SecQual

Initiatives to reduce teachers NCEA workload – implications for schools
S2011/048 - 25 Oct 2011

Initiatives to reduce teachers' NCEA workload – implications for schools

Education Minister Anne Tolley has announced a series of measures to help address issues raised by secondary teachers as they implement the newly aligned achievement standards for NCEA Levels 1, 2, and 3 over the next two years.

The support measures include:

• Two teacher only professional development days in 2012 and a further two in 2013

• Additional assessment resources

• Changes to external moderation

• Fees-free Moderation Best Practice Workshops.

Two teacher only professional development days in 2012 and a further two days in 2013

These professional development days must be utilised for planning and preparation of the new curriculum-aligned standards.  Schools have the discretion to set the professional development days at a suitable time during the school year.  If required, schools could create more time by extending the school year.

Additional assessment resources

Additional assessment resources in a range of subjects, including Mathematics and Statistics, Science, and Technology, will be progressively developed by the Ministry of Education through 2012 to support the new NCEA vocational pathways.

The resources, which are for the achievement standards identified as contributing towards the vocational pathways, will utilise industry contexts and be available for all teachers.

Changes to external moderation

Changes to moderation have been enacted to put more focus on professional dialogue through external moderation.  These include:

• fewer standards selected overall

• fewer submissions rounds

• selection of targeted standards

• an increase in places at Moderation Best Practice Workshops (see below).

Schools will be notified of their new external moderation submission date by the end of 2011.  Submission rounds will be from April to November.  School Relationship Managers will provide details of the new arrangements to individual schools in due course.

In addition, there are changes to the mechanism for measuring teacher/moderator agreement.  The bulk of standards selected for moderation will be selected by NZQA in discussion with schools. This method will not have agreement rates calculated as it is purely for professional dialogue between teachers and moderators.  The changes provide an opportunity to not only give targeted professional feedback but an ability to focus on areas of poor performance.

A separate and smaller randomly selected sample of student work will be gathered.  Teacher/moderator agreement rates will be calculated and reported for NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3. 

This targeted approach will lead to a reduction in compliance activities and external moderation for schools.

Contact your School Relationship Manager if you have any questions.

Fees-free Moderation Best Practice Workshops for external moderation

The registration fee for Moderation Best Practice Workshops for external moderation (currently $120 per teacher) has been waived for 2012.  In addition, the Minister has announced 1420 extra places will be available to teachers for workshops in 2012. 

Background to initiatives to reduce teachers' NCEA workload

These measures stem from recommendations of the NCEA Workload Advisory Group.  The group was established to identify the main areas of high workload for teachers associated with delivering NCEA and proposing recommendations to reduce teacher workload.

More information, including group membership, the group’s full recommendations and the NZQA and Ministry of Education response to the recommendations, is available at www.nzqa.govt.nz/workload-advisory-group

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
Fax: 04 463 3113
Email: firstname.lastname@nzqa.govt.nz