Authority backs down over NCEA exam clash

Education Minister Trevor Mallard is stepping into the national school examination scandal, which threatens to wipe out a year's worth of study for students whose exam timetables clash.

Some students are scheduled to sit two exams at the same time.

They have been facing a tough decision about which subject to drop because the New Zealand Qualifications Authority said it would not allow them to sit a test after others had already done it.

The problem affects those sitting levels three and four (scholarship) National Certificate of Educational Achievement exams, which replace Bursary this year. Three exams are scheduled for the same day.

The authority's policy is that the students withdraw from one exam.

Authority group manager Kate Colbert initially rejected the option of allowing one exam straight after another, saying it would undermine the integrity of the examinations.

But yesterday, after a meeting with Ms Colbert, Mr Mallard said the authority would allow pupils who faced clashes to sit an exam after their peers so long as they were supervised by a school principal to ensure they were not given the answers.

"NZQA did try earlier in the year to get consensus from schools over the timetable so these sorts of clashes could be avoided, but couldn't."

Hillcrest High School Year 13 student Kate Broadhurst was due to sit five NCEA exams in two and a half days in November.

She said she was already cramming for exams.

Ms Colbert said the clashes were due to the high number of exams scheduled this year. There were 118 instead of last year's 50.

Hillcrest High School principal Kelvin Whiting said the timetable wasn't fair. "It's absurd. We notified NZQA of our concerns earlier this year."

Herald Feature: Education

Related information and links

- NZPA