Full disclosure, I was part of the 2nd cohort of Kiwi Kids to go through NCEA. It was stressful as heck, but having that variety of subjects & methods of assessment was the thing that kept me going as a student. I like to call it psychological seasoning.
Having all that work during the year go towards our final grade was also part of the motivation. All the essays, presentations, tests, reports etc that we did during the year all had credits we could earn & put towards our final grade, including the end of year exams.
I don't think people realize how invaluable this variety is.
I also think that no matter what system we change to, if it continues to be underfunded, much like the past 40 years, it's still going to under perform.
As a former teachers pet, I had two HODs tell me (when I was a student), that ideally HODs should have their own secretary/admin. They told me, that would make a world of difference to them & their ability to do their job. They can then focus more of the nuts & bolts of curriculum & teaching while the paperwork aspects could be taken care of by another person.
I agree, NCEA is without a doubt a lot of work for teachers, let alone students.
I wished schools got the much needed funding & resources they need. It would be the most Positively impactful & meaningful change to our education system, more so than what ever system changes governments try to do.
Thank you so much for sharing this. It's incredibly valuable to hear from someone who experienced NCEA right from its early days. I love your phrase “psychological seasoning”. What a brilliant way to describe the variety that keeps students engaged. Your point about the motivational impact of accumulating credits through diverse tasks really resonates too; it highlights how assessment can actually support learning when it’s spread across the year rather than hinging on a single high-stakes exam.
I couldn’t agree more about funding and resourcing. Without adequate investment, even the most well-designed assessment framework will struggle to deliver what students and teachers need. Your HODs’ comments about admin support also hit home. So much teacher energy is drained by administrative load rather than being channelled into curriculum, pedagogy, and supporting students.
It’s such an important reminder that systemic change can’t be achieved by tweaking assessment alone. A properly resourced, well-supported education system would have far more impact than any single policy shift. These are exactly the kinds of practical realities that need to sit alongside the bigger debates about curriculum and qualifications.
What you’ve shared also makes me wonder: if we know variety, resourcing, and reducing administrative load are key drivers of success, how do we keep these priorities front and centre in public conversations that too often default to “exams = rigour”?
NCEA was created and designed to allow the assessment of cross curricular, project based, collaborative learning. Once again, as is so often the case, the professional development needed to switch to this way of teaching and learning, was not provided; secondary systems and structures are still not set up in most schools to support implementation; leaders and innovative teachers are unable to allow the intended outcome to tbrive under such constraints. Its not NCEA that needs scrapping it is the time, resources and reflective inquiry that needs to be provided to allow it to thrive.
Fantastic comments. Wouldn't it be a great legacy for any government to really make a difference to coming generations by looking at real evidence of what works rather than reverting to nostalgic memories of examinations that only privileged the privileged. The world has moved on, the damage examination and meanigless grades cause is known.
Great Article Dr Sarah,
Full disclosure, I was part of the 2nd cohort of Kiwi Kids to go through NCEA. It was stressful as heck, but having that variety of subjects & methods of assessment was the thing that kept me going as a student. I like to call it psychological seasoning.
Having all that work during the year go towards our final grade was also part of the motivation. All the essays, presentations, tests, reports etc that we did during the year all had credits we could earn & put towards our final grade, including the end of year exams.
I don't think people realize how invaluable this variety is.
I also think that no matter what system we change to, if it continues to be underfunded, much like the past 40 years, it's still going to under perform.
As a former teachers pet, I had two HODs tell me (when I was a student), that ideally HODs should have their own secretary/admin. They told me, that would make a world of difference to them & their ability to do their job. They can then focus more of the nuts & bolts of curriculum & teaching while the paperwork aspects could be taken care of by another person.
I agree, NCEA is without a doubt a lot of work for teachers, let alone students.
I wished schools got the much needed funding & resources they need. It would be the most Positively impactful & meaningful change to our education system, more so than what ever system changes governments try to do.
Hi Cristina,
Thank you so much for sharing this. It's incredibly valuable to hear from someone who experienced NCEA right from its early days. I love your phrase “psychological seasoning”. What a brilliant way to describe the variety that keeps students engaged. Your point about the motivational impact of accumulating credits through diverse tasks really resonates too; it highlights how assessment can actually support learning when it’s spread across the year rather than hinging on a single high-stakes exam.
I couldn’t agree more about funding and resourcing. Without adequate investment, even the most well-designed assessment framework will struggle to deliver what students and teachers need. Your HODs’ comments about admin support also hit home. So much teacher energy is drained by administrative load rather than being channelled into curriculum, pedagogy, and supporting students.
It’s such an important reminder that systemic change can’t be achieved by tweaking assessment alone. A properly resourced, well-supported education system would have far more impact than any single policy shift. These are exactly the kinds of practical realities that need to sit alongside the bigger debates about curriculum and qualifications.
What you’ve shared also makes me wonder: if we know variety, resourcing, and reducing administrative load are key drivers of success, how do we keep these priorities front and centre in public conversations that too often default to “exams = rigour”?
NCEA was created and designed to allow the assessment of cross curricular, project based, collaborative learning. Once again, as is so often the case, the professional development needed to switch to this way of teaching and learning, was not provided; secondary systems and structures are still not set up in most schools to support implementation; leaders and innovative teachers are unable to allow the intended outcome to tbrive under such constraints. Its not NCEA that needs scrapping it is the time, resources and reflective inquiry that needs to be provided to allow it to thrive.
Fantastic comments. Wouldn't it be a great legacy for any government to really make a difference to coming generations by looking at real evidence of what works rather than reverting to nostalgic memories of examinations that only privileged the privileged. The world has moved on, the damage examination and meanigless grades cause is known.
Bravo!