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Students may face a limit on the number of times they can re-sit NCEA standards, under a major review of the school qualifications system.
Schools currently set their own policies on re-sits, which has lead to accusations it is easier to get the national qualification at certain institutions than at others.
National Qualifications Authority deputy chief executive qualifications Bali Haque said the issue would be addressed in a wide-ranging review now under way.
The standards review - to be completed by 2010 - involves expert groups on 23 subjects that will evaluate 2000 achievement and unit standards.
The NZQA and Ministry of Education standards review is part of the shake up of the national exam system announced in May last year, which included introducing merit and excellence endorsements on certificates and upping the checks on internally assessed standards.
It has been widely welcomed by the education sector as a positive step.
Some principals believed it was acknowledgement of problems they tried to highlight years ago.
The review aims to address issues of consistency, fairness and coherence of the standards for the NCEA.
It is required to align standards to the new curriculum, to be introduced to schools over the next two years.
Mr Haque said re-sits - dubbed "assessment opportunities" by officials - will be considered by the teams of subject experts.
"We want it to be nationally consistent," he said.
The issue of "credit parity" between assessment and unit standards was also part of the review.
In the past, examples of "easy", often competency-based, credits have come to light, with arguments they should not be given the same weight as harder, more traditional tests.
The problem of duplication, which meant students could "double dip" by earning extra credits by entering very similar standards, was also under the microscope.
Secondary Principals Association president Peter Gall said parents should be buoyed by the project.
"In order to improve the credibility of the qualification, there needed to be some work done around credit parity and duplication of standards."
Avondale College head Brent Lewis said it was a positive step.
"It signifies that they are now formally accepting that concerns expressed over quite a long period of time had validity," said Mr Lewis. "They are now focussed on trying to address it, so that we can have a coherent, credible and consistent system."
