Question 1

What does NZQA Scholarship Technology actually test?

Accepted Answer

Scholarship Technology asks you to submit a reflective report (up to 30 pages of writing + 10 pages of visual evidence) documenting a real technological project you developed from start to finish. Examiners are not just looking at what you made — they are reading for how deeply you thought, how well you justified every decision, and how honestly you reflected on your process. The format changed in 2026: your written report (Part A) and visual portfolio (Part B) must be submitted as a single PDF document, with a strict 30-page limit for Part A and a maximum of 40 numbered images in Part B.

Question 2

What does an Outstanding Technology answer look like?

Accepted Answer

1. Your justifications go beyond describing what you did — every key decision (material choice, design direction, technique) is explained with clear reasoning tied back to the issue, the context, and your stakeholders' real needs. 2. Stakeholders are genuinely woven into the development process, not consulted once at the start and once at the end. Their ongoing feedback visibly changes your decisions, and you explain how and why. 3. You show iterative, adaptive practice: prototypes and tests lead to specific changes, and you document that cycle honestly — including when things did not work and what you did about it. 4. Your outcome is tested in its actual intended environment (not just on a workbench), and you evaluate it for fitness for purpose in the broadest sense — covering social and physical context, not only technical function. 5. You demonstrate independent thinking: the project direction, problem-framing, and design decisions are clearly yours, not a teacher-structured template or a repurposed competition entry. 6. Your report reads as a clear narrative — a confident, concise story of thinking and making — where images in Part B are numbered, explicitly referenced in Part A, and add meaning rather than fill space.

Question 3

What's the difference between Scholarship and Outstanding in Technology?

Accepted Answer

Scholarship (~3% of candidates): Scholarship work shows genuine depth — a real issue explored thoroughly, ongoing analysis, solid justification of decisions, effective stakeholder feedback, and a fit-for-purpose outcome supported by good visual evidence. Outstanding (~0.3%): Outstanding work goes further by demonstrating truly independent, critical thinking throughout: decisions are insightfully reasoned, practice is adaptive and self-directed, the outcome shows elegance or ingenuity, and the whole report reads as a seamless synthesis of knowledge, skills, and reflection rather than a well-organised checklist.

Question 4

How do I prepare for NZQA Scholarship Technology?

Accepted Answer

1. Explicitly document your context-selection process — examiners want to see that you considered multiple contexts and can explain why you chose the one you did, because this establishes that your project is authentically yours. 2. Never just describe what you did; always follow it with why you did it and what it changed. Examiners repeatedly flagged 'running commentary' reports (listing actions without purpose or reflection) as a key reason candidates missed Scholarship. 3. Make sure all three curriculum strands — technological practice, technological knowledge, and the nature of technology — are clearly evidenced in your report. Submitting work that was originally structured for a competition, show, or Level 3 assessment often leaves one or more strands thin. 4. Comply with the format specifications exactly: 12-point Arial, 2.5 cm margins, one PDF, no hyperlinks, videos within the permitted length, and a strict 30-page Part A limit. Examiners do not mark beyond page 30, and non-compliant formatting can hide your best evidence.

Technology

Exemplar (outstanding student answer)(12)

Marking schedule(4)

Assessment report(4)

Assessment specification(2)

Sample assessment(1)