Education Minister Chris Hipkins has laid out the criteria for adjustments to school qualifications amid the disruption of Covid-19 on senior secondary school students eyeing up end of year exams.
“The wellbeing of students is our priority – particularly at those schools which have already experienced Covid-19 in their school community this year,” Hipkins said on Thursday.
“Teachers are working hard to keep students on track, but those in their senior years will be especially concerned about their opportunity to achieve NCEA if lockdown continues.”
Among the changes is the reintroduction of Learning Recognition Credits should schools and kura be disrupted by Alert Levels 3 and 4 for 20 or more school days.
The credits will be available “at the same rates and levels as originally announced in 2020”, Hipkins said.
If this threshold is met, students would be entitled to one extra Learning Recognition Credit for every five credits they earn towards their NCEA through assessments. Students working towards NCEA Level 1 could earn up to 10 additional credits, while those at Levels 2 or 3 would be eligible for up to eight additional credits.
“If Alert Levels 3 or 4 are in place for a total of 20 or more school days, the thresholds for Certificate Endorsements, Course Endorsements and University Entrance will also be adjusted to reflect those announced in June last year,” he said.
The changes mean Course Endorsements would require 12 credits at Achieved, Merit or Excellence level, rather than 14. Students would still need to achieve at least three credits from external assessments and three from internal assessments, where applicable.
To receive a Certificate Endorsement, students would need to receive 46 credits at Merit or Excellence level, rather than the usual 50.
For University Entrance, students would need to achieve 12 – rather than 14 – credits in each of three University Entrance-approved subjects. Students would still need to attain NCEA Level 3 and meet literacy and numeracy requirements.
“These adjusted settings recognise the real impacts on students during lockdown. The additional credits are only earned in proportion to the standards students achieve through internal and external assessments,” he said.
“Signalling these changes now is intended to give students confidence that they will continue to have a fair opportunity to attain NCEA, even if they need to spend more time away from the classroom.”
It follows an earlier announcement of delays to end of year exam and portfolio submission dates.
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