Assessment during this phase includes:
Until January 2002, assessment at this level also included the national School Certificate examination.
Major changes to the qualifications available at secondary school level/for New Zealand school leavers began to be introduced in January 2002, when the NCEA was introduced in Year 11, students aged 15-16. (Introduction in Year 12, students aged 16-17 began in 2003, and in Year 13, 17- to 18-year-olds, in 2004. See section 6.4.1 in addition.)
Further information on the NCEA is provided below, in section 6.4 of this Archive and is also available from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) website at http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea
School-based assessment is an integral part of the curriculum throughout the compulsory period. There is a strong focus on formative assessment/assessment for learning and on improving the quality of the feedback and interactions that occur between teachers and learners. The New Zealand Curriculum builds on the close relationship between learning and assessment. It provides clear learning outcomes and a progression of desirable standards for learning throughout the years of schooling against which students' progress can be measured.32 In addition to school-based assessment, for which the New Zealand Ministry of Education provides a number of assessment tools for teachers - including Assessment Resource Banks (ARBs), Assessment Tools for Teaching and Learning (asTTle) and National Exemplars (see below) -, there is also:
Achievement 2001 and the NCEA
The National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), the senior secondary school national qualification, was originally launched in 1998 under the auspices of an initiative entitled "Achievement 2001". Formal introduction of the NCEA did not begin until January 2002, when students in Form 5 (Year 11, age 15-16, the final year of compulsory lower secondary education) began to be able to gain credits towards this nationally recognised qualification. The NCEA is now the main qualification at all levels of the senior secondary school. Its purpose is to provide opportunities for the diverse range of students in the increasingly wide variety of courses in schools to have their achievements recognised and reported. Consequently, students can achieve the NCEA from a wide range of studies, within and beyond the school curriculum. Unit and achievement standards are used for assessment of courses developed by education, industry and national standards bodies. For each school curriculum subject, there is both external assessment and externally moderated, internal assessment, using achievement standards. Unit standards have been developed for assessment in vocational/technical subjects. (http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea)
The NCEA is a qualification on New Zealand's National Qualifications Framework (NQF), and sits alongside 700 other national qualifications used throughout tertiary education and industry training. (http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea)
National Qualifications Framework (NQF)
The National Qualifications Framework (NQF) aims to integrate all qualifications available to New Zealand senior secondary (age 15/16+) and tertiary students, and those participating in workplace training. It has been developed by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA)40 in response to the Government's belief that:
The social and economic needs of a modern society require a flexible and cumulative qualifications framework that recognises achievement over a diverse range of subjects and levels, from practical to academic, and acknowledges that education and training can take place in different institutions and at different times in a person's life.23
Credits towards the NQF are gained when students achieve 'standards' which specify what they know and can do in a particular area of learning (either a conventional school subject or a vocational or technical subject). The NQF aims to enable transfer of credits from one qualification to another and to enable students to obtain recognition for prior learning. Unit standards are intended to be building blocks on the way to one of three nationally recognised qualifications - the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), a national diploma, or a degree. A NCEA is attained when a specified number of credits at particular levels of the NQF has been gained. Some students may complete a NCEA by the end of secondary school (aged around 18). Others may carry the credits they have achieved at school through to post-school education and training and complete their NCEA, a national diploma or degree at the tertiary level. All credits towards national qualifications are recorded on a national database maintained by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). The aim is to create a 'seamless' education system, based on unit standards, which integrates traditional senior secondary education, industry training and tertiary education. Further details on the NQF and the NCEA are available at http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/framework and also in section 6.4 of this Archive.
Responsible agencies
Curriculum and assessment policy for all the years of schooling is based on the New Zealand Curriculum documents and is the responsibility of the Ministry of Education. 31,33
Examinations and assessments for the purpose of awarding secondary school qualifications are the responsibility of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). Standards for such examinations and assessments are again based on the learning outcomes of the national curriculum statements.
The NZQA is an independent body which administers qualifications and provides assurances about qualifications, oversees the examinations system and develops the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).13 It coordinates all qualifications in post-compulsory education and training; oversees the setting of standards for qualifications; assures the quality of provision and the quality of outcomes for learners undertaking qualification study; promotes the recognition of New Zealand qualifications overseas and the recognition of overseas qualifications in New Zealand; and administers all national secondary and tertiary examinations.28
The National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) have been developed by the Ministry of Education Qualifications Development Group (QDG) in consultation with the NZQA and the Post-Primary Teachers Association.
Assessment in New Zealand is carried out for a number of purposes. The primary purpose of school-based assessment is to improve students' learning and the quality of teaching programmes. Other purposes of assessment include providing feedback to parents and students, awarding qualifications at senior secondary school level, and monitoring overall national educational standards. Assessment also identifies learning needs so that resources can be effectively targeted.32
School-based assessment
Individual student needs are identified by school-based assessment or individual assessment by specialists (usually with parental involvement).10
Assessment of individual students' progress is essentially diagnostic. Such assessment is integral to the learning and teaching programme. Its purpose is to improve teaching and learning by diagnosing learning strengths and weaknesses, measuring students' progress against the defined achievement objectives, and reviewing the effectiveness of teaching programmes. The information which teachers record from these assessments enables clear profiles of individual student achievement to be built. These profiles are used to inform teachers about each student's learning and development and to provide the basis for feedback to students and parents.32
The Ministry of Education-provided assessment tools for school-based assessment - Assessment Resource Banks (ARBs), Assessment Tools for Teaching and Learning (asTTle) and National Exemplars - are all intended to provide externally referenced assessment information to assist teachers to make valid, reliable and nationally consistent judgements about the work and progress of their students. At classroom level, these tools enable teachers to diagnose how their students are performing, give feedback to them about progress, and enable teachers and children to set goals for learning. At school level, information may be aggregated and used to evaluate teaching programmes and inform strategic planning. 62
Specifically, Assessment Resource Banks (ARBs) aim to:
Assessment Tools for Teaching and Learning (asTTle) aim to:
National Exemplars aim to:
School Certificate, until January 2002
Available until January 2002, when it was replaced by the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), the School Certificate was a single-subject examination, taken in up to six subjects, on completion of compulsory education (Year 11, students aged 15-16).13 It was not a compulsory school leaving certificate; students chose whether to take School Certificate examinations.
The National Certificate of Educational Achievement, NCEA
Introduction of the NCEA aimed to:
NCEA results are recognised by tertiary institutions and employers. For some purposes, internal results may be more relevant; for others, examination results may be more relevant. But, for most purposes, a combination of all results will give a clear picture of student's achievements.14 Different tertiary providers will, for example, want to look at a student's record of learning to see whether it indicates that the student has the grounding to enter a tertiary level course in, say, medicine, engineering or dance. Some courses require only a general indication of aptitude, others a more specific background. A potential employer might want to know how well a school leaver had done in, say, number and computer skills and oral communication. The NCEA aims to provide such varying levels of information for the whole range of tertiary institutions and courses, and for employers (http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea)
All school students are subject to school-based assessment and, in lower secondary education, many students are assessed in Year 9 (Form 3, aged 13-14), in particular, using Assessment Resource Banks, see section 6.2. 10, 36
School Certificate
Until January 2002, most students completing compulsory education (Year 11, age 15-16) took the (single-subject) School Certificate examination in up to six subjects.13 Some able students took the School Certificate examination in one or two subjects in Year 10 (one year early, aged 14-15).17
The School Certificate was replaced by the NCEA in January 2002.
Classroom assessment data is collected on the performance of each student in a variety of ways including paper-pencil tests; through the assessment of processes, such as practical work in science and technology; self and peer assessment; using portfolios; and by direct observation in relation to specific criteria.5
School-based assessment
School-based assessment is an integral and continuous part of the teaching process. Teachers are expected to base their school-based assessments upon observations of students undertaking normal classroom tasks.40
Schools are also expected to monitor the progress of cohorts of students against the achievement objectives in the national curriculum statements and report overall achievement to parents.40,36
School-based assessments are mainly written, but include oral work (particularly for languages) and practical work (in technology, for example).10
To meet the different purposes, a wide range of assessment procedures is required. Such procedures build on established classroom practices, and draw on research and experience in New Zealand and overseas.32
Existing school-based assessment methods which are known to be effective cover a range of formal and informal procedures. These include diagnostic surveys, running records used in reading programmes, checkpoints in mathematics programme, a range of formal and informal tests, observations, anecdotal records and self-assessment by students. National curriculum statements provide assessment examples which suggest a range of appropriate assessment procedures for classroom teachers to use and build on.
The handbook "Assessment: Policy to Practice" (published by the Ministry) aims to assist each school in developing an assessment policy which enables student learning, and the quality of learning programmes, to be improved through sound school-based assessment. It provides the following examples of established classroom practices:
As mentioned above, the New Zealand Ministry of Education now provides some assessment tools to assist teachers in school-based assessment. Details follow:
Assessment Resource Banks (ARBs)
ARBs are an online collection of assessment materials. Resources, available for mathematics, science and English, are designed to assess achievement based on learning programmes that reflect National Curriculum levels two to five (see below). Each resource includes:
Resources are categorised according to the type of response required, for example, short or longer response. 62 Examples are available at http://arb.nzcer.org.nz/nzcer3/Nzcer.HTM
Assessment Tools for Learning and Teaching (asTTle)
asTTle provide tools for the assessment of literacy and numeracy for children in Years 5 to 10 (aged 9 to 15 years) in English and in Maori (curriculum levels two to six - see below). The tools are supplied on CD-ROM, the first of which, for Years 5 to 7, was published in February 2003. Further information is available at http://www.tki.org.nz/r/asttle/index_e.php
National Exemplars
National Exemplars are examples of students' work that are annotated in order to illustrate learning, achievement and quality in relation to curriculum levels - see below. They help answer the question: "What do we mean by quality work?" and are being developed in all essential learning areas (see 5.2.2), in English and in Maori, (levels one to five) of the curriculum. The National Exemplars are available via the Internet at http://www.tki.org.nz/r/assessment/exemplars/index_e.php
National examination for the School Certificate (until January 2002)
Each candidate's course of study for the School Certificate usually included the study of English (or Maori), although students were not required to sit the examination in that subject. A student could enter the examination in any number of subjects up to a maximum of six and was credited with a grade in each subject. In the main, national examinations such as the School Certificate were formal and terminal, taking the traditional form of three-hour written papers. Art portfolios were internally assessed. However, some internally assessed components were also included for other subjects and there was some use of school marks (for modular components) accounting for a proportion of the final mark. School Certificate examinations were, on average, 25 per cent internal, 75 per cent external.
The School Certificate was replaced by the NCEA in January 2002 (see below).
National Certificate of Educational Achievement, NCEA
Students completing Year 11 (aged 15/16+) obtain (National Qualifications Framework) credits towards the nationally recognised qualification, the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). Consisting of credit-bearing units, the NCEA replaced the School Certificate in January 2002. Unit standards have been developed to assess students for qualifications developed by industry and other national standards bodies in vocational and technical subjects (such as automotive engineering or dairy manufacturing), and achievement standards have been developed to assess students in school curriculum subjects (such as mathematics, geography and science).44,14
A student's achievement of the standards required to obtain credit towards a National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) is measured by an appropriate mix of external and moderated internal assessment.39 At least half of the credits for each subject are assessed externally. External assessment includes written examinations and other assessment such as portfolios of students' work.14
The NCEA is available at four levels of the National Qualifications Framework, as follows. All involve (externally moderated) internal assessment, plus external assessment. It is intended that Year 11 students (aged 15-16) should be aiming at NCEA level 1.14
The above levels and age ranges are a guide. It is intended that students can gain NCEA credits at different levels during the same year and that they should be able to aim at NCEA levels that suit their abilities. There is, for example, no requirement for students to achieve NCEA level 1 before attempting level 2. Similarly, after students have left school, they can complete or upgrade their NCEA. NCEA credits can be obtained in many courses at polytechnics, universities (wananga) and colleges of education, and in accredited private and government training establishments and on-job training programmes.14
Most external assessment for NCEA is by examination at the end of the academic year (mid November to early December). For some subjects, portfolios are submitted or external assessors visit schools (http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/)
Further information on the National Qualifications Framework, in general, is available at http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/framework
More information on the NCEA is available at http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea
School-based assessment
Classroom teachers are responsible for designing, administering and recording school-based classroom assessment.
See section 6.2.5 for further information.
Secondary school qualifications
Examinations and assessments for the purpose of awarding secondary school qualifications are the responsibility of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). Standards for such examinations and assessments are based on the learning outcomes of the national curriculum statements.31
National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA)
Lists of student entries for the NCEA are submitted to the NZQA in March. Students may, however, change their entries later in the year. All students must enter for NCEA through an accredited provider. Home-schooled students, for example, need to find a link provider (usually a school) to work with. (http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/)
Development of assessment resources for the various levels of the new National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) (see 6.4.6) involved the NZQA, the Ministry of Education Qualifications Development Group (QDG), the Post Primary Teachers' Association and panels of teachers. Resources were published for trial use and comment by teachers prior to finalisation.(http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/)
The NCEA assessments are designed to suit the skill or knowledge being tested. In school curriculum subjects, at least half of the assessment is based on end of year examinations run by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). Schools can also use other standards on the National Qualifications Framework to tailor courses for the particular needs and requirements of students. In this way, they can prepare all students for careers in areas of their choice. (http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/)
Training for the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA)
All secondary schools were involved in professional development programmes (such as a series of workshops on assessment against unit standards for conventional school subjects) to prepare teachers and schools for the introduction of the NCEA. 25
School Certificate (to 2002)
The School Certificate, which was - until 2002 - taken on completion of compulsory lower secondary education, students aged 16, used a combination of norm-referenced and criterion-referenced assessments, with the examination pass and grade rates being norm-referenced. The grading system used for the School Certificate was percentages and letter grades. There were five grades: A, B, C, D and E (where A was the highest). Standards-based (achievement-based) assessment (assessment of learning outcomes in relation to specified standards, see below) was more commonly used in school-based assessment.
National curriculum statements
Achievement-based assessment is used in New Zealand in relation to the national curriculum statements. The achievement objectives in the national curriculum statements have been developed at eight levels for each essential learning area, level six representing expected performance for a 15- to 16-year-old. In general, children in the first two years of primary school are expected to be working towards level one achievement objectives. By the end of secondary education, they may be working at level eight. Students in the same class can be, and often are, working at different levels. A student can also be working at different levels in each of the various national curriculum statement strands. The eight levels roughly equate to one level for every two years of schooling up to Year 10, age 14-15, then one level for each year for Years 11-13. The Ministry of Education has produced exemplification materials to assist teachers in determining the levels their students are achieving in the eight-level scale. See National Exemplars (6.3.4).
National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA)
At the school level, qualifications on the National Qualifications Framework are made up of unit standards for vocational or technical subjects and/or achievement standards for conventional school subjects. These describe what a learner should aim to achieve in a skill or knowledge area, and are set by written criteria along with a national moderation system. Learners who meet all requirements get credit for that unit/achievement standard; those who don't may be reassessed when ready. Each achievement standard is worth a number of credits and achievement ranges from 'no credit' to 'credit', 'merit' or 'excellence'. 13
Each unit or achievement standard on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) is set at a level from 1 to 8. Levels 1 to 3 generally equate to the three levels of the NCEA, as follows (although the scholarship level equates to NQF level 4). All involve externally moderated internal assessment, plus external assessment. It is intended that Year 11 students (aged 15-16) should be aiming at NCEA level 1.14
National standards have been set in each area of learning. When students achieve these standards, they earn credits towards their NCEA qualification (at one of the levels detailed above). In school curriculum subjects, students can do more than achieve a standard - they can achieve with merit or excellence grades. (http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/)
A minimum number of credits is required, from examinations and internal assessments, for students to achieve the award level for a National Certificate at any level. Students can accumulate credit towards their certificate over a number of years. They do not, for example, have to achieve all the credits for a level 1 certificate while in Year 11 (the final year of compulsory secondary education, aged 15-16), although it is expected that reasonably able students should be able to do so.39
For students to be awarded NCEA level 1 they must:
For students to be awarded NCEA level 2, they must:
For NCEA level 3, students must:
For the level 4 New Zealand Scholarship qualification:
In each area of learning, different aspects of skills, knowledge and understanding are assessed separately. Each aspect can earn a different number of credits. Consequently, results about each student's efforts are detailed, giving a profile of their achievements. This profile shows a student's credits and grades for each national standard. Results also show how each student performed compared with all other students across the country. Finally, they provide a grade average for each subject or area of learning. See section 6.4.8 in addition. (http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/)
As well as working towards the NCEA, students can also accumulate credits towards individual national certificates and national diplomas, such as the National Certificate in Computing 13 or the National Certificate in Employment Skills.
The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) administers the NQF through the following services:
All National Qualifications Framework credits are being recorded on a national database maintained by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA).
There is no examination or assessment requirement to enable students to pass to the next phase.
See section 6.3.2 in addition.
It is advisable for each school to have an assessment policy which details how the school monitors the achievement of its students and reports this information to the school community.
The purpose of the policy is to translate national requirements into practice, taking into account the school's own community, strengths, resources and special circumstances. Teachers have the primary responsibility for specifying practical arrangements, such as the timing of assessment activities, for making professional judgements based on evidence which they have collected, and for the way information is stored, analysed and distributed. They are responsible for implementing, monitoring and reviewing the assessment and evaluation policy.
Reports/Records of Achievement
Schools need to demonstrate that they are maintaining records which provide cumulative information on a student's school achievement, by developing and maintaining clear profiles of individual student's achievement. At secondary level, some schools use Records of Achievement, although this is not a mandatory requirement.
A Record of Achievement at secondary school provides a profile of the school leaver. This record includes an assessment of the student's level of achievement in relation to the learning objectives and the development of the essential skills. It also includes a statement of the student's performance in national examinations and qualifications, a section on personal qualities, and a summary of involvement in school activities. The Record of Achievement can be used by the student for various purposes, such as seeking employment or pursuing further education and/or training.
Examination results - School Certificate (to January 2002)
All marked examination scripts for the School Certificate were returned to students, and could be retained by students.
NCEA results/reporting to parents and students via the Record of Learning
Students receive three different documents detailing their achievements:
The credits gained by students through assessment against National Qualifications Framework (NQF) unit or achievement standards are recorded on their Record of Learning (ROL).25 Each learner receives an annual personalised list of the NQF credits and qualifications s/he has achieved in the previous year on his/her Record of Learning.13 This Record of Learning for senior secondary school students can be used as documentation for career purposes.25
In addition, all students in tertiary education are entitled to one free hard copy of their Record of Learning detailing the credits gained on the NQF in the previous year. It is possible for these students to view the Record of Learning via the New Zealand Qualifications Authority website, although this electronic version is not considered to be an official document and cannot be deemed an original source document. Further information is available at: http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/news/info/rol-tert.html
These results also show how each student performed compared with all other students across the country, as all National Qualifications Framework credits are recorded on a national database maintained by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA).30
See section 6.4.6 in addition.
NCEA results are recognised by tertiary institutions and employers. For some purposes, internal results may be more relevant; for others, examination results may be more relevant. But, for most purposes, a combination of all results will give a clear picture of student's achievements.14 Different tertiary providers will, for example, want to look at a student's record of learning to see whether it indicates that the student has the grounding to enter a tertiary level course in, say, medicine, engineering or dance. Some courses require only a general indication of aptitude, others a more specific background. A potential employer might want to know how well a school leaver had done in, say, number and computer skills and oral communication. The NCEA aims to provide such varying levels of information for the whole range of tertiary institutions and courses, and for employers. (http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea)
Reporting to the board of trustees, the community, and other agencies
The records maintained within schools provide some of the evidence to inform decisions made by each school's board of trustees. Relevant achievement information assists boards in evaluating the effectiveness of the school's assessment policy and in meeting their obligation to report to the community on students' achievements within the schools.31
Consequently, the assessment policy and processes must ensure that teachers, through the principal, can provide information in summary form for the board of trustees. Teachers need to be aware of the processes involved and the reasons for the requirement to summarise assessment information.31
The compulsory school leaving age in New Zealand is 16. Statistics for 1995 showed the proportion of students completing Year levels and staying on beyond compulsory education as follows:
| Year 11, Form 5, age 15-16 (end of compulsory education) |
97 per cent |
| Year 12, Form 6, age 16-17 | 80 per cent |
| Year 13, Form 7, age 17-18 | 48 per cent34 |
In 1998:
In 2001:
In 2003:
See the tables below.
Apparent retention rates, 1998, 2001, 2003
| Age 16 | Age 17 | Age 18 | |
| 1998 | 87 per cent | 64 per cent | 18 per cent |
| 2001 | 80 per cent | 58 per cent | 13 per cent |
| 2003 | 82 per cent | 58 per cent | 14 per cent |
Source: Ministry of Education (2003). Secondary School Retention in 2003. [Online] at http://www.minedu.govt.nz/.
Apparent* retention rates by ethnicity and age at 1 July 2003
| Ethnicity | Age 16 | Age 17 | Age 18 |
| All | 81.9% | 58.1% | 13.6% |
| Maori | 62.7% | 36.7% | 8.6% |
| Pacific | 84.1% | 63.7% | 23.0% |
* No adjustment has been made to account for migration.
Source: Ministry of Education (2003). Secondary School Retention in 2003. [Online] at http://www.minedu.govt.nz/.
As New Zealand operates a programme of social promotion, that is, students normally progress from one class to the next and from one phase to the next without restriction or selection, students do not generally repeat any part of their education, nor are they excluded, on the basis of performance, from continuing their education.