for both year 4 and year 8 students.
One was administered only to year 4 students, and one only to
year 8 students. Five are trend tasks (fully described with data
for both 2001 and 2005), one is a released task (fully described
with data for 2005 only) and four are link tasks (to be used again
in 2009, so only partially described here).
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The tasks are presented in the three sections: trend tasks, then
the released task and finally the link tasks. Within each section,
tasks administered to both year 4 and year 8 students are presented
first, followed by tasks administered only to year 4 students
and then tasks administered only to year 8 students.
Averaged across 68 task components administered to both year 4
and year 8 students, 14 percent more year 8 than year 4 students
succeeded with these components. Year 8 students performed better
on 57 of the 68 components.
On the trend tasks, there was evidence of a small gain between
2001 and 2005 for year 4 students and little change for year 8
students. Averaged across the 39 trend task components attempted
by year 4 students in both years, three percent more students
succeeded in 2005 than in 2001. Gains occurred on 25 of the 39
components. At year 8 level, with 43 trend task components included,
on average two percent more students succeeded in 2005 than in
2001. Gains occurred on 25 of the 41 components.
Most students were able to associate iconic symbols with New Zealand.
As in earlier assessments, they were not very knowledgeable about
the key elements of the New Zealand flag, Although most students
at both year levels were generally supportive of keeping the current
flag, more than two thirds of year 8 students could identify alternative
elements that they associated with New Zealand and thought might
be suitable on a New Zealand flag. The New Zealand Coat of Arms
would have been less familiar to them, but its current form was
also strongly supported by students at both year levels, few of
whom made suggestions for changes. A high proportion of students
clearly had had opportunities to learn about Mäori culture
and protocols, but the level of knowledge and understanding was
generally quite superficial. Teams of students at both year levels
were able to identify similarities and differences between cultural
customs that they read about, but tended to focus on just a few
features rather than attempt a more fine-grained analysis. |
