NCEA changes not enough, says student
A protesting high school student says government changes to NCEA this year have fallen short.
On Wednesday the Government announced that as a result of the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic, exams would be pushed back by 10 days, to November 16, to give students more time to prepare, as well as extending the deadline for portfolio-based subjects, and removing NZQA verification of visual art portfolios at level one and two.
While more changes are signalled, Taradale High School student Fynn Hogan says what has been announced does not go far enough to help students who have experienced six weeks of disrupted learning.
In April, Hogan started a petition calling on the Government to reduce the number of credits student need to pass by 10, which now has almost 30,000 signatures.
He said a credit reduction was the best way to even the playing field. ‘‘Changing exam dates by 10 days isn’t going to do much, considering we’ve had much six weeks off, trying to adapt to this new learning environment at home.’’
In particular those who struggle at school, and only just pass their qualification, will be impacted by the lockdown.
Taradale High School teacher Bevan King, who is also the Hawke’s Bay chair of the Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA), said some flexibility would help students in 2020.
The changes were a step in the right direction. ‘‘My concern is most teachers and students are going back to school on Monday and I think they need some assurances they are not going to be expected to cram 11 months’ work into 10 months.
‘‘That’s what it feels like we are being asked to do.’’
He did not think any teacher in New Zealand would say they were at the same point with their students as they were last year.
‘‘A week’s online teaching does not equate to a week’s teaching.’’
Lowering the number of credits needed to pass NCEA and lowering the number of credits to gain university entrance were two things he thought would make a major difference. ‘‘The reality is, for these students, they haven’t had a level playing field compared to previous year groups.’’
He also wanted to remove the requirement that students sit exams in order to gain endorsement for merit or excellence in their subjects.
This would allow teachers to choose not to enter their students into examinations while not disadvantaging those aiming for higher grades.
PPTA president Jack Boyle described the announcement as a good start.
‘‘This is going to give clarity and some confidence to schools, both teachers and students.’’
He said for school-leavers, lowering credit requirements could be difficult, as it could ‘‘dilute’’ the qualification, but he did not want students to be overloaded with assessments when they returned.
At the time of the announcement, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said any further changes to the qualification needed to be considered carefully to maintain the credibility of NCEA.