How AS91226 is assessed
What you hand in
- AS91226 is internally assessed, worth 4 credits, usually as a written report produced over several weeks with access to data.
- Your teacher sets the exact task. What follows is what the standard requires, whatever context is chosen.
The criteria, in order
| Grade | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Achieved | Process and present statistical data for two contemporary economic issues to show trends; explain relationships in the data for each issue; explain inter-relationships between the two issues' data — all using economic concepts and/or models |
| Merit | The same explanations, but detailed |
| Excellence | Make a justified forecast for one issue using extrapolated data from both |
- Note what Excellence does not say. It does not add a new topic — it adds the forecast. Everything from Achieved and Merit must still be there and still be correct.
A report structure that maps onto the criteria
1 — Introduction
- Name your two contemporary economic issues and say why each qualifies under the standard (inflation, international trade, economic growth, unemployment, or another issue involving the allocation of scarce resources).
- Say why you chose this pair — the economic connection between them.
2 — Issue 1: data, processing and trends
- The series, with sources and dates.
- Your processing — percentage changes, index numbers, real values, per capita — with at least one calculation shown.
- A figure with everything labelled, and a written trend description: direction, magnitude, turning points, anything unusual.
3 — Issue 1: relationships within the data
- At least two series from this issue, and the relationship between them, explained with a named concept or model.
4 — Issue 2: data, processing and trends
- The same treatment.
5 — Issue 2: relationships within the data
- The same treatment.
6 — Inter-relationships between the two issues
- A combined figure showing both.
- The pattern, the mechanism, the direction of causation, and the lag if there is one.
- Anything that complicates it.
7 — The forecast (Excellence)
- Both trends extrapolated, with numbers.
- The mechanism linking them.
- A specific forecast for one issue, with a range and a date.
- The assumptions and risks.
8 — Conclusion
- What the data shows, and how confident you are.
Referencing
- Every figure needs: organisation, series name, period, date retrieved.
- Stats NZ, Household Labour Force Survey, December 2025 quarter, retrieved 4 March 2026.
- Use the original source, not a figure quoted in a news article.
The checks to run before submitting
- Two issues, both on the standard's list or clearly about the allocation of scarce resources
- Data processed, not just copied — at least one calculation of each type shown
- Every figure fully labelled with units, source and date
- A trend description in words for every figure
- Relationships explained for each issue separately
- Inter-relationship explained, with a named model
- Forecast for one issue, using both issues' extrapolated data
- Forecast has a range, a date, and stated assumptions
- Every statistic referenced
Worked ExampleAuditing a draft against the criteria
A student's draft report contains:
- Two line graphs, one for inflation and one for unemployment, both copied directly from Stats NZ
- A paragraph describing each graph
- A paragraph saying "inflation and unemployment appear to be linked"
- A conclusion predicting that inflation will keep falling
Audit this against the criteria and say what must change.
Step 1 — Check: two contemporary economic issues
✓ Met. Inflation and unemployment are both explicitly named in the standard's list.
Step 2 — Check: processed and presented to show trends
✗ Not met. The graphs were copied directly from Stats NZ, so no processing has taken place.
Fix: transform the data. Calculate annual percentage changes and show the working; index both series to a common base year so they can share an axis; consider a four-quarter moving average if the series is volatile. Redraw the figures with full labels, units, source and date.
Step 3 — Check: relationships within each issue
✗ Not met. There is a paragraph describing each graph, but a description of one series is not a relationship. A relationship needs two series from the same issue.
Fix: for inflation, add the OCR and explain the relationship — CPI rises → the RBNZ raises the OCR → retail rates rise → and fall → AD shifts left → the price level falls, with a lag of a year or more. For unemployment, add the participation rate and explain the discouraged-worker mechanism.
Step 4 — Check: inter-relationships between the two issues
✗ Not met. "Inflation and unemployment appear to be linked" names no mechanism, no model and no direction. It is an observation, not an explanation.
Fix: build a combined figure and explain the mechanism. Falling inflation is typically the result of the RBNZ raising the OCR, which shifts AD left, reducing real GDP. Because labour demand is derived demand, lower output means firms need fewer workers, so DL shifts left and unemployment rises. So the two issues are linked through monetary policy and aggregate demand: disinflation achieved through a tighter OCR arrives with rising unemployment as its cost. State the lag and which series turns first.
Step 5 — Check: the forecast
✗ Not met, on both counts.
- It uses only one issue: inflation is forecast from the inflation trend alone.
- It is not justified: no mechanism, no assumptions, no range, no date.
Fix: extrapolate both trends with numbers. Then forecast inflation using the unemployment trend as part of the reasoning: rising unemployment means weaker household incomes and lower consumption (), which shifts AD left and adds further downward pressure on the price level beyond what the inflation trend alone implies. Give a range, a date, and the assumptions — no OCR cut, no supply shock, anchored inflation expectations.
Step 6 — Summarise the audit
| Criterion | Status | What is needed |
|---|---|---|
| Two issues | ✓ | — |
| Processed to show trends | ✗ | Calculate and transform; relabel figures |
| Relationships within each issue | ✗ | Add a second series to each issue; name a model |
| Inter-relationship | ✗ | Combined figure; mechanism; direction; lag |
| Detail (Merit) | ✗ | Full chains of reasoning, not assertions |
| Forecast (Excellence) | ✗ | Use both issues; range, date, assumptions |
The draft currently meets one criterion out of six. But nothing here requires starting again — it requires two extra data series, one combined figure, and rewriting three paragraphs to name their models.