NCEA-bashers have small-country syndrome

A couple of weeks ago I was at a new parents' cocktail evening at school. Amid the hors d'oeuvres and small talk, I was approached by a very earnest couple.

Brimming with enthusiasm and excitement, they engaged me in an intense discussion about their daughter. Somewhere between the club sandwiches and the Peking duck, they assured me that their precious Year 7 was indeed a prodigy, the next Einstein, bound to go further than anyone else. Of course she will study the International Baccalaureate, they informed me. The mother sniffed as she said, we do not believe in the NCEA. Ah yes, NCEA.

That controversial qualification that has had our nation in a squabble since 2002. It was designed to cater for more students, and recognise achievement over more areas, yet it has been criticised from the very start. "NCEA-bashers" claim that the programme encourages mediocrity; that students can dribble through high school and pass without any real effort.

It's seen as a "dumbed-down" system for those who can't quite reach to the lofty heights of Cambridge or IB.

My brother, an Auckland Grammar Cambridge student, is quick to point out NCEA's flaws: how complicated and messy it is, and how "irrelevant" it is internationally. Yet he has never experienced it. How can adults and non-NCEA students claim that NCEA is a bad system? School Cert old-timers and Cambridge whiz-kids tend to have a meltdown over everything NCEA - from the different marking, to the range of subjects, to the internals.

Those in the "club" claim that the qualification has nothing on the "international" qualifications.

But are the anti-NCEA feelings all just about an exam? Or does our nation have the blues? We are constantly comparing ourselves to the rest of the world. New Zealand is the baby in the international family. We are young and small and, like a younger sibling, we are forever looking up to our foreign counterparts.

French wine is far superior, daaarling. But don't we win international awards for our vino? Swiss chocolate is much better than ours, of course. Yet we have the best-quality dairy in the world.

Our country has world-class health and welfare systems. We are prosperous, have low unemployment rates, and our nation's relationship with our indigenous people is far stronger than that of nearly every other country.

In these ways we lead the world, yet we're afraid to accept our own national qualification. We still have the mindset that something international will be better than anything little old New Zealand has to offer.

At the end of the day, high school is about achievement and success. But most importantly, it's about achieving and succeeding in what you love.

There is no right or wrong when it comes to choosing an education path. It all depends on what you love to do and what works best for you. If your true passion lies in the performing arts, then who is to tell you that NCEA Drama is wrong? If it's right for you then it's the right choice.

Students are given opportunities to succeed no matter what pathway they choose. Your drive, motivation and talent will be the deciding factors in your success.

So let's stop worrying about what we are doing, and start celebrating how we are doing it.

But, then again, what would I know? I'm just an NCEA student.

Sarah Snow, Year 13, Diocesan School for Girls