National Certificate Of Educational Achievement Research Articles

Admissions pathways and international undergraduates’ academic achievement

ABSTRACT Background There are a number of pathways available for international students to gain admission into universities in English-speaking countries. While many international students for whom English is not their first language succeed academically, there is concern that some do not cope with the demands of university which can affect their retention and academic success. This study considers the effects of different admissions pathways on international undergraduate students’ academic success in one New Zealand university. Purpose Findings from the first phase of this research revealed that international students who entered university with the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) gained at high school in New Zealand performed significantly worse academically than their peers who entered through three other admissions pathways. This study aimed to ascertain whether there were salient features of students’ prior education and undergraduate experiences which contributed to this outcome. Method In-depth interviews were conducted with nine students who entered a university in New Zealand via two admissions pathways: NCEA or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The data generated through these interviews was analysed to enable qualitative comparisons between the two groups. Findings Results suggest that the IELTS group outperformed their NCEA peers due to maturity and prior education in their home countries. While the NCEA students had spent some years at high school in the host country, they did not, in general, demonstrate the same level of academic literacy as their IELTS peers. Conclusion International students’ outcomes appear to differ due to previous educational experiences. Students who enter via NCEA are potentially more likely to need support, as they may still be dealing with language proficiency issues, whereas those who enter via IELTS with prior higher-level education in their home country may be more academically prepared. It is important that institutions promote learning support opportunities for all international students, to ensure they experience a positive social and learning experience, which can ultimately contribute to their retention in learning, and their academic success.

Teaching, learning, and assessment of science investigation in Year 11: Teachers’ response to NCEA

In New Zealand, the school science curriculum promotes openended science investigation, but the assessment regime in year 11 requires investigation with ‘direction’ and a more limited understanding of investigation. This case study research explored teaching practice and teacher understanding of science investigation, and the connectedness between learning, motivation to learn, and assessment. This paper presents the findings on teacher practice related to the teaching and assessment of science investigation. The results indicate that teacher practice of science investigation changed in response to the internal assessment requirements associated with science investigation for the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). The nature of this change raises validity and reliability issues for the assessment of student learning of science investigation.

Rural secondary school leaver attainment inequities for students entering medical programmes in Aotearoa New Zealand

ABSTRACT The education literature suggests that there are rural–urban differences in educational achievement. Lower educational achievement in rural schools may impact entry into highly competitive medical programmes and disadvantage rural students. Within this study, the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) and University Entrance (UE) attainment rates are compared across Aotearoa New Zealand secondary schools for 2012–2021. High schools were classified as urban or rural according to the two rural admission schemes used in the medical programmes at the University of Otago and the University of Auckland. Descriptive statistics were calculated and regression models created to adjust for a range of variables. The data demonstrates that rural high schools have lower NCEA and UE attainment. Lower Māori student NCEA and UE attainment, greater socioeconomic disadvantage and differing characteristics account for the majority of differences between rural and urban schools. The lower UE attainment rate for rural schools will likely mean that rural students will have greater difficulty in entering medical programmes and that this inequity is worse for rural Māori students. Medical programme admission pathways need to undergo a fundamental shift–from workforce pathways to workforce and equity pathways in order to address rural workforce issues.

Pacific Islands Families Study: Household Food Security during Pregnancy and Secondary School Educational Achievement.

Nutritional environment in early life is a key factor for brain development and function. It is important to understand the relationship between nutrition in early life and academic achievement in adolescence. The birth cohort of the Pacific Islands Families (PIF) study was born in the year 2000. When their child was six weeks old, mothers were asked questions concerning food security over the past year. Two binary measures of food security were derived as previously used in PIF and also by the Ministry of Health (MOH). In 2020, records of academic achievement from the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) for 649 (317 female, 332 male) cohort members showed progressive achievement at levels 1, 2, and 3 of NCEA and allowed University Entrance (UE) to be assessed. The prevalence of food insecurity was not different for sex but high at 29% and 42% using the PIF and MOH definitions of food insecurity, respectively. More females (27%) than males (18%) achieved UE as their highest qualification, and more males (40%) than females (31%) achieved NCEA levels 1 or 2 as their highest qualification. UE was achieved by 25% of those born into food-secure households and 17% from food-insecure households. Logistic regression demonstrated that the odds of achieving UE were 1.8-fold (95% CI 1.2, 2.6, p = 0.003) higher in females than males and, independently, 1.6-fold (95% CI 1.1, 2.5 p = 0.026) higher if the household was food secure. This work emphasises the importance of maternal and early-life food security for subsequent academic achievement and the well-being of future generations.

High-achieving Māori students' perceptions of their best and worst teachers

This qualitative study explored high-achieving Māori students’ perceptions of their best and worst secondary school teachers. Participants (N = 96) were Year 12 or 13 students at English-medium secondary schools in Aotearoa who had attained certificate endorsement at Level 1 or 2 in the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). Findings showed that Māori students’ best teachers had high expectations for their achievement. They spent class time teaching students and discussing their learning, whereas students’ worst teachers had low expectations and restricted their access to high grades in NCEA. A key finding from this study was that although positive teacher–student relationships were important, they needed to be accompanied by effective teaching practices. A teacher who had a positive relationship with Māori students but did not teach them well was not considered their “best” teacher.

Integrating Indigenous epistemologies into mainstream foreign language teaching

Abstract This study explores teacher perspectives on a government policy that seeks to integrate Indigenous knowledge into mainstream foreign language education in New Zealand schools. Based on in-depth interviews, the study found that language teachers generally support this educational change because trans/languaging involving English and te reo Māori (the Māori language) has become an ordinary practice in their teaching and school lives. However, foreign language teachers expressed a need for discipline-specific materials and professional development to help them integrate mātauranga Māori (Indigenous knowledge of Māori) into their teaching. Their concerns can be understood as a lack of support in interpreting “what,” “how,” and “to what extent” the policy will be implemented. The study suggests using a decolonising approach to help teachers affirm the relevance of Indigenous knowledge in their discipline. It recommends that policymakers adopt a pluriversal stance to ensure that diverse knowledge systems can coexist and interact harmoniously rather than compete with one another in the new National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) curriculum.

The new national literacy tests for post-primary students in Aotearoa New Zealand: How process and design issues undermine principles of a strong and fair qualification

From 2026 in Aotearoa New Zealand, post-primary school students will be required to achieve new literacy standards in reading and writing through national standardised tests called Common Assessment Activities or CAAs. The CAAs, in their pilot phase, are revealing dire results and fundamental flaws. This paper discusses the results of three pilot events in 2021 and 2022 trialling the CAAs and suggests some factors that are likely to have played a part in influencing the results – particularly for English Language Learners (ELLs), Realm nations’ students, Pasifika, and Māori students. These factors include conceptual or construct issues, as well as test design, marking, and administration issues. This unfair assessment is also inequitable because it has been positioned as a co-requisite for New Zealand’s senior years’ qualification, the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), thus effectively trumping other measures of school achievement. The paper suggests that if testing is to continue, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) and the Ministry of Education should rethink not only the design, marking and management of the tests to make them a fairer, more valid and reliable process, but also the tests’ standing as a co-requisite for senior years’ qualification.

Birth by caesarean section and educational achievement in adolescents.

Birth by caesarean section has been shown to alter the composition of the early infant gut microbiota and postulated to influence cognitive outcomes via the gut-brain axis. To determine whether birth by caesarean section is associated with secondary school educational achievement. Whole-population administrative data were used from anonymised individual level linkage of birth records to educational and health information from the New Zealand Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI). Participants were 111843 children born between 1 January 1996 and 31 December 1998 for whom mode of delivery information was available from International Classification of Diseases 9th edition codes in maternal records. The National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) is the main secondary school qualification undertaken by New Zealand students. Multivariable linear regression models were used to examine the association between mode of delivery and educational achievement. A family fixed effect analysis compared educational achievement outcomes in sibling pairs where one sibling was delivered by caesarean section and one delivered vaginally. After adjustment for potential confounders, there was no significant association between mode of delivery and achievement of university entrance (odds ratio=0.98, 95% CI: 0.94-1.02). NCEA percentile scores were lower in caesarean born infants (Estimate = -0.37, 95% CI: -0.69 to -0.06)). However, in the fixed effect sibling analysis caesarean section was no longer significantly associated with NCEA percentile scores. We find that caesarean section is not related to educational outcomes, suggesting that even if the infant gut microbiota is altered in caesarean section, it does not appear to have a measurable impact on adolescent academic achievement.

The Overview of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement(NCEA) in New Zealand for the Establishment of High School Graduation Requirements in South Korea

[연구목적] 본 연구는 뉴질랜드의 고교 졸업 자격 제도(NCEA)를 개관하고 그 특징과 한계로부터 우리나라 고등학교 졸업 요건 설정에 관한 시사점을 도출하는 것을 목적으로 하였다. [연구방법] 뉴질랜드 자격청 웹사이트로부터 수집한 NCEA에 관한 기초자료와 국외학술논문, 고교 졸업 자격 등에 관한 국내·외 문헌을 수집하고 분석하였다. [연구결과] NCEA는 국가 수준에서 관리되는 세계적인 학력인증제도로서 고교 졸업 후 진학과 취업을 위한 최소 자격을 증명하고 대입에서 학생을 선발하는 지표로서 기능한다. 이 제도는 학생이 선택하여 이수한 교과목의 ‘기준’ 충족 여부를 내·외부 평가로 판정하고, 학생이 일정 수 이상의 학점을 누적하면 고등학교 졸업 자격을 부여한다. 학생들은 NCEA를 충족시키는 과정에서 반드시 알아야 할 내용과 할 줄 알아야 하는 기능을 습득함으로써 졸업 후의 성공적인 학업 및 직업수행을 준비할 수 있다. 그러나 자격 취득에서 질적인 측면보다 양적인 측면이 강조되어 학생들에게 학업성취 동기를 적절히 부여하지 못하는 경향이 있고, 제도의 융통성이 학생과 학부모의 혼란을 유발하는 단점도 있었다. [결론] 도출된 시사점은 다음과 같다. 첫째, 고교 졸업 요건 설정은 학생 복지 차원에서 접근해야 한다. 둘째, 선택 교육과정으로 운영되는 고등학교의 기초학력 개념을 명확하게 규정해야 한다. 셋째, 진급과 졸업을 위한 최소한의 요건을 명확하게 제시해야 한다. 넷째, 이수기준의 충족 여부를 판정하기 위해 현행 교육과정의 ‘성취기준’을 적극적으로 활용할 수 있을 것이다. 다섯째, 고교 졸업 요건을 평가할 때에는 내부평가와 외부평가를 적절하게 병행해야 할 것이다. 여섯째, 고교 졸업 자격 제도는 대입에서 학생 선발을 위한 지표로도 활용할 수 있도록 설계되어야 할 것이다.

Wondering about …. Geography—Its nature and its relevance?

In the context of the current review of New Zealand's National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), the paper reflects on the nature and relevance of geography in education, life and work. The context of school geography programmes is critically examined, and a checklist of points for further consideration and action is presented.

Using validated measures of high school academic achievement to predict university success

ABSTRACTAdministrative data from a New Zealand university are used to validate the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Rank Score used in university admissions and scholarship decisions. We find no statistical evidence to corroborate the specific weighting scheme used in this index. For example, our regression analysis suggests that too much weight is attached to the lowest category of credits in predicting both successful completion outcomes and letter grades. To show the potential importance of this validated measure of high school achievement, we run several simulations on these first-year student outcomes at this university. We show that the use of an alternative, empirically-validated measure of NCEA results to select students would lead to only slight improvements in course completion rates and letter grades. These higher entry standards would lead to declines in the proportions of Pacifica students, but minimal impacts on the proportion of Māori students enrolled at this university.

An activity theory analysis of the relationship between student identity and the assessment of group composing at school

The purpose of this article is to contribute to existing literature about how activity theory might be used in music education research. It draws from the author's doctoral action research into the assessment of group composing for New Zealand's secondary school qualification, the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). It outlines and explains how activity theory was used to examine three interacting activities: social jamming, group composing and achievement in the NCEA. Analysis revealed a relationship between students’ identities, their achievement in NCEA group composing, and socio-economic disparity.

Up the down escalator: The introduction of achievement standards in the National Certificate of Educational Achievement

Throughout most of New Zealand's educational history, students have been required to sit written and sometimes oral examinations either as a record of achievement at the end of schooling, as a passport to further free schooling, for the information of potential employers, or as means of acquiring a place in higher education. During the last 122 years New Zealand school children have seen a variety of examinations come and go including examinations carried out during an inspector's visit to a primary school; oral and written post-primary school examinations set by the local university professor; written national examinations originally intended for entry into the civil service: national Matriculation and School Certificate examinations and, more recently University Bursary examinations. The history of these examinations and assessment procedures shows that a new qualification gains acceptance only if it has a certain rarity value. Once that qualification is attainable by most students, there are demands for a new qualification of a higher standard. Thus the sequence of school qualifications is displaced as new qualifications are introduced at a higher level than previously. The proposed introduction of Achievement Standards at levels 1, 2 and 3 of the Qualifications' Framework and the subsequent protestations by a number of secondary school principals that they will look elsewhere for a challenge for their students will, it is argued, result in a further dumbing down of existing qualifications.

English and the NCEA: The impact of an assessment regime on curriculum and practice

The National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) will enter the first year of implementation for Year 11 students in 2002. A number of educators have raised concerns in relation to the NCEA in respect of such issues as validity, reliability, moderation, the lack of uniformity in respect of re-testing policy and manageability. This article argues that attention also needs to be directed at ways in which the NCEA constructs curriculum, assessment and pedagogical practice. Using English as an example, it does just that by examining the English matrix, a specific achievement standard and examples of assessment tasks. It argues that the pervasiveness of summative assessment and the provision of centrally designed materials will legitimise some versions of the subject and certain teaching practices over others. It suggests that this form of legitimating control undermines teacher professionalism and subject innovation.

The impact of the Canterbury earthquakes on successful school leaving for adolescents

ObjectiveTo examine the impact of the Canterbury earthquakes on the important adolescent transition period of school leaving. MethodLocal and national data on school leaving age, attainment of National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) standards, and school rolls (total registered students for schools) were examined to clarify long‐term trends and delineate these from any impacts of the Canterbury earthquakes. ResultsDespite concerns about negative impacts, there was no evidence for increased school disengagement or poorer academic performance by students as a consequence of the earthquakes. ConclusionAlthough there may have been negative effects for a minority, the possibility of post‐disaster growth and resilience being the norm for the majority meant that negative effects on school leaving were not observed following the earthquakes. A range of post‐disaster responses may have mitigated adverse effects on the adolescent population. Implications for Public HealthOverall long‐term negative effects are unlikely for the affected adolescent population. The results also indicate that similar populations exposed to disasters in other settings are likely to do well in the presence of a comprehensive post‐disaster response.

Subject area literacy instruction in low SES secondary schools in New Zealand.

This paper presents findings of a study into patterns of literacy achievement and teaching in Year 12 biology, English and mathematics classes from 22 low socio-economic status (SES) secondary schools in New Zealand (NZ). We hypothesised that patterns of literacy teaching in specialised subject areas might contribute to well-documented inequities in education achievement for Māori (indigenous), Pacific Islands and low-SES students in NZ. We analysed participation and pass rates for sets of achievement standards that contribute to the standards based National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), the main national school qualification (http://www.nzqa. govt.nz/qualifications-standards/qualifications/ncea/). These analyses showed that the rates at which students in the low-SES schools in the study participated in, and attained, key high literacy achievement standards were markedly lower than for schools nationally. Literacy instruction data were derived from observations of 104 teachers working with Year 12 (approximately 17 years old) students comprising 28 biology, 39 English and 37 mathematics teachers. Results from the classroom observations indicated that students had comparatively few opportunities to read longer, more complex subject-area texts and that instructional approaches commonly cited in the literature as effective in raising students’ subject area literacy, strategy instruction and extended discussion, were infrequently observed in this study. Infrequent too were teaching about language features (such as nominalisation) in mathematics or biology lessons and teaching to develop students’ critical literacy.

Talking Across the Divide: English Teachers Respond to the NCEA

The implementation of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement as a single, senior secondary school qualification in New Zealand has been a fraught process marked by a good deal of acrimonious debate. This article reports on a research project that brought together two groups of secondary English teachers, one self-described as in favour of the NCEA and one as opposed to it. Both groups were invited to describe aspects of their practice, share their views on aspects of the NCEA and engage in a focus group where they explored these views with other teachers. Certain predictable trends were found in the responses of both groups but there was also an interesting degree of convergence. On the basis of this convergence, a possible way forward for reform of the NCEA is suggested.

Searching for Standards in the NCEA: Assessing Musical Performance

In this paper it is argued that the theory and practice of standardsbased assessment within the context of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) has not been clearly articulated for teachers. The difficulty of specifying and promulgating standards in appropriate forms and the lack of clarity present in the support materials and training provided for teachers are examined. Through the analysis of an internally assessed Music Achievement Standard currently available in the NCEA, it will be argued that standards can be neither definitively described nor easily assessed, but that a credible standard is reliant on a number of components. It is the combination of these components that is significant if standards are to function effectively in summative contexts, particularly for high stakes national qualifications. The support materials and training music teachers received during the introduction of the NCEA lacked clarity and this has resulted in a weak link in the chain of components required for a robust assessment system. Teachers need access to quality support materials and the opportunity for on-going professional development in relation to standardsbased assessment.

How the admission criteria to a competitive-entry undergraduate programme could be improved

The introduction of a new standards-based secondary school assessment system, the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), necessitated significant changes to the admissions processes for New Zealand universities, particularly for competitive-entry programmes such as medicine, engineering and pharmacy. Selection to such programmes was traditionally based on marks or grades in designated science subjects. Under NCEA, the emphasis changed to the number of credits obtained. This article uses the case of pharmacy at The University of Auckland to examine whether the admission criteria under NCEA are ‘fit for purpose’ in terms of academic progression during the degree. The negative consequences of students having to repeat courses are both academic and financial. Using data from six cohorts of NCEA entrants to the Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) degree, the findings of this study clearly suggest that the best predictor of course success, measured by not failing courses, is the NCEA Grade Point Average. This is at variance with the current practice for admission to pharmacy and other limited-entry degrees which rely on prerequisite courses and the number of NCEA Credits gained. These results suggest that a reappraisal of admissions processes for pharmacy and similar programmes is required.

The shortage of students studying languages for NCEA Level 3

In recent years Learning Languages has become a learning area in its own right in the New Zealand curriculum, and there have been initiatives to facilitate more language learning in primary and intermediate schools. Less has been done to increase the number of students in senior secondary classes. This article outlines the findings of a study into the number of students studying international languages at National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 3, both nationally and in individual schools, and examines contributing policies and practices.