1. Hon BILL ENGLISH (National—Clutha-Southland) Link to this
to the Minister of Education
Was he briefed before the Acting Chief Executive of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, Karen Sewell, stated that: “We will be monitoring results so that very early on in the process we can identify any that differ from what we expect. … In some cases the guidelines we give to markers may need to be adjusted.”, and does this process differ from that used to mark National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) exams last year?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister of Education) Link to this
Yes. The New Zealand Qualifications Authority has announced steps to ensure the upcoming NCEA and scholarship exam round runs successfully and is fair to all students. The process is similar to that used last year, but has more early and intensive monitoring and checking of results, and a greater number of scripts will be used for test marking. More time will be available to remark if necessary.
Does the Minister deny that we can translate these statements as meaning that the authority has already decided what the pass rates are, and is he aware that last year’s pass rates varied from under 30 percent to over 90 percent; if so, what sort of pass rate is different enough—or politically embarrassing enough—that it will have to be changed by the markers halfway through the exam marking?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
The answer to the first part of the question is yes, I deny that. Mr English needs to understand that this is not a process of scaling; the process is one of marking to a standard, but ensuring that the way the assessment tool is used is fair. [ Interruption] Mr English is trying to listen, and I ask why Dr Smith does not let him do that. So the process is that the assessment tool is fair and consistent to all students. That is what this is about.
Moana MackeyHon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
I have heard reports that state: “NCEA will force New Zealanders to become more sophisticated in their understanding of assessment and what standards-based assessment actually means.”, and: “NCEA must not be a football that political parties kick around for short-term advantage. Our school qualifications system is far too important for us to make it the subject of ongoing acrimony.” These comments were made by none other than Mr English’s associate spokesperson, Allan Peachey, who has been given the job of looking after the party’s policies on the compulsory secondary school sector, and I welcome his appointment, because he knows what he is talking about.
Judy TurnerHow reassured does he expect parents to be that the New Zealand Qualifications Authority is making progress to achieve not only a credible set of NCEA exams but also a credible moderation process, and why should parents believe him or the authority?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
It is worth pointing out that over the last year the New Zealand Qualifications Authority has been going through a large number of changes in preparation for the exam season this year. That has included reviewing everything that was suggested to the authority by the review of the organisation. It has done that; it is now wanting to get on with the exam season. What I urge people to do, of course, is to give it the chance to do that. Today we have 156,000 young New Zealanders sitting exams across the country and, as Mr Peachey quite rightly pointed out, this is an exam going in the right direction. The authority has done everything it possibly can to make it work. Let us hope it does this year.
Is the Minister aware that the Martin report on NCEA released in June this year stated that there was no time for significant changes to NCEA for 2005 because the exam-setting process was so far advanced; so why should we see any statements made by the authority that it has improved the system as anything other than a political paint job on the results to make sure that he is not embarrassed in January next year?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
I think because it has made changes, and as the member himself said on National Radio, the best thing to do now that we are into the exam season, with 156,000 young New Zealanders sitting their exams, is to let them get on with it, and then review the process once we have set those exams. Right now, they are sitting exams, the process has been reviewed, and they are sure they have got a good exam season, which should allow students to sit their exams in confidence.
Is the Minister aware that it could have a large impact on individual students if pass rates are going to be significantly altered, because today students are going into exams where, for instance, there may be five standards in the paper and they choose to be examined in only one or two, and being sensible people, they pick those with higher pass rates? So why does he not tell students what the predetermined pass rates are if they are significantly different from last year, because that would be fair to them?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
I want to say this to members again, because it is important for the House. This is a matter of setting standards clearly. What the New Zealand Qualifications Authority has done this year is ensure that it has consistency across markers, and where it is necessary, it will in fact re-mark a whole exam to make it consistent. But the standard is the standard.
Does the Minister not understand that the publicly announced process where the New Zealand Qualifications Authority will change the marking scheme halfway through the marking is totally inconsistent with standards-based assessment and is a U-turn on everything the Government has said about NCEA during all the controversy this year?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
As someone who has marked examinations for 15 years, let me say that one of the common things that markers do is to look at standards and look at their assessment tool and to ensure that assessment processes are consistent and fair across markers. I want to say to the National Party once again, that there are 156,000 young New Zealanders sitting these exams. They can have faith in the exam as having clear-cut standards, and that the NZQA is doing everything it can to ensure consistency of marking.
If the Minister is so concerned about fairness and consistency and transparency, why did the New Zealand Qualifications Authority leave this very significant announcement until just 10 days before the start of exams, when he knows that it would have been very controversial and at the very least deserved debate among teachers and students, when they found out that the authority is now going to change the marking schemes halfway through the marking, simply to avoid embarrassment for the Labour Government?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
It did not announce that it would be changing the marking scheme. Let me say to the member that the changes in New Zealand Scholarship were communicated to school boards and principals back in June. As far back as May, changes that were going to be made to NCEA were communicated. Two-hundred and seventy-two workshops were held; 4,000 lead teachers went through those workshops; $3.5 million was spent on those workshops. This has been well communicated. The member should stop upsetting 156,000 students for his points.
Did the Minister discuss with the authority its public announcements that it intended to change the guidelines it gives to markers halfway through the marking process, and did those discussions include any reference to the potential for political controversy if the results contain too much variability? Did those discussions refer to any potential for political problems if the results were too variable?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
The New Zealand Qualifications Authority is interested only in ensuring—[ Interruption] I will ignore that, because it is beneath the member. The authority is concerned with one thing, and one thing only: consistency and fairness across the markers. That is what it has made clear to people—it has made it clear that that is what the changes it is announcing are about, and I understand that to be a fair and consistent process.
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I asked the Minister quite a precise question, which was whether he had discussed this statement with the New Zealand Qualifications Authority and whether those discussions included any reference to political problems that would arise from controversial results. That was quite a precise question, and the Minister in no way addressed it.