Students learning how to beat NCEA system, says think-tank

Many secondary school students are less likely to be "successful learners" than they are "successful collectors of NCEA credits", warns a report from a leading education think-tank.

The report says many students see skipping assessments as a legitimate strategy for managing over-assessment, under the standards-based structure of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement.

In doing so they are using a strategy which maximises credits, but has "little regard to the value of learning", according the the National Council for Educational Research report.

"This is worrying as such actions are no more conducive to lifelong learning than were previous methods of assessment for qualifications, and it seems unlikely this situation can change while students are over-assessed," said senior researcher Rosemary Hipkins, who led the study.

Students around the country are sitting the final day of NCEA levels 1-3 exams today. Scholarship exams continue next week.

A key plank of the NCEA system, which has caused controversy since its introduction in 2002, has been the hope that it will create lifelong learners, rather than students who can remember historical dates.

But, said Ms Hipkins, that has "not yet [been] achieved".

The study found a quarter of Year 11 students and 40 per cent of Year 13 students had missed an assessment.

Most commonly, English was avoided as students looked to put their energies into other subjects or to "avoid the likelihood of failure or potential embarrassing assessments.

"While skipping assessments is not new, what has changed is the extent to which students can make strategic decisions about how they will accumulate the credits they need for their overall qualification," she said.

Over-assessment could have a negative influence on students, yet was something that could be addressed immediately by schools.

The findings are contained in Learning Curves - the third and final report from a three-year study investigating the impact of NCEA on students, teachers and schools.

Graham Young, president of the Secondary Principals' Association, said over-assessment was a concern that could "narrow the scope of education to mere schooling".

Youngsters could enter school "at 13 going on nine, then leave at 18 going on 22".

"Whether we like it or not, schools have a part to play in helping them grow up," Mr Young said.

"If NCEA dominates completely we will have narrowed the scope of schools."

Students, principals and five heads of departments from six medium-sized schools were surveyed and interviewed each year to make up the Learning Curves report.

Ms Hipkins said the study also showed positives, including that NCEA had the potential to become a tool for lifelong learning.

Students regarded it as a valuable qualification, were becoming "more savvy" and had a strategic understanding of the system.

"Different students actively produce quite different types of NCEA qualifications, which allows them to keep future 'learning pathways' open," Ms Hipkins said.


NCEA: The verdict

* NCEA makes students do too much work, say education researchers.
* Students respond by cutting corners to get the most number of credits for the least work.