NCEA & HELPFUL WEBSITES

NCEA & HELPFUL WEBSITES Session 3 Sarah Cornish, Education New Zealand

NCEA • NCEA (National Certificate of Educational Achievement) offered at all NZ secondary schools. It is administered by NZQA. • NCEA is the national qualification for secondary students in Years 11-13. • NCEA creates a pathway from secondary education to New Zealand tertiary education. All levels are recognised by New Zealand’s tertiary education providers • The National Qualification Framework (NQF) is a system which integrates all New Zealand Qualifications (including University degrees) into an overall framework. The three levels of NCEA are the first levels of the NQF. • NCEA is New Zealand’s national qualification so is automatically observed by offshore governments

Level NQF NCEA is the first three levels of the National Qualifications Framework.

NCEA • New Zealand’s 21st Century assessment system, which started in 2002 (Level 1) and has been fully implemented since 2004. • An assessment system which recognises and reports on actual achievement • A balance between external assessment (most commonly, examinations) marked by NZQA and internal assessment marked by school. • A way of breaking subjects into parts (which are called standards), and reporting on each of the standards to give a clearer picture of what a student can do.

NCEA • NCEA works like a university paper credit system. Each standard achieved gives a certain number of credits towards the certificate. • There are two types of standards – ‘unit standards‘ and ‘achievement standards’, both of which are used to assess programmes taught at school. • For achievement standards you can be graded ‘achieved‘, ‘merit‘ or ‘excellence’. Achievement standards can be either internally or externally assessed. • Unit standards have just one level of achievement - ‘achieved’. Unit standards are internally assessed

NCEA • Allows teachers to assess skills not suited to exams - such as making a speech in English, having a conversation in languages, doing an experiment in Science. • This is also a recognition of the difficulty that some students had with traditional examination-based assessment. • NCEA recognises the idea of a ‘subject’ as not being fixed for all students at all schools. Schools can now better meet the needs of students by designing courses to meet their needs, rather than a unified, single syllabus - eg most schools offer a range of differing courses in Maths and English with a different mix of Achievement and Unit Standards, and a different mix of assessment types.

The result is that NCEA provides a large amount of Assessment information, giving a clear picture of what a student can achieve and what they know

ACHIEVING NCEA LEVELS NCEA Level 1 is gained by achieving 80 Level 1 Credits, of which 8 must be in English (4 in Reading and 4 in Writing) 8 must be in Mathematics NCEA Level 2 is gained by achieving 80 Credits of which 60 must be Level 2 credits NCEA Level 3 is gained by achieving 80 Credits of which 60 must be Level 3 credits Credits can come from either Achievement Standards or Unit Standards

Entranceto University from NCEA • 14 Credits at Level 3 in one approved subject • 14 Credits at Level 3 in one approved subject • 14 Credits at Level 3 in no more than 2 approved subjects • 14 Credits in Mathematics at Level 1 or higher • 8 Credits at Level 2 or above in Literacy (4 in Reading & 4 in Writing)

Entrance to University from NCEA • All New Zealand secondary schools offer NCEA, which is recognised by all New Zealand tertiary institutions. • As New Zealand’s national qualification, NCEA is also recognised by international universities. • NCEA Level 1 is broadly equivalent to the English General Certificate of Education (GCE). • NCEA Level 3 is equivalent to English A Levels and Australia's Higher School Certificate (HSC).

NCEA DISCUSSIONS Disadvantages to NCEA • Results are not marked as % • Some think it favours vocational students rather than academic students • Is a fairly new system and was introduced quickly Advantages to NCEA • Students can study at multiple levels • Part of the NQF (National Qualification Framework) so can gain extra credits at a tertiary provider • Mixture of internal and external assessment - students accumulate credits throughout the year - students see their progress throughout the year - students try hard all year instead of for 3 hours only - students are able to re-sit assessments that they’ve failed

CAMBRIDGE EXAMS www.cie.org.uk www.acsnz.org.nz • Originate from Cambridge, UK so exams are marked there • CIE exams are available from 6,000 schools in 150 countries around the world • Qualifications cover the 14 – 19 year old age bracket. Including A & O Levels • Some New Zealand secondary schools are introducing CIE exams as an option, in addition to the national qualification, NCEA, to give students a choice of qualification.

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE (IB) www.ibo.org • The IB is administered by a head office in Geneva and the Curriculum and Examinations Centre in Cardiff. • The IB Diploma programme is available at 1,000 schools in nearly 100 countries • Only 7 New Zealand schools offer IB as an option, they are a mixture of primary and secondary schools.

NCEA www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/about

FIND A SCHOOL www.tki.org.nz

SCHOOLRESEARCH www.ero.govt.nz

SCHOOLRESEARCH www.nzqa.govt.nz

NCEA & HELPFUL WEBSITES