2. MOANA MACKEY (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Education
What is the Government doing to ensure that the 2006 NCEA examination season delivers results that are fair and consistent for all students?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister of Education) Link to this
Over this examination season 136,000 candidates will arrive at an exam room where they will receive a unique personalised booklet. Completed booklets will be submitted to panels of markers—all qualified teachers. The markers will put their results online on a daily basis. The performance of candidates will then be compared with a profile of expected performance. If any anomalies are identified, marking can be halted temporarily to allow investigation. At the end of this process, students can be confident that they will receive a fair and consistent result that reflects their achievement against the standard, before the end of January.
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
The Government is, of course, committed to ensuring that the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) is as good as it should be. After extensive consultation with students, parents, educators, and employers, we have changed the following areas: the Record of Learning and results notice is now clearer; internal assessment results will be available online earlier than last year; the grade point average will no longer be recorded; the profiles of expected performance have been refined; the achievement standard consistency has been reviewed; more professional development has been delivered; a new technical over-group of assessment experts is in place; new governance and management structures are in the New Zealand Qualifications Authority; and the Ministry of Education and New Zealand Qualifications Authority joint work programme on further design refinements continues.
Hon Bill EnglishWhy has the Minister decided to abolish the grade point average, which was one of the few things that motivated more successful students to do better in NCEA; and why did he abolish it without making a public announcement until right now?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
I took the advice of the member, who said last year that the grade point average should be abolished; although this week he said it should not be abolished—consistency has never been the member’s strong suit. I think that everybody around the education sector understands that the grade point average was being translated into a percentage. That, of course, is not the way it works, at all. Therefore, it was misleading; therefore, it was meaningless; therefore, it should go.
Hon Brian Donnelly Link to this
What processes will be activated within the New Zealand Qualifications Authority if grades being returned by markers on a daily basis show variance from the profile of expected performance?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
As happened last year to 17 of the standards out of the large number of standards that are sat, when the forecast is not being met, a trigger can be pulled and out comes the standard. That process allows the authority to go back and look at whether the problem is with the assessment or the standard itself. In some cases, that has meant that parts of the standard or parts of the assessment guide have been rewritten before going back into the exam process. The same process will be used this year.
Gordon CopelandWhy does the Minister allow inconsistent policy that sees many students missing out on the right to retry for failed credits because their schools do not allow for this, whereas other students benefit from other schools’ policies that allow for a second or third chance; and why does the Minister not instruct all schools to offer students the same opportunity to retry for NCEA credits?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
As the member will know, it is not a case of retrying; it is a case of a student having an opportunity to go back and do the standard again. That is part of the system, and all schools can do that.