SecQual

Alignment of New Zealand Scholarship performance standards
S2011/057 - 29 Nov 2011

Alignment of New Zealand Scholarship performance standards

NZQA and the Ministry of Education have begun work on aligning the New Zealand Scholarship performance standards to the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC). This work follows on from the alignment of the level 1 to 3 achievement standards. As for level 3, the aligned New Zealand Scholarship performance standards will take effect from 2013.

The parameters for the current Scholarship performance standards were developed in 2004 when Level 3 of NCEA was first established. These 2004 Scholarship standards relate to the level 8 achievement objectives of earlier curriculum documents (or an equivalent body of knowledge). They assume curriculum knowledge and skills from lower level achievement objectives, and tend to cover the knowledge and skills represented across all the level 3 achievement standards for subjects that have an overall credit limit of 24. Hence, level 3 courses currently offered tend to include assessment against most or all of the available achievement standards.

Assessment against all available achievement standards will not be feasible in the future. One outcome of the alignment of standards with the NZC is an increase in the overall number of achievement standards, and hence, an increase in the total available credits through achievement standards at each level of the NCEA. This increase has made possible the assessment of knowledge and skills previously assessed using unit standards. A consequence of this increase is that schools can retain flexibility in course design to meet the particular interests and needs of their students. Schools will need to continue to ensure that their course pathways include critical aspects of any subject, for students intending to pursue further study. This includes preparation for New Zealand Scholarship.

The parameters of the newly aligned Scholarship performance standards are expected to be similar to those for the current standards. The newly aligned standards will still be derived from the achievement objectives at level 8 of the NZC and/or related documents and assume lower level knowledge and skills. Scholarship examination papers or formats of assessment for 2013 are not expected to differ significantly from those for 2011 or 2012. Schools should continue to follow the same approach they have used in the past to prepare their students for examinations in 2013 and thereafter.

Enquiries

Please refer any enquiries relating to this circular to your School Relationship Manager.

School Relationship Manager
School Quality Assurance and Liaison
Telephone: 04 463 3000
Email: firstname.lastname@nzqa.govt.nz