Just parts of the new curriculum for the new NCEA Level 1 have been finalised seven months before it is due to be introduced, Education Minister Jan Tinetti confirmed on Q+A this morning.
It comes at a time where New Zealand’s education system is under immense pressure after years of disruption due to Covid-19, an ongoing teacher shortage and staff redundancies at cash-strapped universities.
Tinetti told Q+A host Jack Tame just “parts of” the new NCEA Level 1 slated to be introduced next year have been finalised.
“We know that we’re on track with what that new, refreshed curriculum is going to look like so we know in the key areas – like literacy and mathematics – that, that has been finalised,” she said.
“Science is or is close to being finalised. Social sciences are finalised.”
She said while there were initial concerns around finalising standards before the curriculum where “one was in front of the other”, Tinetti is now happy with the “work that sits underneath”.
“It’s not just the standards, it’s the matrix that sits underneath that where there will be room to manoeuvre that.”
Changes to NCEA Level 2 and 3 will not come in until after the Level 1 curriculum is finalised, she said.
It means Year 11 students would be going through the refreshed NCEA Level 1, before reverting to Level 2 and 3 as it stands.
“The pilots that have been running do show that actually, there’s that transition to Level 2 as it currently stands, is working really well. In fact, young people who have been through the new standards in Level 1 – and they’ve been piloting them – have a much better grasp coming through just because of the foundational knowledge that the Level 1 is going through.”
Tinetti insisted there was coherence in the new standards.
“There are some amazing people who are going through this really in depth who tell me that their young people are having way more knowledge coming into Level 2 and Level 3 than what they did before.
“I’m not going to go on what I thought might have been the case – I’m going to go on the evidence and the research that tells me that actually, they’re way better placed than what they were before.
“We know we’re getting this right because we’ve been piloting this. We know that this is going to set them up for success.”
In May New Zealand’s largest school, Rangitoto College, announced they would not be using the new NCEA and would instead introduce its own diploma for Year 11 students.
Despite this, Tinetti was not concerned with the school’s decision to opt out of the refreshed Level 1.
“Level 1 has always been optional and right from the word go, and they have had concerns around the fact that it doesn’t work for them.”
Of the more than 500 schools in the country, four have advised the Ministry of Education this year of their decision to opt out of NCEA Level 1. A further two schools have decided to reintroduce Level 1.
She said the schools’ decisions were made “for various reasons, not because they don’t believe in that”.
The principal of Rosehill College said it would introduce its own Level 1 qualifications amid concerns there was no alignment between the refreshed curriculum and the new NCEA standards.
“[The professional advisory group] want to make certain that schools are making an informed decision based on the results of the pilots and based on what they’re seeing. They say and tell me – and they are the experts – that this is incredible. This work is amazing and will make a difference, that the changes were much-needed – they want to see those changes going ahead," Tinetti said.
“They’re very, very set on the fact that it should be starting next year.”
Q+A is public interest journalism funded by NZ on Air
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