KEY POINTS:
The pressure of sitting school examinations might not have changed, but the questions certainly have.
Papers of yesteryear reflect the attitudes of the day, with questions that would be considered sexist today, a huge pride in New Zealand's ties to Mother England and a lack of attention to Maori culture.
Principals who spoke to the Herald on Sunday said NCEA exams - being sat by about 140,000 teens this year - show our education system has changed for the better.
"There's an acknowledgement that the world around us is about technology, it's about travel, it's about film," said Leonie Summerville, deputy principal of Tauranga Girls' College.
"It's not a case of [students] being able to regurgitate what they've learnt. They've still got to have that knowledge, but it's about understanding what it means."
It's hard to imagine today's students being confronted with the types of questions from exams past.
In 1954 the nation was bathing in the glory of the visit of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, and the School Certificate history exam reflected New Zealand's ties to the Commonwealth.
Questions on British history came first, followed by the world section with New Zealand history last.
Students sitting that year's School Certificate English were asked to study a passage describing Queen Victoria's 1897 Jubilee Day celebrations in London. The scene describes a child called Imogen whose "heart swelled for the Empress-Queen".
Sadly, during the parade Imogen started to feel sick and started to panic.
The passage reads: "Yellow as cream cheese, she sat in her seat and asked God not to disgrace her by letting her be sick in public, in the grandstand, on Jubilee Day, with all London looking on."
Essay topics included how to train a sheepdog, how to write the minutes of a meeting and how to use a sewing machine.
Six years later, English students were asked for an essay on one of 17 topics including fishing, camping in tents and making clothes.
By 1970, New Zealand topics were starting to creep in, with the second comprehension option featuring a passage about the Golden Kiwi lottery.
Twenty years later, the English exam reflected changing technology, with sections on TV, computers, video and film.
Fast forward to the level one NCEA English exam sat by 46,755 students last week and students were asked to write a letter to a newspaper editor about topics such as renewable energy and the increase in use of the internet.
Bill Dimery, principal of Howick College in Auckland, said the changes did not mean exams had been "dumbed down" as some critics have suggested.
He said the decrease in the number of questions about Britain was down to New Zealanders having "more national autonomy and pride".
Auckland Grammar deputy headmaster Mark Vella said students of the 1950s and 60s were taught in a "chalk and talk" format.
"[They] could probably recall more factual information more accurately because this was drilled into them in the classroom and was very explicitly assessed in examinations."
New Zealand Qualifications Authority deputy chief executive Bali Haque said the old exams served their purpose, particularly in periods of low unemployment.
"What we had was this system that siphoned people through the system. Fifty per cent passed, and 50 per cent failed. We can't afford to do that to the extent that the booming economy offered in the 1950s, 60s and 70s."
SHOCK OVER THE OLD
Josie Beverwijk and Danielle Gruzelier couldn't help but laugh as they tried to decipher the 1954 School Certificate English exam.
The students from Auckland's Rangitoto College found it hard to believe their predecessors were asked how a sewing machine worked and how to train a sheepdog. Josie asked, "Can you imagine how angry people would get if there was something like that in an exam now?"
The friends, who sat Level One NCEA English last week, said their paper was much more reflective of New Zealand today, with students asked to discuss such statements as "New Zealand/Aotearoa is a country we should admire" and "To understand another culture, you must learn the language".
"People think New Zealand hasn't changed that much in comparison with the rest of the world, but we have," said Josie.
