NCEA gets mixed report card

A review into the National Certificate of Educational Achievement, or NCEA, has given the secondary school assessment format a mixed report card.

Compiled by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research, the report found 63 per cent of people did not feel the system worked well, while 67 per cent felt it hindered ‘‘good teaching and learning’’. Yet, just over half of the 16,000 respondents in the research published yesterday said NCEA was a valuable qualification. The report said people wanted the exams’ structure to change and focus on learning rather than assessment.

Education Minister Chris Hipkins will put forward recommendations to the Cabinet to improve NCEA in April, with the future of NCEA up for consultation later next year.

While assessment had an impact on the classroom, young people enjoyed how NCEA offered credits for subjects suited to a range of interests and abilities, Hipkins said.

‘‘A lot of practice is shaped by NCEA, rather than by the learning which young New Zealanders need to succeed. Supporting teachers and learners to refocus on the learning that matters is clearly one way we can strengthen NCEA.’’

The focus on assessment and accumulation of credits over learning in senior years; workload issues for students and teachers; a gap in school-leavers’ preparedness for their future; and implementation were among the things not working.

The report said 78 per cent of people did not like that students opted out of learning once they had gained enough ‘‘credits’’ which meant they could miss entire units of schooling.

One parent quoted in the report was concerned about how credits were weighted in certain subjects. ‘‘My year 12 daughter recently completed a two-day first aid course and received five credits for that. It takes a whole term to get that many credits in English, when English is a more difficult subject,’’ the parent said.

Members of a focus group for Pacific and low-vision students said internal assessment was a good part of the system because it took pressure off final exams.

Ministry of Education early learning and student achievement deputy secretary Ellen MacGregor-Reid said the report offered ideas about how NCEA could be improved and what it could look like in future. For example, changing the number and content of NCEA levels, as well as offering more support.

The NCEA report included content from surveys, formal submissions, workshops, in-depth interviews and focus groups.

People wanted the exams’ structure to focus on learning rather than assessment.