English blasts NZQA over school probe

By STUART DYE

Hauraki Plains College students signed off each other's work instead of having a teacher do it - and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority is being accused of not investigating the issue properly.

In Parliament yesterday National MP Bill English questioned the authority's competence over its investigation into the school's NCEA practices.

The Herald reported yesterday that students at the school were awarded NCEA credits despite doing little work - and in some cases none at all. The school blamed a relief teacher for failing to follow established practices.

"What are the thousands of students, parents and teachers to make of statements by NZQA in the Herald today that they have investigated the problems at Hauraki Plains College, when they could not have seen the evidence of bad assessment practice because it actually wasn't available to them?" he said.

Acting Education Minister Steve Maharey said he would discuss concerns over the quality of its investigative techniques with the qualifications authority.


Mr English then produced a box of assessment booklets from Hauraki Plains.

"Can the minister tell me how NZQA could have investigated assessment practices at Hauraki Plains College when the activity workbooks and assessment workbooks in question are in this box?" said Mr English.

The box included work where many students had given identical answers, scripts that showed students earning three credits in a matter of three or four days, and students signing each others' assessments when they should have been signed by teachers.

Mr Maharey said the claims, backed up by evidence, would be investigated thoroughly by himself.

"And I will thoroughly ensure NZQA follows up on these matters," said Mr Maharey.

But he insisted NCEA was a superior system than its predecessor.

"This system of standards-based assessment is vastly better than a ranking system like School Certificate," he said.

After parliamentary question time yesterday, Mr English accused the Government of burying its head in the sand.

"As long as Trevor Mallard and NZQA put protecting the NCEA ahead of protecting students there is no chance of knowing just how widespread the problems are."

The latest blunder comes after Alison Annan resigned as principal of Cambridge High School following a damning NZQA report on mark manipulation.

NCEA critics point to Cambridge High as the tip of far-reaching problems with the assessment system that replaced School Certificate, Sixth Form Certificate and Bursary.

- additional reporting by NZPA