Executive Summary

To assess the English learning area in 2019, the NMSSA project team developed a multi-part assessment focused on the two English strands, creating meaning and making meaning. The assessments included multi-choice and short answer questions, extended response items, one-to-one interviews, and individual and paired performance tasks.

Central to the study of English are literary texts (fiction and creative non-fiction) which use language in aesthetic, imaginative and engaging ways to entertain, engender emotion, express identity and invite reflection. The NMSSA study focused on student interpretation and creation of written, oral and visual language ‘literary’ texts. This included interpretation of extracts of fiction texts (such as novels, short stories, plays, poems, picture books) presented in different forms (print, audio, static image, film) and creation of written, spoken and visual texts with an emphasis on purpose and audience.

Creating meaning

In Parts 2, 3, and 4 of this report, aspects of creating meaning – writing, speaking and presenting – are discussed. For each mode, the assessment approach is explained. This is followed by discussion of a specific finding or insight drawn directly from the student responses as they engaged in one of the tasks. The creating meaning tasks all involved students actively composing and presenting their ideas, and in the areas of speaking and presenting, reflecting on the effectiveness of their communication. In these tasks students were given time to think and plan.