Back to the future

Anna Heinz, art teacher and chair of PPTA Nelson region, has a healthy balance of teaching experience in both the NCEA environment and the previous School Certificate and University Entrance and Bursaries system.

“My first 20 years of teaching were under the old system and when I look at the new system and what it is suggesting, it is terrifyingly close to the old system and in the places where it varies, I think it’s worse,” she told Annual Conference at the end of September.

Fewer subjects possible

In the pre-NCEA system Year 12 students could study five subjects, but when NCEA enabled students to take six subjects, the range of subjects offered ballooned. “It made it possible to have all kinds of interesting extra subjects appear in schools. It offered so many more opportunities and possibilities. And it happened very quickly – within a year. I think that when we go back to five subjects it could very easily, and just as quickly, go in reverse.”

Anna told delegates the proposed changes would introduce substantial gateways that weren’t there before. “This is where I see it’s worse – the need to pass a new baseline to go on to the next level, and the literacy and numeracy co-requisites, and then the requirement to pass four out of five subjects at Level 2.  

“I think we are going to see huge numbers of students walking away from school without qualifications – just like they used to.

“When a student gets an ‘E’ grade what possible incentive is there for them to feel like they should start again and have another try at that? The whole A-E grading system is old-fashioned, and it’s filled with significance from its history. You can’t say we’re going to have A to  E and it’s not going to mean the same thing it’s always meant. Of course it will. And so will percentages.”

An overcorrection

The conference paper that Anna was talking to states that every young person in Aotearoa New Zealand deserves the chance to succeed in a qualifications and assessment system that meets their needs and keeps them at the centre.

“Schools have worked hard to devise course offerings that meet the needs of their communities, and a wide range of achievements have been recognised on learners’ Records  of Achievement by the NCEA.

“PPTA is concerned that the Government’s proposals represent an overcorrection from the flexibility of the current system, which will disadvantage students.

“The proposal appears to be advocating for methods and systems that we already know do not work for all.”

Backward move

Quentin Barry, an English teacher and delegate from Ōtākou (Otago), said it was now clear that the new English curriculum had been written to align with the proposed changes to the qualifications and assessment system.

“It takes us back to the 1960s, requiring us to teach texts from the 19^th century and to teach Shakespeare. I love Shakespeare but we shouldn’t have to teach him if it doesn’t suit the kids in front of us.

“Throwing NCEA out is unnecessary, and expedient and easy. As a teacher, this new programme will be easy for me to teach, I’ll have to work less hard but is it better for my students? Not at all. My students will be the ones who suffer.”

Conference resolutions

Annual Conference reaffirmed PPTA’s support for a high-quality, publicly funded qualifications system that serves all New Zealand students equitably and effectively and reflects the values of public education.

Conference asserted that an educationally valid qualifications system must be fair, inclusive, cumulative, clear, motivating, coherent, constructive and manageable.

It also called for the New Zealand Certificate of Education and New Zealand Advanced Certificate of Education to be subject to an independent external review by recognised assessment and curriculum experts prior to implementation, to ensure educational validity, system coherence and public confidence.