Question 1

What is NCEA AS 91463 about?

Accepted Answer

This internal assessment asks Year 13 Health students to look closely at health practices used in New Zealand today and judge how useful or effective they are. You choose a health condition (like back pain, anxiety, asthma, or depression) and then compare at least two treatments for it — one must be a conventional Western medical treatment (like medication or physiotherapy) and the other must be a complementary, alternative, or traditional treatment (like naturopathy, aromatherapy, or Māori medicine). You explain how each treatment works, what it is based on, and weigh up its pros and cons in relation to overall wellbeing (hauora). At higher grades, you go deeper by comparing the treatments and linking bigger ideas about health and society to your conclusions.

Question 2

What do students need to do for AS 91463?

Accepted Answer

1. Pick a health condition to focus on — for example back pain, anxiety, eczema, asthma, or smoking addiction (suicide and eating disorders are not allowed as topics). 2. Choose at least two health practices used for that condition — one must be a Western scientific medicine (WSM) approach (e.g. medication, surgery, counselling, physiotherapy) and one must be a complementary/alternative or traditional medicine (CAM/TM) approach (e.g. naturopathy, homeopathy, aromatherapy, or Māori medicine/rongoā). 3. Explain how each practice works — what happens in the treatment and what knowledge or philosophy it is based on. 4. Explain the significant advantages and disadvantages of each practice in terms of hauora (physical, mental, social, and spiritual wellbeing). 5. At higher grades: compare the two practices directly, draw conclusions backed by reasoned arguments, and connect your analysis to broader health concepts like the socio-ecological perspective, health promotion, and attitudes and values.

Question 3

What's the difference between Achieved, Merit, and Excellence for AS 91463?

Accepted Answer

Achieved: You explain what each health practice involves, what it is based on (its philosophy or theory), and outline significant advantages and disadvantages of each practice in relation to hauora. Your evaluation covers the basics clearly and accurately. Merit: You go deeper by directly comparing the advantages and disadvantages of your chosen practices against each other. You draw conclusions that are backed up by reasoned arguments — not just stating opinions, but explaining why one approach may be better or worse in certain situations. Excellence: You make meaningful connections between the underpinning philosophies of each practice and broader health concepts (hauora, socio-ecological perspective, health promotion, and attitudes and values). Your conclusions are fully justified and show real insight — you show you have thought critically about how and why these practices are valued differently and what that means for people's health.

Question 4

What mistakes do students typically make in AS 91463?

Accepted Answer

1. Choosing a health topic that is not allowed — the standard specifically says suicide and eating disorders must not be used as the health circumstance. 2. Only choosing practices from one category (e.g. two Western medicine treatments) instead of selecting at least one WSM and at least one CAM or traditional medicine practice. 3. Describing the health practices without actually evaluating them — listing what a treatment is without explaining its advantages, disadvantages, or underlying philosophy does not meet the standard. 4. Not linking the evaluation clearly to hauora — students often discuss physical health effects but forget to consider mental, social, and spiritual dimensions of wellbeing. 5. For Merit and Excellence: making comparisons that are too vague or unsupported, or stating conclusions without explaining the reasoning behind them. 6. For Excellence: mentioning health concepts like the socio-ecological perspective or health promotion as buzzwords without genuinely connecting them to the specific practices and their advantages and disadvantages.

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