2. Hon MARIAN HOBBS (Labour—Wellington Central) Link to this
to the Minister of Education
Does he have confidence in the acting chief executive of NZQA?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister of Education) Link to this
Yes. Karen Sewell was seconded to the organisation for the express purpose of ensuring that we have an open and a transparent exam process that New Zealanders can have confidence in. She has openly requested that any marker who has any concerns phone her directly, so that issues can be fixed if they exist. Ms Sewell has more than 30 years’ experience in education and is widely respected. She has been a secondary school teacher, a principal, the president of the Auckland Secondary Schools Association, and the chairperson of the Principals Council, and she was appointed as chief executive of the Education Review Office in 2001.
What advice has the Minister received about the level of openness and transparency in National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) exams?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
It is clear from the volume and nature of the information that the New Zealand Qualifications Authority is releasing that it is running an open and a transparent process. That is in contrast to what amounts to three anonymous people emailing the Opposition spokesperson, whose open hostility to the NCEA makes it difficult to believe that he is doing anything other than seeking to destroy the assessment system. Karen Sewell has openly requested that any marker who has any concerns should phone her directly, so that issues can be fixed—if they exist.
Hon Bill EnglishCan the Minister tell the House why any marker would come forward, when the Post Primary Teachers Association has circularised all its members and told them that if they break the confidentiality agreement they have with the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, they may not be paid for the work they have done and the authority could sue them for damages; and is he aware that the markers consider there is presumably—and I will quote from an email—“nothing to be gained by approaching Ms Sewell”, because “she must know about the sheer scale of re-marking”.
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
I think that markers understand that Karen Sewell has repeatedly and publicly said that they can approach her. That is the right thing to do; that is the channel that is available. She has said that she will fix any problem.
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
I have heard one report from Radio New Zealand’s education correspondent, Gail Woods, who said that she has spoken to markers who view the system quite differently from the two or three anonymous people who have sent emails to Bill English. She says: “ They said it’s a quite straightforward process, because they say that this year’s system of re-checking is a very good approach.” Someone described it to me as an unbelievably good system, and they have also made the point that marking schedules have always been subject to change under School Certificate, particularly in the days when that examination was not scaled.