Ragne Maxwell: Porirua College principal defends move to cancel NCEA literacy tests

Porirua College's principal is doubling down on the school's decision to cancel NCEA literacy tests.

Students must pass the new online literacy and numeracy tests to receive their NCEA qualifications, but there are alternatives this year and the next year while the new curriculum is brought in.

Ragne Maxwell says half of all students countrywide are failing the tests - and they're overloaded.

"We are asked to put the students in for assessments when we feel they have a realistic chance of success. We don't think this is that."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Together do for ce Ellen.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
Today's the first day of a fortnight in which NCEEA
pupils across the country are expected to sit there new
literacy and numerous the exams, but poured her to a
college's principles, pupils rather won't be The school is canceled
the literacy exams because the kids aren't prepared. Put it
to a principal. Ragna Maxwell is with us. Now, Hey, hello, Cura,
why aren't your students ready to sit the tests?

Speaker 1 (00:25):
There's just too much going on at the moment. They've
got internals in all their subjects. They a number of
those internals are now being marked externally and being set
in exam conditions in school, so they're having like exams
are gone for five periods during a week. Essentially, they've
got the numerous sea test happening and they're just getting

(00:45):
into absolute overload.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
But if other kids around the country can do it,
why can't yours?

Speaker 1 (00:51):
Well, the question is what chance is success to people have.
We're already seeing, you know, almost half of the country
failing these tests, so actually they can't manage the tests
even at other times when they're less pressured. We are
asked to put the students in for assessments when we
feel they have a realistic chance of success. We don't

(01:11):
think this is that Is.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
It the right thing to cancel or is it the
right thing actually to get the kids ready for it?
I mean, do you know what I mean? It feels
slightly defeatist.

Speaker 1 (01:23):
No, it's not defeatists at all, because this is not
the only way the students can get literacy. They can
also get literacy through internal standards, and so that is
a much more likely way for many of them to
get it. And as we give them a bit more
time to finish completing their internals, far fewer of them
will even need to give the tests to go.

Speaker 2 (01:41):
Will they be ready when these tests are compulsory in
twenty twenty six?

Speaker 1 (01:47):
I don't think we're ever going to have all of
our students ready to prove that they are literate in
a high stakes examination environment. That has always been a situation.
There are lots of people who do not perform in
tests but who are illiterate.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
Okay, Ragna, thank you very much, really appreciated this Rugno Maxwell,
who is the porta do a college principle?

Speaker 1 (02:09):
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