A chaotic 25-year-old NCEA journey had to change – Mount Albert Grammar headmaster Patrick Drumm
THE FACTS
- In March, the Government officially confirmed it will proceed with a significant overhaul of New Zealand’s secondary school qualification system, including the replacement of the NCEA.
- Senior high school students will now face a compulsory exam in every subject, be marked from A+ to E and need to pass at least three subjects each year to get their graduation certificates under the Government’s NCEA replacement.
- The changes came after criticism from some quarters that literacy, numeracy and academic results have been faltering under the NCEA and that students are not being challenged to excel.
The launch of Tomorrow’s Schools in 1989 coincided with my first year as a teacher of science and chemistry at Onehunga High School. It was a brilliant time to be a new teacher. I was welcomed into a science department rich in subject experts, well-led and well-resourced. Many of my colleagues from those days have gone on to do great things in education.
Despite having a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry under my belt, it would be stretching the truth to say my one year at Teachers’ College had fully prepared me for bringing science to life for the teenagers in my first classes. But what I was supplied with when I joined the school was a Science Syllabus – a document that detailed the content that students were required to learn at each year level – it guided me and it was gold!
It was detailed, sequenced and prescriptive – just what a novice practitioner required. And while it lacked flexibility, in many ways that was its strength – because at that time, the Science Syllabus was common to every school across New Zealand.
My role as a teacher, then, became to draw on the experiences of the students in front of me and to weave that knowledge into something that was accessible and resonated. The pedagogical challenge was clear. The content was non-negotiable! But the context you chose to convey that knowledge ... that was the difference between winning or losing the lesson!
But change was in the air. It wasn’t long before that common syllabus was replaced by an (almost) common curriculum framework in 1993. It was the beginning of a sea change in how we looked at, and valued, knowledge. Still, the presence of common external examinations (School Certificate and Bursary) up until the early 2000s at least ensured a degree of confidence and validity in our curriculum and qualification, regardless of the school that you attended (or taught in).
It was the introduction of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) in 2002, fuelled by a revised curriculum a few years later, that turned our education system on its head. Schools were now encouraged to construct their own “localised” curricula – and then themselves choose how to assess it with the new flexibility provided by the NCEA Assessment Standards.
What has followed for the past 25 years has been a somewhat chaotic journey. The atomisation of our education system has seen curricula and assessment in one school bearing little resemblance to that of a neighbouring school. Many schools simply abandoned the New Zealand Curriculum and the NCEA altogether in lieu of overseas qualifications. Currently (and tragically) there is no guarantee of equity of access to knowledge across schools in New Zealand. It now matters more where you gained your qualification than the qualification itself!
Things had to change and they are – and they promise much hope for the future.
The ongoing work on a refreshed New Zealand Curriculum sees knowledge back in vogue. For the first time in almost 25 years, subject material will be common across the country – Year 12 Chemistry in Southland will look like Year 12 Chemistry in Northland. And we will have a common assessment/examination system to measure student learning at each school.
This rewrite and redesign of curriculum and assessment is a huge undertaking and is happening at pace. Our best subject teachers (and we have plenty of them) are writing and designing curriculum documents detailing the subject knowledge and learning required – regardless of where you go to school. These documents, and the resources that will support them, will provide clear guidance and confidence to teachers. Subjects will still need to be brought to life within a school context ... but critically, the content will be common!
It has taken courage to look with honesty to where the past 25 years have brought us. And more will be needed in the time ahead to ensure we take all students and communities with us.
The journey back to quality education for our young people is underway.
Patrick Drumm is headmaster at Mount Albert Grammar School and a member of the Curriculum Senior Secondary Assurance Group
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