Newstalk ZB
Senior high school students will now face a compulsory exam in every subject, be marked from A+ to E and need to pass at least three subjects each year to get their graduation certificates under the Government’s NCEA replacement. The details of NCEA replacements the New Zealand Certificate of Education for Year 12 and the New Zealand Advanced Certificate of Education for Year 13, were unveiled today. The Prime Minister and the Education Minister are set to speak about the details. In announcing the revamped secondary school exam framework, Erica Stanford outlined how students will be expected to pass, the grading scale and compulsory subjects. Students would need to take at least five subjects each year in Years 12 and 13 with a pass mark per subject being C or higher, the minister said. They should expect around three-to-four assessments each year in every subject. Students in Year 11 would also have science as a compulsory subject alongside Maths and English-Te Reo Rangatira. They would also have to pass a literacy and numeracy Foundational Award. Stanford said she wanted students leaving school with “with qualifications that are clear, rigorous and widely understood by parents, employers, [and] tertiary providers”. The Government is pushing through the biggest education revamp in decades as it replaces the former NCEA with a new curriculum. Some schools have been vocal supporters, saying they want more rigorous education and marking standards. Others - including 88 industry heads and the NZ Principals’ Federation - as recently as last month urged a pause, calling the changes rushed, “frantic” and poorly thought-out. New Year 9-10 curriculums have already been unveiled, while Year 11-13 would be available from next year, the Government said. Current Year 9s would be the first cohort required to use the curriculum. That means 2029 - when current Year 9s reach Year 12 - would be the first time all public schools would be required to teach according to the NZCE. The following year, schools would then be required to teach Year 13 according to NZACE. The Government today said the certificates would show how many subjects a student has passed, along with the grade achieved in each subject. Students who achieved excellent results across all five subjects would be eligible for endorsement awards for academic and trades or vocational performance. Every subject would include internal assessments and an examination, with the exam’s weighting depending on the type of subject. Exams are set to be compulsory in every Year 12 and 13 subject under a Government education revamp. Photo / File Considered reforms or rushed revamp? The Government announced its intentions to reform senior education amid criticism from some quarters that literacy, numeracy and academic results have been faltering under NCEA and that students are not being challenged to excel. Schools supporting the changes have said a more standardised, rigorous qualification would allow every student to be judged to the same standards. But other schools have called for greater planning before change, saying rushing could create a system overly tailored to students wanting to get into university. It could also create rigid teaching that didn’t get the best from individual students, especially those with different needs or backgrounds, they argued. A letter last month signed by 88 heads of education unions, federations and associations called for a pause, saying the changes were a “departure from evidence-based learning”. “Educators are being told to implement a total curriculum overhaul at a breakneck pace and with minimal support, which is a recipe for failure,” NZ Educational Institute Te Riu Roa president Ripeka Lessels said. New Zealand Educational Institute Te Riu Roa president Ripeka Lessels wants the Government t...
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