Transcript 2014 NCEA Parent Information Evening Presentation


PRESENTATION TO PARENTS

FEBRUARY 26 2014
NCEA Level 1: WHS
86.2%
National 80.8%
NCEA Level 2: WHS
92.9%
National 84.3%
NCEA Level 3: WHS
84.2%
National 77.7%
The National Certificate of Educational Achievement

Assessment that recognises the wider talents of
students

NCEA is more than a mark or percentage.

Fair and sensible assessment

Uses a combination of internal and external
assessment.

Students need a total of 80 credits, including 10
literacy and 10 numeracy credits, to achieve NCEA
at Level 1.

NCEA Level 2 requires 60 credits at Level 2 and 20
credits at any other level, total of 80

NCEA Level 3 requires 60 credits at Level 3 or above
and 20 at Level 2 or above, total of 80

Standards Based Assessment which shows what students
know and can do. That is why each unit / topic of work is
called an Achievement Standard.

Each Standard describes the level of work students need to
produce. Achievement Standards are assessed and graded
as–
Not Achieve, Achieve, Merit and Excellence.
commonly shown as NA, A, M, E

There are clear and specific criteria that need to be reached
at each level to gain any of the above grades.

Most students will sit examinations at the end of the year
which are managed and marked by NZQA. (External
assessment)

Some Standards will be assessed by the school.(Internal
assessment) Subjects that are named with an ‘I’ mean that
they are all internally assessed.eg Sci 1, Eni1, Mai1

All WHS subjects will have some internal assessment which
recognises the importance of assessing laboratory skills,
fieldwork, research, participation, performance, skill mastery.

Internal assessments are moderated by independent
moderators who evaluate work from all schools around the
country.
NCEA qualifications are made up of a currency called
‘ credits’

Every standard is worth a set number of credits. ie Drama 1.1
is worth 4 credits. Drama 1.4 is worth 5.

Most full year courses at Wanganui High School will offer
between 18 – 22 credits.

A topic of work, known as an Achievement Standard may be
worth from 2 credits to 12 credits. A 2 credit unit will be
covered over a short time, a 12 credit unit will be covered
over a longer time period. ( Visual Art – 12 )

The grade of each type of credit achieved – A, M and E –
determines the quality of the certificate earned.

50 Merit credits or 50 Merit and Excellence credits combined
will allow the certificate to be endorsed with Merit.

50 Excellence credits earned will allow the certificate to be
endorsed with Excellence.

There are now Subject Endorsements. If a student earns 14
or more credits in a subject at Merit and / or Excellence, with
3 credits from Externals, and 3 from Internals, they will gain
a subject endorsement.

The higher the quality of NCEA Level 1, the better the
student’s prospects at L2, L3, and tertiary study
Literacy Requirements.

To gain NCEA Level 1 students must gain 10
Literacy credits which show a proven level of
reading and writing skills.

Literacy credits can be gained from several
subjects. There are no literacy requirements for
Level 2 and 3 NCEA.

In order to pass NCEA Level 1 students must gain
10 numeracy credits

Mostly gained from maths

WHS ( Thank you Mr Burrows! ) has created a
booklet to aid the gaining of these credits from
the Mai 1 course.

There can be only one resubmission opportunity for any
assessment. There is no further teaching allowed.

There can be only one reassessment opportunity for any
assessment. This is where a totally new task is given to
assess the Unit of work, and there may be further teaching
available.

Resubmissions and reassessments are not common

If the student misses an external examination, due
to acute medical reasons or bereavement, they can
apply for a Derived Grade.

This grade will be based on their Wanganui High
School examinations in September.

This is not an easy process and students are often
disappointed with their derived grade result.
Extensions:
If a student is absent on the day that an assessment is
due, or leading up to that assessment, the student can
apply beforehand, for an extension.
Extensions must be made on application to
Mrs Spooner. An Extension can only be given for
5 days, or 10 days at Principal’s discretion.
NZQA fees are $76.70
THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!
 In most subjects , in order to study at the next level, students
must gain at least 12 credits in the current level of study.

In some subjects, the Entry requirements are very specific ie:
students may need to have passed a specific Standard ( eg
Algebra in Maths ) or the External exam in order to move up
to the next level.

What subjects they can study at Level 2 impacts hugely on
Level 3 study and University Entrance.
http://www.wanganui-high.school.nz/

Some initiatives that Wanganui High School uses to improve
student achievement:
• The Student Diary:
All students should use this, or a device as their most important
management tool.
In the diary are:
•
Credit count sheet
•
Term Planner
•
Assessment dates
•
Weekly planner
•
Daily planner
Course Outlines – Assessment Schedules

Each subject has a course outline which tells the students when
their assessments are, to within a week.

All students will be asked to transfer those assessment dates
into their Student Diary Term Planner, and Weekly Planner.
Or……. students and families will be able to access this
information via the Ultranet. Here is an example.
This enables the students to see at a glance how busy their
schedule is, and encourages students to sensibly work towards
each assessment. It also encourages sound time management,
and an independent work ethic.


Academic Mentoring
Form teachers meet personally with each student 3 times a
year to discuss progress. Together they discuss long and short
term career and learning goals, current results, attendance,
pastoral history, student diaries, academic calendars, and plan
with each student how their optimum progress can be
reached.
Form teachers then feed back to the Deans, who may have
further conversations with subject teachers, and may contact
parents.
Merit Reward System





Early in Term 3 we assess the % of credits that a student has
earned. Once a student has earned 75% of their available
internally assessed credits they are granted Study Leave
during the Wanganui High School exams.
This is strongly promoted and students are encouraged to
reach that magic figure.
Students who have not met the criteria of 75% are timetabled
to remain at school working independently towards gaining
further credits during the 10 day examination period.
There are two very clear benefits– students work hard to
reach that figure, optimising their overall achievement .
We identify those students who are at risk, and are able to
plan further support and interventions.
MOST IMPORTANTLY…….
The year’s completed curriculum is
like a perfectly finished jigsaw the ‘whole picture’
Each lesson is a jigsaw piece.
Each absence is a missing jigsaw
piece.
Absences impact on the final jigsaw
It’s not the ‘whole picture’.
The best learning and achievement
takes place when you have the whole
picture.
-
To Students, Parents and Caregivers

Term 14 Week review of all students’ courses,
Interim Reports – simple report on attendance, effort, work, and homework
in each subject
Parent teacher interviews

Term 2 –
Student Feedback to teachers re own progress & classes,
Senior reports,
Parent teacher interviews

Term 3 –
Computer printout of NCEA results & external entries checked by students
Study Leave ( need 75% assessed credits to gain Study Leave )

Term 4 –
Senior Reports
All the Time………

Progress monitoring by Form Teachers, subject teachers, and
departments

Parents are contacted by subject teachers, Deans, AP if there
are concerns

Parents can get an update on students current progress by
contacting the School

At risk students are identified and closely monitored by Deans
and Senior Leadership Team.

We encourage students to aim for their best possible results









Ask lots of questions, about school, hwk, results, friends, classes,
teachers, life!
Look at the Ultranet regularly. Encourage your child to use it as a
planning tool.
Talk about getting Merit and Excellence credits, and earning Merit and
Excellence endorsed Level 1 ( 50 !! )
Talk about pathways of study, and future opportunities
Explore the Options 2014 page on the website
Praise all effort and achievement
Encourage extra curricular activity – the greater the connection to
school, the better the results
Ensure a balance of school, work and play
Contact the school – usually the Dean, if you have any concerns or want
information.
Be positive, all students want to do well.

Contact the Student Centre, ask for the appropriate person, i.e subject
teacher, Dean, AP.

For course selection, a booklet will be available for students.

Parent- teacher interviews.

The Wanganui High School website. This contains a section known as
the ULTRANET which can be accessed from your home computer.

www.wanganui-high.school.nz.

http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/

http://www.youthguarantee.net.nz/vocationalpathways/
www.wanganui-high.school.nz.

Click on ……..
“ Click here to see the 2014 NCEA Level 1
presentation for parents”