Over 14000 Wellington Students prepare for exams

new-zealand-labour-party

Thu Oct 18 2007 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Over 14000 Wellington Students prepare for exams

Thursday, 18 October 2007, 1:12 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party

17 October 2007

“Love them or hate them, there’s no way of escaping exams”, says Charles Chauvel, Wellington Labour List MP. For about 140,000 students nationally, including 14056 in Wellington, the fourth term represents exam time. “However, unlike the old School Certificate and Bursary system, their year’s work no longer hinges solely on a highly-pressurised one-off end of the year exam.”

The credits that Wellington students get for these exams, and the credits they have achieved through internal assessment in school throughout the year go towards their National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) qualifications.

“It’s very different to what many of us experienced at school when our entire year’s work was judged by end of year exams, the results of which were scaled up or down to ensure half of us failed. In today’s world, it’s a very different story. No longer can a 15-year-old expect to walk straight from school into a job they hold for life. Students now stay at school longer and they need qualifications that accurately measure the full depth and breadth of what they know.”

“The introduction of NCEA five years ago represented a significant part of this, and we are already seeing significant benefits. Students are leaving school with more and higher qualifications across school years, NCEA levels and ethnicities. More students are achieving University Entrance and NCEA level 3 and more students are staying at school longer.”

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Earlier this year, the Labour-led government announced a series of improvements of the NCEA system. These design changes aimed to create a system which better challenges students, recognises their achievement, and prepares them well for university.

The first change, which comes into effect this year, is introducing 'excellence' and 'merit' to NCEA certificates. “Principals are already saying this is motivating their students to aim higher, and get better results”, says Charles Chauvel.

ENDS

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}

Using Scoop for work?

Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.

Join Pro Individual Find out more

Find more from New Zealand Labour Party on InfoPages.