Ranking in store for scholarship

An education taskforce charged with cleaning up the mess of last year's scholarship exams will recommend a return to a ranking system for the country's top students.

The team has spent the past two weeks trying to find a way forward for the elite secondary school tests after the fiasco of last year's results.

Members of the taskforce were remaining silent yesterday over the content of a report due to be handed to Associate Education Minister David Benson-Pope.

But the Herald understands it will recommend dumping standards-based assessment for the brightest students, replacing it with a similar style to the previous ratings system.

It is likely to mean students receiving clearly defined percentage marks rather than meeting criteria, such as (for English literature) "demonstrate extensive knowledge of texts and methods used in crafting them".

Critics have claimed this makes it impossible to choose who should receive scholarship awards and who misses out.

If the recommendation is accepted it will delight critics, but will leave hundreds of guinea pig students in the cold.

The old scholarship system was administered by the Education and Scholarship Trust for 12 years before being replaced last year by a post-NCEA qualification administered by the NZ Qualifications Authority.

But after results released in January showed wild variations in pass rates, Mr Benson-Pope ordered a group of education practitioners and experts to "ensure there is no repeat of the significant variability".

It is understood the report will be passed to Mr Benson-Pope within the next few days. If approved, he will then take it to the Cabinet next week.

A spokesman for Mr Benson-Pope said the minister would not comment until he had read the full report.

Members of the taskforce include representatives from teachers and principals associations, the School Trustees' Association and the Vice-Chancellors' Committee.

As well as the prestige associated with winning a scholarship award, students are fighting for up to $45,000 over three years for the overall top scholar.

Meanwhile, National Party education spokesman Bill English continued to imply that the Government covered up the widening of the scholarship exam inquiry to cover all NCEA results.

 

In Parliament he asked Education Minister Trevor Mallard when the Government decided to initiate the inquiry into NCEA.

Mr Mallard said it was on February 15 - the day the scholarship inquiry announcement was made.

But Mr English said the Government made no public statement about an inquiry into NCEA for another 10 days, at which point it tried to slip the announcement out.

He said the Government had continually emphasised that scholarship was separate from NCEA.

"In fact, ministers had rubbished any suggestion that problems with the scholarship were spilling over into NCEA, saying NCEA results showed nothing that was unexpected."