What's new

Minister releases NZQA's Briefing The Education Minister Anne Tolley has released the Briefing to the Incoming Minister (BIM) from NZQA and other education agencies. More ...	December 2008
Exam focus moves to marking The 2008 examination focus has turned to marking nearly 1.9 million answer booklets covering 322 NCEA standards and 28 Scholarship subjects. Examinations ended on Wednesday (3 December). More ...	December 2008
Examination Update With four days of NCEA and NZ Scholarship examinations remaining (from tomorrow) more than 230 NCEA standards and 18 Scholarship subjects have been sat in more than 80 examination sessions. More ...	November 2008
New Unit Standard Checklist During 2008 Framework Registration (FR) trialled a number of initiatives to improve quality assurance processes. Documentation related to unit standard applications was identified as requiring improvement. More ...	December 2008
Tertiary Reforms consultation underway Changes to the regulatory system require the involvement of tertiary education organisations (TEOs) in self-assessment and external evaluation and review. NZQA is consulting with the sector on the policy requirements for self-assessment and external evaluation and review. More ...	November 2008
Exam Papers published In an innovative move, NZQA is publishing NCEA and Scholarship exams the days after the papers have been sat by students. In previous years, the papers were all published in a batch early in the following year. See the Scholarship papers. To find NCEA exams papers, type the subject name into the Search box on this page.	November 2008
Examination Update - 21 November The first week of NCEA and NZ Scholarship exams has covered 132 NCEA standards and nine Scholarship subjects, sat in more than 40 examination sessions. More ...	November 2008
Examination Update Two errors in examination questions have been identified among the 43 examination papers sat to date (up to and including Tuesday morning, 18 November). Candidates' results will not be affected by the errors, which will be taken into account during marking. More ...	November 2008
Tertiary Moderation Manual updated Tertiary Education Organisations assessing against unit standards must carry out internal moderation and engage with the external moderation that applies. NZQA has published information for TEOs which are assessing learners using unit standards moderated by NZQA. More ...	November 2008
139,000 prepare for examinations Last-minute study is underway for more than 139,000 senior secondary school students preparing for NCEA and NZ Scholarship examinations, starting on Saturday (November 15). Assessment of Visual Arts, Graphics and Technology portfolios is already underway. More ...	November 2008
NCEA & Scholarship information sheet The final instructions for NCEA & Scholarship exam candidates has been published. It is distributed to candidates through their schools, but is also available online. It covers how to get an admission slip, what to take to exams , the exam rules, what to remember on the day of the exam, guidance on writing answers, and when Compassionate considerations apply. It also explains when results will be available. More ...	October 2008
Further updates to NCEA subject-specific pages A number of additional resources have been added to the pages for Agricultural & Horticultural Science, Biology, Chemistry, Computing, English, Music, Physics, and Visual Arts, amongst others. More ...	October 2008
Scholarship exemplars A number of annotated student scripts have been added to the Scholarship pages, to assist this year's candidates prepare for the exam. More ...	October 2008
Help for exam candidates NZQA has a lot information of help to students preparing for November's external exams. Study tips, hints, shortcuts to past exam papers, the exam timetable, links to other study sites, and information relating addressing a number of "What do I do if ..." questions. More ...	October 2008
Changes to New Zealand Scholarship subject list for 2009 Top secondary students of Agricultural and Horticultural Science will be able to tackle NZ Scholarship exams from next year (2009). Also from 2009, Scholarship Visual Arts will be assessed as five separate subjects: Design, Painting, Photography, Printmaking and Sculpture. More ...	October 2008
Proposals for Changes to the Regulation of PTE Registration NZQA has received the views of many PTEs on proposals for changes to the policies and criteria that regulate their registration. These proposals support the new tertiary environment by requiring PTEs to focus on achieving educational and other outcomes for their learners and other stakeholders; and use the new approach to quality assurance, based on self-assessment and external evaluation and review. More ...	August 2008
More subject-specific pages added The Easy-finder for NCEA resources continues to expand. We have added new links to existing pages, and new subject-pages. A growing number of subjects now have Clarifications documents or Moderator Newsletters. More ...	September 2008
QAD Conferences - what did you think? The NZQA Quality Assurance Conferences 2008 were held recently in Wellington, Christchurch, and Auckland. We want to know what you thought of them. More ...	September 2008
QA News # 61 Brunei Visit; NZQA welcomes new board member; Standards Review underway; Learning from Maori and Pasifika PTE research; Students motivated by certificate endorsement; End-of-year surveys; Moving towards self-assessment; Dr Monte Ohia; Bright SPARQ. More ...	September 2008
New Zealand Diploma in Business results data Data for 2007 have been added. Data available now covers the period 2003 to 2007, and is available by prescription by provider type; by grade and by prescription; Count of students by prescription, number of prescriptions, gender, ethnicity and age. More ...	September 2008
An update from the trial - self-assessment phase observations Some clear trends are emerging from the self-assessment phase of the trial of the new approach to tertiary education quality assurance. More ...	August 2008
New member joins NZQA Board Shona Smith, Deputy Principal of Waitakere College in Henderson, Auckland, has joined the NZQA Board. She has a wide range of curriculum, assessment and qualifications expertise, having taught in a number of schools, and on a number of education-related organisations, including as President of PPTA and the Auckland College of Education Council. More ...	August 2008
Easy-finder for subject-specific resources We have re-organised our links to a variety of resources, to help teachers and students find materials which relate to the specific subjects they are studying or teaching. It is a one-stop reference page. Suggestions for additional links are also welcomed. More ...	July 2008
Provider Return Forms A and B Streamlined The Private Training Establishment Attestation and the Course Owner Attestation (Form A) have been combined into a single form. The Chartered Accountant Professional Attestation (Form B) has also been streamlined. More ...	July 2008
Streamlined processing of Qualification Recognition services As part of NZQA's ongoing process improvement initiatives, applicants for Qualifications Assessment can now lodge their applications online. In addition, students who plan to complete qualifications outside New Zealand and who wish to apply for exemption from paying interest on NZ student loans can also apply online. More ...	July 2008
Top Scholars Presentation On Friday May 30 2008, the top Scholarship students from around New Zealand gathered at Government House in Wellington for the 2007 New Zealand Scholarship Top Scholar Awards. As with previous ceremonies, we have photos of the winners with the Education Minister Chris Carter and His Excellency The Honourable Anand Satyanand from the ceremony. More ...	July 2008
Views of the 2007 NCEA and Scholarship assessments NZQA has released summaries of the results of four surveys they undertake annually following the completion of National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) and New Zealand Scholarship exams for that year. More ...	July 2008
Credit Fee Increase After consultation with the tertiary education sector, the Board of NZQA has decided to proceed with a proposal to introduce a single fee for registering credits on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). More ...	June 2008
Te Rau Awhina: - Good Practice Examples of Māori and Pasifika Private Training Establishments This study investigated the practices of Māori and Pasifika Private Training Establishments (PTEs) in relation to teaching & learning, and programme design & development. It asked what cultural elements were interwoven into their practices, and to what extent their practices compared with those considered in the literature to be indicators of good practice. More ...	June 2008
Address to the Top Scholars Ceremony, 2008 An address to the Top Scholars Ceremony at Government House, 30 May 2008, by Sue Suckling, Chair NZQA. More ...	June 2008
Breaches of Examination Rules Exam candidates appear to be getting the message that cell phones have no place in exam rooms. Statistics on breaches of examination rules released today (June 26) by NZQA show misconduct involving cellphones in the 2007 examinations season dropped by almost a third on the previous year. More ...	June 2008
Progress on standards review The Ministry of Education (MoE) and NZQA are reviewing achievement and unit standards, as part of the joint programme of improvements to NCEA. More ...	June 2008
Changes to moderation finalised NZQA has finalised details for the introduction of random sampling of internally assessed student work for external moderation. This will replace the current self-selection of samples by schools. More ...	May 2008
Endorsed NCEA Certificates delivered Nearly 110,000 NCEA certificates have now been delivered to students gaining the qualification at one of the three levels last year. More ...	May 2008
Top Art tours the country Visual art from New Zealand's top secondary school art students features in a touring exhibition, taking in around 30 venues from Kerikeri to Invercargill over the next four months. More ...	May, 2008
Support for Framework Registration Evaluator Liaison Role Framework Registration Evaluator liaison roles were piloted during 2006/2007 to provide Standard Setting Bodies (SSBs) with a contact person in the Framework Registration (FR) business unit. Feedback was sought on this role in July 2007 via an online survey, and a review was undertaken based on the responses to this survey. The report detailing this review was made available to SSBs in March 2008. More ...	March 2008
An analysis of student performance in NCEA, 2005-07 NZQA has released its high-level analysis of student performance in the 2007 NCEA exams. The analysis examined the performance of the 2007 Year 13 cohort over their three years of senior schooling, as well as the performance of each year group in 2005, 2006, and 2007. More ...	March 2008
New discussion forum launched Evaluate is a discussion forum about the new approach to quality assurance being introduced as part of the changes currently underway in New Zealand's tertiary education sector. The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) has been charged to work with the tertiary sector to achieve a high trust, high accountability quality assurance culture focusing on outcomes which meet the needs of learners and the wider community. More ...	March 2008
Statistics reflect ongoing improvement in achievement National statistics for the 2007 NCEA are now available online, after being launched at a NZQA Board stakeholder function in Auckland last night. The statistics and support material to assist in understanding the data is online. More ...	March 2008
New NCEA resources New resource material for Geography and History has been made available online. More ...
NQF credit registration fee simplified NZQA has begun consulting the tertiary education sector on a proposed new way of funding National Qualifications Framework (NQF) credit registration. More ...	March 2008
New Monitoring Process: Comparison of internal and external assessment data for NCEA This work is part of a suite of measures put in place by NZQA as part of its key responsibility to continually improve its understanding of school-based assessment. The comprehensive package includes the appointment of 33 fulltime moderators, reporting Not Achieved results for internal assessment, the random sampling of internally assessed work, and the comparison of results for internal and external assessment data for NCEA. More ...	March 2008
Revised Qualification and Unit Standard Templates NZQA has published revised Unit Standard and Qualification templates. More ...	March 2008
NCEA PN's Roadshow The annual 'Roadshow' presentations for Principal's Nominees were held in February and early March. The Presentations used are now available. More ...	March 2008
Annual Fee Return Form Due The Annual Fee Return Form is now due from non-government funded providers. The February edition of eQuate has details of who is required to file a return. Further information is available on the annual fee and annual fee questions and answers pages.	March 2008
NZQA notifies Scholarship's top achievers Results have been posted to more than 8000 students who sat the 2007 Scholarship examinations. Letters were also sent to the country's top scholars - the 'best of the best' - who will receive a monetary award, ranging from a one-off $500 payment to $10,000 over three years. More ...	February 2008
Experts endorse approach An independent expert advisory group, chaired by Professor Gary Hawke of Victoria University , says the new approach to quality assurance is in line with good international practice experience while being sufficiently flexible to reflect the diverse needs of New Zealanders. More ...	February 2008
Scholarship Results available from today The wait is nearly over for more than 8000 students who entered 2007 Scholarship examinations, with results available online from today (Monday 18). Candidates can access their results via a secure login page on the NZQA website. Scholarship results notices have also been mailed to candidates and will be delivered over the next few days. More ...	February 2008
NCEA Exemplars published NZQA has published an additional 50 exemplars, covering a range of standards. An exemplar is an actual student answer script, with annotations from the marker indicating why the script was assessed in the way it was. The exemplars are intended as study aids to help teachers and students understand just what is required in order to achieve a standard. More ...	February 2008
NCEA content refreshed and re-organised The entire NCEA area of the website has been re-organised. The re-design has streamlined access to content by organising it according to audience groups. Thus, content aimed at students is grouped together, even when it may the same as that aimed parents. A simplified approach to explaining what NCEA is all about, as well as extended help in searching for exam-related documents, has also be provided. More ...	February 2008
Changes to the reporting of NCEA results The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) has finalised details on the reporting of Not Achieved (N) results for NCEA internal assessment carried out by schools. More ...	February 2008
NCEA results available tomorrow The wait is almost over for the 139,000 secondary school candidates who sat National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) examinations in 2007, with the results expected to be delivered to the majority of candidates tomorrow (17 January). More ...	January 2008
NCEA examination results available soon Examination results will be available from the end of next week for the 139,000 candidates who sat NCEA examinations in November and December. NCEA candidates will receive their national qualifications results notices between 17 and 25 January. Scholarship results are due to be released in February. More ...	January 2008
2007 Exam marking draws to a close Marking of the 1.9 million NCEA examination papers is more than 95% complete, and will finish by Christmas, as scheduled. Results are now being verified and collated and are expected to be available to students in the last week of January. Examination booklets will be sent back to the candidates in the second half of January. More ...	December 2007
Briefing for the Incoming Minister, 2007 The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) is the crown entity responsible for the administration of educational assessment systems and standard setting processes. We deliver a range of legislated services including quality assurance in education and training provision, qualifications development and assessment, and the recognition of qualifications internationally. This document presents background information on NZQA and on our current issues and priorities. More ...	December 2007
Assessment Practices of Level 3 NCEA Teachers (2004-2006) This longitudinal study investigates how teachers' assessment practices have changed with the implementation of the Level 3 National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) qualification. It focuses on how teachers' assessment practices changed with the transition from Bursary to Level 3 standards, and it explores how assessment practices evolved over the first three years of Level 3 NCEA. More ...	November 2007
New Board members Scott Davidson, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Dean, School of Law, University of Canterbury, and Samantha Lundon, Curriculum Advisor for the Ideal Success Academy and chair of Aotearoa Māori providers of Training, Education and Employment (AMPTEE), have joined the NZQA Board. More ...	November 2007
Annual Report published The NZQA Annual Report was tabled in Parliament recently. It reports on the results for the 2006-07 year, with plans for that year outlined in NZQA's 2006-09 Statement of Intent. More ...	November 2007
Updated Register of Quality Assured Qualifications published The Register provides a comprehensive list of all quality assured qualifications in New Zealand and enhances New Zealand's capacity to benchmark qualifications internationally. More ...	October 2007
2007 examination round due to start Nearly 140,000 secondary school students will be sitting NCEA and scholarship examinations this year. The exams start on Monday 19 November and finish on Wednesday 5 December. More ...	November 2007
Managing National Assessment reports go online Parents now have easier access to information on school performance with Managing National Assessment (MNA) reports available on the New Zealand Qualifications Authority website. NZQA produces the reports for every secondary school in New Zealand. The reports assess how well schools are managing their internal assessment processes and are completed at least every three years. More ...	November 2007
Helping students prepare for exams NZQA has a lot of material useful for study. We have put a whole lot of Links together in one place which will take you a wealth of information, documents, tips and hints. More ...	October 2007
Invitation to attend consultation hui As part of NZQA's Māori Strategy - Te Rautaki Māori me te Mahere Whakatinana a te Mana Tohu Mātauranga o Aotearoa key actions 10 and 12 NZQA will create two new Māori Reference Groups - the Kaitiaki Group and the Māori Partnership Forum. Seven consultation hui will be held nationwide to seek feedback on the draft Terms of Reference for both of these groups. More ...	October 2007
New brochures with advice for students No matter if you're staying at school or leaving school, you need to be thinking about how NCEA can help you on your way to your future. NZQA and Career Services have put together two new brochures to help you prepare for the next stages of your life. More ...	September 2007
Māori Performing Arts These resources have been designed to assist teachers and tutors in assessing students against the relevant Māori Performing Arts unit standards registered on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). They have been written to give practical assistance in assessment against the unit standards. Teachers or tutors using these resources will find ready-to-use assessment guide exemplars. More ...	September 2007
Reviewed NZDipBus Prescriptions Updated prescriptions in Management, Marketing and Computing have been published. More ...	September 2007
QA News # 57 Certificate endorsement already motivating, NZQA reviews direction, goals, Views sought on Māori education, NZQA Māori reference groups, Ka Hikitia - Managing for Success, Te Wānanga o Raukawa Audit breaks new ground, Meeting customer needs on-line, Assessment study among NZQA research projects, Tertiary reforms: evaluating what matters most. More ...	September 2007