NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORK FOR SENIOR STUDENTS
2010
Purpose
Welcome to study for 2010
The purpose of this booklet is to inform you and your caregivers of the rules, procedures and information you will need for National Qualifications this year.
It is important you read and understand what you are required to do, and follow the procedures outlined in this booklet. If you are unsure about anything, it is important that you approach the Principal’s Nominee who will clarify/answer any queries you may have.
National Qualifications Framework Information
How does NCEA work?
The NCEA is a standards based qualification which is based on assessment of achievement standards and unit standards. In each area of learning national standards have been set. When students achieve these standards they earn credits toward their NCEA qualification. If achievement standards are assessed students can also gain achieve, merit or excellence grades.
In each area of learning, different aspects of skills, knowledge and understanding are assessed separately and earn different numbers of credits. Results are therefore detailed, giving a profile of each student’s achievements.
The assessments are designed to suit the skill or knowledge being assessed. In school curriculum subjects, at least half of the achievement standard assessment is by end of year examinations, run by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority. Schools can also utilise other standards on the National Qualifications Framework to tailor courses for the particular needs and requirements of their students.
How do students complete a qualification?
NCEA qualifications:
Level 1 (Year 11); Level 2 (Level 2) and Level 3 (Year 13).
NCEA Level 1 requires 80 credits. (20 of these credits may be reused for Level 2). From these 80 credits, 8 credits must be from the prescribed literacy standards and 8 credits must be from the prescribed numeracy standards.
Literacy can be shown through achieving 8 credits from any combination of the following at Level 1 or higher:
| Sub-field | Requirement |
| English | Any achievement and/or unit standards |
| Communications | 1277 Communicate information in a specified workplace
2989 Read and assess texts to gain knowledge 25060 Independently read texts for practical purposes and to gain knowledge 10792 Write formal personal correspondence |
| Te Reo Maori | Te Reo Rangitira and /or Te Reo Maori achievement and/or unit standards |
Numeracy skills can be shown through achieving 8 credits from any combination of the following:
| Sub-field | Requirement |
| Mathematics | Any achievement and/or unit standards |
| General Maori Education | Any Pangarau unit standards |
| Statistics and Probability | Any achievement and/or unit standards |
NCEA Level 2 requires 80 credits, 60 of which must be from Level 2 standards or higher. There are no literacy or numeracy requirements but to qualify for entrance to a university in New Zealand a student must have obtained:
14 credits in Mathematics or Pangarau at Level 1 or higher
4 credits at Level 2 or above in Reading (English or Te Reo)
4 credits at Level 2 or above in Writing (English or Te Reo)
The literacy requirements can be fulfilled in either English or Te Reo but not a combination of both.
NCEA Level 3 requires 80 credits, 60 of which must be from level 3 standards or higher. The other 20 credits need to be at Level 2 or above.
Each student’s NCEA qualifications show his or her overall level of achievement. Their more detailed results are shown on their annual Record of Achievement.
Certificate Endorsement
Students studying for NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3 certificates will be able to achieve these qualifications with Merit or Excellence.
A certificate will be endorsed with Excellence where a student has 50 excellence credits at the level of the NCEA certificate or above. Where a student has a combination of 50 credits at Merit or Excellence at the level of the certificate or above they will be entitled to a Merit endorsement.
Credits counting towards endorsement may be gained over more than one year and more than one level but must be gained at the level of the certificate or above. For example, Level 2 credits will count towards endorsement of a level 1 NCEA, but Level 1 credits will not count towards endorsement of a Level 2 NCEA.
New Zealand Scholarship
Scholarship is a monetary award to recognise top students. It will not attract credits nor contribute towards a qualification but the fact that a student has gained a scholarship will appear on the Record of Achievement.
Scholarship will enable students to be externally assessed against challenging standards, and will be demanding for the most able student in each subject. Students will be expected to demonstrate high-level critical thinking, abstraction and generalization, and to integrate synthesise and apply knowledge, skills and understanding and ideas to complex situations.
Students considering entering for New Zealand Scholarship should discuss this with their teachers.
The content assessed for New Zealand Scholarship will be the same as that covered for Level 3 achievement standards.
It is expected that students will have completed a full year of study of courses assessed by Level 3 achievement standards at a secondary school or wharekura.
Student performance will be assessed against an assessment schedule that ensures a ranking of students is produced using marks or grades.
NB: Students should enter for both Level 3 NCEA and Scholarship as there are no credits gained if a student fails Scholarship.
Entrance to a New Zealand University
The standard for entrance to university (for those under 20 years of age) will be expressed in terms of credits on the National Qualification Framework
A student shall qualify for entrance to a university in New Zealand if he/she has obtained:
A minimum of 42 credits at Level 3 or higher in each of two subjects from an approved subject list, with a further 14 credits at Level 3 or higher taken from no more than two additional domains or approved subjects on the National Qualifications Framework
A minimum of 8 credits at Level 2 or higher in English or Te Reo Maori; 4 credits must be in reading and 4 credits must be in writing. The literacy credits will be selected from a schedule of approved achievement standards and unit standards.
A minimum of 14 credits at Level 1 or higher in Mathematics or Pangarau on the National Qualifications Framework.
A minimum of 42 credits as follows:
Other National Certificates and Diplomas
The array of courses a school can offer can be varied. Schools can also offer courses that lead to specialist National Certificates (for example, Automotive Engineering, Drama, Outdoor Recreation, Travel and Tourism, Electro technology) and all of these credits will also count towards NCEA.
Tararua College offers the following National Certificates:
National Certificate in Computing Levels 2 and 3
A total of 40 credits are required. 20 credits from Computing (Level 2-3) and 20 credits from any where else on the Framework at Level 2 or above. 2780 and 2781 are compulsory standards
National Certificate in Mathematics Levels 1and 2
A total of 40 credits are required. 30 credits from Maths (Level 1-2) and 10 credits from any where else on the Framework.
National Certificate in Mechanical Engineering Technology Level 1
A total of 40 credits are required. This includes the following standards: 22923, 22924, 22926 (24 credits)
Plus a minimum of 16 credits from Technology, Automotive, English, Mathematics, Science, Graphics, and Text and Information Level 1
National Certificate in Travel and Tourism Level 2
A total of 33 credits
National Certificate in Retail Level 2
A total of 48 credits
National Certificate in Retail Level 3
A total of 68 credits. 44 credits are at Level 3 or above. This course can be taken over two option lines
National Certificate in Building, Construction and Allied Trade Skills (BCATS) Level 1
A total of 40 credits are required. 3 compulsory unit standards (14 credits) can be achieved in the workshop.
1 unit standard from English (8812 or 90053)
3 Unit standards from Mathematics (5235 or 90151, 5236 or 90151, 5241 or 90149 or 90152)
A minimum of 16 credits from Drawing, Design and English (8808) Unit Standards
National Certificate in Building, Construction and Allied Trade Skills (BCATS) Level 2
A total of 44 credits are required. 5 compulsory unit standards (22 credits) can be achieved in the workshop
19 credits from English (2989 or 12905, 8825 or 90376) First Aid, FITEC and BCITO unit standards
National Certificate in Agriculture (Introductory Skills) Level 2
A total of 45 credits. 42 credits from compulsory unit standards and 3 credits from optional unit standards
National Certificate in Agriculture with strands in Sheep Farming and Dairy Farming Level 2
23 credits from compulsory unit standards in both strands and 2-5 credits from optional unit standards in both strands
Sheep Strand – 22 extra credits from compulsory unit standards
Dairy Strand – 24 extra credits from compulsory unit standards
The above National Certificates are all separate qualifications from NCEA, therefore, it requires the following before it can be processed and added to the student’s Record of Achievement:
The filling out of the Application for National Qualifications Framework National Certificates and Diplomas form which can be downloaded from the NZQA web site.
Payment of a fee of $15 charged by NZQA
Handing in the above to the Tararua College office or posting it directly to NZQA
Appeals
Students have the right to lodge an appeal within 5 days of receiving an assessment back if they believe they have been disadvantaged in the assessment process. Grounds for appeal include:
Correct school procedures were not followed (e.g. school policies and/or assessment statements)
Incorrect recording or transfer of results
Being denied a further assessment opportunity, where applicable
A mistake by the marker
School moderation procedures being incorrectly applied or not followed
Inconsistent assessment conditions
Any assessment related decisions such as those relating to authenticity, misconduct or any other breaches of the rules
Details of the appeal process can be found in the flow chart at the back of this booklet.
Verifying Assessments
Each department will have formal systems for checking assessment decisions.
Authenticity
The school acknowledges that it is appropriate for students to learn from others at home and process information from a number of sources such as books, internet etc…The final copy which is to be handed in for assessment though must be the student’s own work, not copied from resources, except for direct quotes which must be acknowledged.
All students sitting National Qualifications and their caregivers are required to sign an Authenticity Declaration at the time of enrolment.
Cases of students suspected of handing in work which is not their own will be investigated.
In some cases where there is doubt students may be requested to confirm that the work submitted is their own by showing they can attain the standard in a controlled situation e.g. in front of the teacher or subject HOD or Principal’s Nominee.
If a student is found to submit work which is not their own, they will not receive any credit for the assessment.
Similarly, if a student allows another student to knowingly copy their work and submit it for assessment, their work will also become ineligible for credit.
Derived Grade Process (External Standards)
A student may apply for a derived grade if she/he has suffered from a temporary illness; non-permanent disability or an event close to or during an assessment has meant that she/he believes their performance has been impaired.
Compassionate consideration for achievement standards can only be granted where there is evidence from a formal assessment that a student has achieved to a particular level. This means that students need to hand in all the required work for assessment during the year.
Applications for compassionate consideration must be made by the caregiver. The forms are available from the Principal’s Nominee.
Keep in mind that the grade you achieve in school formative assessments will be the grade given to NZQA.
Course Information
All students will be given course information for each subject at the beginning of the year which will include: An outline of the course
Information regarding the standards being offered Whether or not they will be internally or externally assessed
Credit value
Registered standard number and version number Approximate timing of assessments. Remember, though that these may change depending on the students’ readiness to sit assessments
Information on a further assessment opportunity
Pre-requisites for studying at the next level
Form of assessment e.g. test, practical, speech, seminar, portfolio etc…
Information about other national certificates that can be gained from the course e.g. National Certificate of Computing Level 2
If you do not receive course information, make sure you approach your subject teacher and ask for one.
Further Assessments
A maximum of one further opportunity for assessment of a standard can be provided within a year
It is up to each individual curriculum area to decide if a further assessment opportunity will be made available to students and the nature of this opportunity.
When some students do not achieve the standards, a teacher may choose one of the following strategies: Have the student complete the whole task again
Set a new assessment activity
Continue teaching the skill and offer another assessment opportunity activity later
Use evidence from work during the teaching programme, where this is valid, authentic and meets the criteria
Use evidence from a range of activities outside the classroom, where this is valid, authentic and meets the criteria e.g. kapa haka, sports event, drama production, debating, public speaking, music festival etc…
Students must check their Course Information handouts carefully to find out if a further assessment opportunity exists.
Resubmissions
A resubmission opportunity will only be offered where a teacher judges that a mistake has been made by the student, which the student should be capable of discovering and correcting.
It can only be limited to specific aspects of an assessment and no more than one resubmission opportunity can be provided per assessment.
Talk to the student to elicit evidence that may not have been provided in the activity
Have the student provide further written evidence from the same task e.g. develop an answer further
Late Work/Missed Assessments
Except for circumstances clearly beyond a student’s control, late work will not be assessed for NCEA purposes.
The case for late work or missed assessments may be made when:
The student has been ill to such an extent that they could not reasonably have completed the work in time, or been able to send it to school on time
Bereavement
Extreme home circumstances
In almost all of the above cases these reasons will need to be supported by evidence from an independent source (e.g. medical certificate) or personal negotiation between the caregiver and the Principal’s Nominee.
Staff will indicate deadlines for the handing in of work in their Course Information handouts at the beginning of the year. Some of these deadlines may change depending on the students’ readiness to sit an assessment. If a deadline has been changed, the teacher will ensure that all parties are advised.
Special Assessment Conditions
The school can apply to NZQA for special assessment conditions such as reader/writer or separate accommodation for externally assessed achievement standards for students with the following conditions: Physical disability
Sight impairment
Hearing impairment
Medical condition (eating disorder, depression, diabetes, epilepsy)
Significant reading or writing difficulty
Misconduct
Misconduct is treated seriously. All incidents will be investigated. Where misconduct is proven, the student will receive no credit for the assessment and will not be given a further assessment opportunity. Examples of misconduct are:
Submitting work that is not the student’s
Impersonation
False declaration of authenticity
Using notes in a test or exam
Communicating with others, disruption or dishonestly assisting or hindering others during an exam or test
Lying about reasons for submitting late work
Altering answers prior to seeking an appeal
Copying from another student, or deliberately allowing work to be copied by others
Privacy
The school will protect students’ privacy regarding the collection, use and disclosure of personal information, assessment grades and use of student work as exemplars by others.
Reporting
Student progress will be reported to students and caregiver in the following ways:
Verbal reports
Interim Report in Term 1
Formal written reports in Terms 2 and 4.
Parent/teacher interviews in Terms 1 and 3.
A print out from our Classroom Manager data base outlining the standards achieved/not achieved to date. This can also be obtained at any time from the college through the Principal’s Secretary, Mrs Usherwood.
Caregivers are welcome to contact subject teachers at any stage throughout the year to discuss their child’s progress
Students and caregivers can view internally assessed results once they have registered online at ‘Secondary Learners’ http://www.nzqa.govt.nz.
Reporting Of Results
NQF Result Notices are posted to candidates late in January and are made available to students online at approximately the same time. Theses results are provisional until all reviews and reconsiderations have been processed.
Students are entitled to receive one free copy of their Record of Achievement (ROA), if they have gained some credits in the previous year. This must be requested via the NZQA website Learner Login or by calling the NZQA Call Centre on 0800 697 296. This facility is available from 1 February to 30 June each year. Additional copies can be ordered at a cost of $15.00. Application forms can be downloaded from the NZQA website.
The ROA lists all standards achieved, grouped by NQF subfields and listed in reverse chronological order within each subfield. It also lists national qualifications, University Entrance and Scholarship. The ROA is intended to be a life-long record of a student’s achievement and will grow as the student gains new standards through tertiary and industry training.
In April/May students receive certificates for any National Certificates of Educational Achievement completed in the previous year. These are issued without charge and there is no need for students to make a request. All other National Certificates require the completion of an application form, available from the NZQA website and accompanied by a fee of $15.00.
All Year 13 students will receive a School Results Summary (SRS). It records a student’s results in secondary school for both internally and externally assessed standards. It shows any national qualifications, University Entrance and Scholarship achievements and a summary of the credits achieved by subject and by level. Any student can request one free copy of their SRS upon leaving school.
NZQA Website
The NZQA website provides information to students and caregivers such as:
Student entries
Standards achieved to date
External assessment timetable
Past external assessments
Tararua College, Churchill St, PO Box 94, Pahiatua, 4941.
Phone 06 3768344, email: admin@tararuacollege.school.nz
Content © to Tararua College
Site last updated July 1, 2012