QA News April 2010 - Issue 67

• Chief Executive's foreword
• Course Endorsement to add further motivation for students
• Top Art on tour
• More students gain NCEA endorsed certificates
• Literacy and numeracy standards proposed
• NZ Scholarship results
• Changes to the qualifications system
• TEOs encouraged to do business online
• External reviews of value
• Deregistration a possibility for non-complying PTEs
• Exemplars for internal standards now online
• Best Practice Workshops
• Workshops for teachers and whanau

Literacy and numeracy standards proposed

Six new literacy and numeracy draft unit standards have been proposed.

They identify the literacy and numeracy demands required to fully participate in work, community, learning and family life. These draft unit standards are intended for use in secondary and tertiary education, and in the workplace. In schools, they will provide one way of achieving the literacy and numeracy requirements for NCEA level 1.

The standards were developed by two teams of people, representative of the three target sectors:

• the Project Advisory Group, which includes literacy and numeracy specialists, provided guidance on the essential skills that should be included in the standards
• the writing panel, which includes specialist numeracy and literacy practitioners, wrote the standards.

Both groups include secondary teachers, tertiary educators, and people involved in workplaces. A targeted consultation within each sector contributed to the current draft of the standards.

The standards are for reading, writing, and speaking and listening, and for measurement, number, and statistics. They are at NQF level 1 and will be registered in time for use in 2011. The final form of these standards will be determined by current consultation and a range of trials in all three contexts for which they have been designed.

The understanding of numeracy and literacy that underpins these standards is based on people being able to operate effectively in their everyday lives. The evidence requirements for these unit standards therefore must be drawn from authentic contexts, i.e. naturally occurring evidence that arises from what people actually do or are required to do. In the standards, authentic contexts are described as being "part of the candidate’s everyday life and may include their classroom, their workplace, other contexts". This lends itself to assessment via portfolio.

These standards will be supported by a guidance document and assessment support material which will be freely available. This material was developed by literacy and numeracy practitioners from the three sectors.

For more information, or to give feedback, contact Marcia Isles and/or Michel Norrish, 04 463 3000 or National Qualifications Services.