Ruth Shinoda: Education Review Office Deputy CEO on the number of schools dropping NCEA Level 1

More schools are dropping NCEA Level 1.  

An Education Review Office review has found it's not a fair or reliable measure of knowledge and skills, and needs substantial change.  

Less than three-quarters of schools plan to offer NCEA Level 1 next year. 

ERO's Ruth Shinoda told Mike Hosking that in more affluent communities, it's less than half.  

She says three quarters of school leaders say the credits students receive don't reflect an equal amount of work or degree of difficulty. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now the potential tinker with then cea. This time we've
got Level one which is in need of substantial reform.
Their words, not mine. The Education Review Office doesn't think
the current curriculum is a fair or reliable measure of
knowledge and skills. Report was requested by the government back
in April, and those findings are out this morning. The
ero's deputy Chief Executive rout Shinoda back with us. Good morning.
Your view generally of this whole Level one thing, we

(00:22):
don't seem to have got it right. There's a lot
of mucking around, many people don't like it. Where are
we at with it?

Speaker 2 (00:28):
We certainly need to reform. It is just not yet
a reliable, credible, fair measure of students' knowledge.

Speaker 1 (00:35):
Is that the problem with the schools who don't use it,
or no matter what you do, some won't use it.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
So schools are opting out, as you said, next year,
lesson thry quarters nationally are going to be using it
in an arm or appent communities. It's less than half.
What they're saying to us is if not a reliable
measure of skills and knowledge. Sixty percent of teachers say
that an example that's fairness point is three quarters of
leaders say that the credit students get onto an equal
amount of work equally difficult. Schools offer a real variety

(01:02):
of number of credits. Some kids can be offered sixty
just what they need. Some got one hundred and twenty,
so it doesn't give them an equal chance. And then
when it comes to assessment, it's not equally difficult. If
you did an internal assessment, something marked in your school,
you're twice as likely to get a good grade like
an excellence. Then if you did something externally so that
other schools are dropping it because of the issue around burnout,

(01:23):
just too much assessment three years in a row.

Speaker 1 (01:26):
Okay, so a couple of things there, this business of
getting an excellent smark, and you're more likely internally than externally.
Is that NCA level one or is that the teacher's
not doing the job properly.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
It's a bit how NCA one's design. So there's a
lot of different things that can be offered that different
ways of being assessed, different standards, And what teachers and
leaders are telling us is they're not equally hard, and
that means it's not equally difficult for students or equally
easy for students, they don't have an equal chance at it.
And teachers are also really concerned about it not setting
up students well friends a level two because most students

(01:59):
do continue you into school into level two, and it's
just not setting them up with the knowledge they need.

Speaker 1 (02:04):
Why isn't it top down instructed to do it all
the same all over the country, only a third off
of all four parts of a course. Why why don't
you just sit the rules do it and then that
will partially won't it solve your problem?

Speaker 2 (02:15):
So that's one of the things we're saying we need
to perform. We're saying, Look, first of all, let's have
a look at NJA level one, two three together those
last three years of schooling, so we really want three
years of back to back assessment. We look at other countries,
they don't do that. And then if we do want
an assessment here, as you said, let's have greater consistency
of what students are taught. So let's get that curriculum
right first and then assess it, and then let's reduce

(02:38):
this variability so it's equal amounts of work, equal chances
of success.

Speaker 1 (02:41):
All right, I appreciate it. Ruth Shanida the ro's wty
chief executive. For more from the mic Asking Breakfast, listen
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