Kia ora whānau,
It would appear that with the extension of lockdown level four for another two weeks and the uncertainty of what lay ahead we are seeing some concerns about NCEA assessments, prelim exams and preparation for external exams.
At Albany Senior High School we are committed to finding the balance between prioritising wellbeing and continuing to support our young people to experience academic success. At this stage NZQA and the Ministry of Education are yet to confirm any Learning Recognition credits which would, in essence, reduce the number of credits needed to gain an NCEA Certificate. When this is confirmed we will let you know. In the meantime we will continue to work with our young people to achieve their personal academic goals.
We also remind our community that we are operating under extraordinary circumstances and that timelines and details regarding NCEA will continue to evolve and that the best thing everyone can do is focus on engaging with learning online as best we can. We are working hard behind the scenes to ensure that our teachers and students are being delivered high quality learning and responsive robust assessment opportunities.
Prelim examinations and external examinations
Prelim Exams won’t happen, as planned, as an event over six days in 2021. This is because our priority will be, when we return to school, to have as much face to face teaching time with our students as possible. To generate a derived grade* we will focus on gathering ‘Evidence of Learning’ and will look at practice opportunities once we are back on site. Specialist Subjects can still complete a prelim exam within their Specialist Subject time. For those new to NCEA examinations teachers will walk through the process or complete scenarios of doing an exam under exam conditions. This means students will still have the opportunity to do practice in exam conditions and will receive feedback as they would after prelim week and we will ensure we have the evidence needed should we have to produce derived grades at the end of the year.
The dates for end of year NCEA and NZ Scholarship exams will be delayed by two weeks, to run from Monday 22 November until Tuesday 14 December. Due dates for portfolio submissions will also be pushed back by 2 weeks. Level 3 Art Folios will still need to be completed by the 11th November. At this stage we will push out study leave until Term Four Week Four and as we did last year we will continue to work with students to gain any extra internal standard credits as needed.
Internal assessments are still occurring during lockdown
We already have a lot of control over how we teach and assess students working towards NCEA.
To this end, we will continue to teach and assess online over lockdown as per our timetable. It is important that our young people continue to engage with Tutorials, Impact Projects and Specialist Subjects and work closely with their teachers as assessments are adapted and evidence of learning is gathered.
Looking ahead with confidence
I would again like to reinforce, the changes outlined are not a cancellation of prelims, but a prelim redesign to reflect learning in a pandemic. We are absolutely able to simulate mock or practice exams for learners within our timetabled classes. We can’t wait to see our young people back on site and we know that their best chance of success this year is to maximize the amount of face to face time.
I would also like to remind any of our Year 11s and 12s who are returning next year that they have time on your side. Whilst we will absolutely be supporting all of our young people to achieve their academic goals in 2021 we would also like to remind everyone that learning continues next year and that we will be here to support you with your pathway at ASHS in 2022 and beyond.
*What is a derived grade?
This is a grade that can be used should a student be unable to sit an exam at the end of the year for reasons beyond their control. The reported grade must be based on (or derived from) pre-existing authentic, standard-specific evidence (such as practice exams or formal tests) produced during the year by the candidate. Derived grades can also be based on any learning completed in class or online. Source: NZQA
