NCEA review: Hawke's Bay school principals gather to discuss proposed changes to National Certificate of Educational Achievement

Stephen Hensman (principal at Taradale high school), Robin Fabish (principal at Tamatea High School) and Natasha Kiwara (kaiarahi at the Ministry of Education) chat to students at an NCEA workshop for principals at Tamatea High School. Photo / Paul Taylor

The 2018 NCEA review is underway, allowing public ideas to inform changes within the National Certificate of Educational Achievement.

Hawke's Bay principals, student leaders and private training enterprise operators gathered at Tamatea High School last week to share their views.

Tamatea High School principal Robin Fabish said it was to discuss "how we could assist with gathering the voices of all those potentially affected by the NCEA review".

"We were very pleased to have a strong body of student leaders involved and they are motivated to share the 'have your say' message with their respective student bodies."

It is the first time in 15 years the community has had the chance to give feedback to the Government about the effectiveness of NCEA.

Fabish said the review was a fantastic opportunity for teachers, parents, employers, tertiary institutions and students to have their say about what they like and what they think doesn't work.

"Many people have opinions about the positive aspects of NCEA and the shortcomings. Some of the shortcomings are not the fault of the assessment system but how it is being used in schools."

The review comes after a ministerial advisory group charged with reviewing NCEA published a discussion paper last month.

The paper suggested abolishing exams for Level 1 NCEA, introducing major projects at all three levels of the qualification, and cancelling the $76.70 fee for sitting exams among other changes.

The Ministry of Education is gathering input through its website, there are competitions for young people, plus focus group meetings and public workshops.

More information about the NCEA review, the big opportunities identified by the advisory group and ways to participate can be found at conversation.education.govt.nz/ncea.

The Hawke's Bay public workshop is at Tamatea High School on June 28, from 6.30pm to 9pm.

Book at conversation.education.govt.nz/events