Teachers and schools were left scrambling to find a solution after a major technical issue impacted thousands of students taking digital NCEA exams yesterday morning.
Post Primary Teachers Association president Chris Abercrombie said teachers faced "utter chaos" when students taking their Level 2 English exams suddenly lost their work and struggled to log on to the system.
Yesterday, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority said its digital exam platform "experienced issues" transferring student responses from its exam platform to its marking platform. Exams began at 9.30am, and the issue was resolved by 10.35am.
Abercrombie told Breakfast schools were left to figure out their own solutions and make decisions "before they even had the information".
"Just sort of hoping it was the best decision," he said.
"Some schools were furiously trying to photocopy in every photocopier in the school to try and get some papers, some made the decision to send the kids home, some made the decision before any real information was coming out from NZQA."
NZQA's systems slowed this morning's digital NCEA exams, with some students having to switch to paper. (Source: 1News)
He said one teacher told him they were getting more information from the NZQA Facebook than what schools were being told directly.
Abercrombie said the issue raised "serious questions" about how digital exams work for New Zealand students.
"Why do we stick with this vendor that obviously, at the moment, can't seem to manage the system, and what are the next steps? And I think it talks to a wider picture of this idea of digital first.
"Is this actually what we want? Is this what schools want? Is this what teachers want? Is this what students want? There just seems to be this assumption.
"At the end of the day, a qualification system needs to be able to work to show what a child, a young person, can do. That's the point of it, and if it can't do that, or can't reliably do that, we need to make sure we have a system that can."
NZQA chief executive Christian Hawkesby apologised to students and parents, defending the system used for digital exams.
"We partner with one of the world's largest providers of digital exams. We worked with them to identify the issue, resolve it, and get the system back up and running."
He said the students' grades would be the highest achieved from either the exam itself or their practice exam.
"We're also going to work really closely with schools about what other evidence there is that can be used in that process. Also look at the results overall and where they sat relative to previous years and what that might tell us about how results may need to be adjusted."
Hawkesby assured students that the platform was "stable" and was functional during yesterday afternoon's exams.
An additional contingency would be in place for next week's Level 1 English exam – the final large-scale digital assessment for the year.
"All schools will have full paper contingency for that exam, and we hope that that puts students' minds at rest," Hawkesby said.
He said both students and schools gained advantages from taking exams digitally.
"The world is becoming increasingly digital. The advantages that come from that, such as being able to mark more quickly and get results back more quickly. We receive a lot of support about that direction."
Caretaker Education Minister Erica Stanford acknowledged yesterday that the disruption would have been "incredibly frustrating and stressful" for students.
"My number one concern is that students are treated fairly and not disadvantaged," she said.
Stanford said she had been assured that a plan was in place to ensure no students had been disadvantaged by the issue.
"I made my disappointment and frustration very clear to NZQA. I have also directed them to develop a clear plan of action to ensure this does not happen again.
"Students have been badly let down. They and their families deserve confidence that the systems supporting their exams are reliable and that every student will be treated fairly."
Students and parents told 1News of their anger, upset and annoyance at the disruption.
The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds including a sexpionage scandal claiming a tech CEO and the collapse NYC building. (Source: 1News)
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