Mallard promises changes to NCEA

Trevor Mallard

A major secondary school shake-up will see some students bypassing low-level qualifications and others starting apprenticeships in the classroom.

Education Minister Trevor Mallard told the Herald that although the National Certificate of Educational Achievement was here to stay, there would be changes under a re-elected Labour Government. His plans would allow bright students to fast-track to the top exams and give others the chance to work on courses towards trade qualifications.

Mr Mallard said schools would focus on individual students and tailor their schooling to suit their abilities and needs.

In a remodelling of the national testing structure, students would be allowed to leap-frog the three-step NCEA system. From Year 11 (Form 5) they would be given the opportunity to study directly towards the top Level 3 qualification and avoid spending time on Level 1.

Students could then end up with a "mix and match" education, where they and the school decided on appropriate NCEA levels.

One child could have a two-or-three-year programme which led directly to Scholarship or Excellence grades at Level 3, whereas others at the same school would take two years to get through Level 1. Therefore it made sense to design appropriate programmes.

But that did not mean Level 1 could be cut from the exam system, because that would be the "pinnacle of achievement" for some children, Mr Mallard said.

The second part of the plan was having students' schoolwork count towards a trade apprenticeship qualification.

The idea would be an extension of the existing Gateway programme. That scheme, available in some decile one to six schools, is similar to work experience, but is designed to offer formal and structured learning, rather than help in career planning.

The new "junior apprenticeship" would see students divide their time between school, the workplace and polytechnics.

"A lot of us have focused on university-level education for our kids and that's been the sort of route that the whole system has been aimed at," said Mr Mallard.

But the trades area was very important and schools had to be more focused on that.

Graham Young, president of the Secondary Principals Association, said schools already "faced a nightmare" in trying to keep students and parents informed about the multitude of pathways available to them.

But he agreed with Mr Mallard's plans. Level 1 NCEA was "punitive and pointless" for some children, while flexibility in study options was something New Zealand did well.

"For a student to kickstart his or her tertiary study while still at school makes a lot of sense."

NCEA

* The National Certificate of Educational Achievement (level 1) replaced School Certificate Sixth Form Certificate (level 2), and Bursary (level 3).

* NZ Scholarship (level 4) is a separate qualification.

* Last year 140,000 candidates sat various levels.

* 5000 students sat 13,870 subjects in the alternative Cambridge Exams.