S - Z Glossary

SAQA	South African Qualifications Authority. (Go to the SAQA website)
Scholarship	New Zealand Scholarship is a monetary award to recognize top students. It does not attract credits nor contribute towards a qualification. Scholarship candidates will be assessed against challenging standards, and the examinations will be demanding for the most able students in each subject.	Back to A-Z menu
School Certificate	secondary school qualification withdrawn in 2003 when NCEA became me the national secondary school qualification.
SCOTBAC	Scottish Baccalaureate.
SCOTVEC	Scottish Vocational Education Council.
SCUNQ	standard classification of units and national qualifications. Includes fields, sub-fields and domains. (See also classification; more details on the NZQA website)
self-assessment	a process in which a learner assesses his/her own achievements and progress.	Back to A-Z menu
self-evaluation	a method by which providers judge their own effectiveness against good practice criteria and compliance with NZQA's registration and accreditation requirements; providers must report their findings to NZQA after self-evaluation.
SFC	Sixth Form Certificate.
Sixth Form Certificate	secondary school award withdrawn in 2003, generally taken by learners in year 12 (form 6) of school. Required at least four hours of supervised study per week in each subject. In 2003, most schools offered NCEA level 2 instead of Sixth Form Certificate. Schools could also offer a transitional Sixth Form Certificate in 2003 and 2004 instead of or in addition to NCEA level 2.
Sixth Form Certificate (transitional)	award available in 2003 and 2004, distinguishable from the Sixth Form Certificate by the term 'transitional' because it will not be possible to base school grade pools on the previous year's School Certificate results. Schools can offer the same courses with the transitional certificate, and no new courses will be approved.
SPANZ	Secondary Principals' Association of New Zealand. (Go to the SPANZ website)	Back to A-Z menu
SPBEA	South Pacific Board for Educational Assessment.
SQA	Scottish Qualifications Authority. (Go to the SQA website)
SSC	State Services Commission. (Go to the SSC website)
STA	School Trustees Association. (Go the the New Zealand STA website)
standards	(i) defined learning outcomes, together with performance or assessment criteria examples of their interpretation and application, and associated quality assurance processes. (See also unit standard and achievement standard) (ii) defined organisational or systems criteria, together with performance indicators.	Back to A-Z menu
standards-based assessment	process of judging learner achievement against defined standards.
standard-setting bodies	a collective term that covers industry training organisations and advisory groups; these organisations are recognised by NZQA as nationally representative of experts in a particular field for the purposes of establishing standards for national qualifications.
STAR	Secondary Tertiary Alignment Resource, a Ministry of Education initiative. (See the MoE website for more information)
sub-field	an area of learning within a field of the National Qualifications Framework; defined in the National Qualifications Framework Classification System.
sufficiency	refers to evidence of assessment. Sufficient evidence will establish with confidence that all criteria have been met and that performance to the required standard could be repeated with consistency.	Back to A-Z menu
supervisor	a person employed by NZQA to assist in the supervision of examinations, under the direction of the Examination Centre Manager.
TAFE	Technical and Further Education (= Australian Polytechnic).
TAM	Tertiary Assessment and Moderation, a NZQA business unit.
TEC	Tertiary Education Commission. (Go to the TEC website)
TEFA	Technology Education Federation of Australia. (Go to the TEFA website)	Back to A-Z menu
TEFANZ	Teaching Education Forum of Aotearoa New Zealand. (Go to the TEFANZ website)
tertiary education	post-secondary education; includes learning undertaken in the workplace as well as with providers.
TKI	Te Kete Ipurangi. (Go to the TKI website)
TKR	Te Kohanga Reo.
TNA	training needs analysis.	Back to A-Z menu
TOP	training opportunities programme.
Top Scholar awards	the Top Scholars Awards are the new awards for excellence for secondary school students. These awards replace the Top Scholars in University Bursaries.
TQM	total quality management
Trade Certificate	(See the Trade Certificate page on this website)
transition	transition arrangements must be specified whenever the introduction of a new qualification will impact on existing qualifications. Transition arrangements refer to the short-to-medium-term arrangements that are put in place to ensure that no one is disadvantaged by changes made to qualifications; that pathways from the former qualification(s) to the new one(s) exist for all current candidates; or that candidates are granted sufficient time to complete the qualification(s) they embarked upon.	Back to A-Z menu
TRB	Teacher Registration Board (now the New Zealand Teachers Council.) (Go to the NZTC website)
UB	University Bursaries. (See University Entrance, Bursaries and Scholarship)
UEBS	University Entrance, Bursaries and Scholarship.
unit standard	a nationally registered, coherent set of learning outcomes and associated performance criteria, together with technical and management information that supports delivery and assessment. All unit standards are registered on the National Qualifications Framework, assigned a level and a credit value, and may contribute to the award of a National Certificate or Diploma.
university entrance	the common educational standard established, after consultation with the universities and the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors' Committee, and maintained by NZQA as a prerequisite for entrance to university for people who have not attained the age of 20 years (under section 257, Education Act 1989).	Back to A-Z menu
University Entrance, Bursaries and Scholarships	qualification usually taken by learners at the end of year 13 (form 7). Candidates can qualify for entrance to university, gain monetary awards (A and B Bursaries) and be awarded scholarships for high achievement in individual subjects. Candidates who gain five or six scholarship grades receive monetary awards as part of the Top Scholar awards.
user group	those who gain direct or indirect benefit from a qualification and its component unit standards or achievement standards; generally includes students, qualified individuals, professional associations and employers; users may be represented, along with providers, in a standards-setting body.
valid assessment	assessment that achieves fitness for purpose by using evidence directly related to the type and level of performance required in a specified standard, and by being fair and consistent. (See also fair assessment)
VEETAC	Vocational Education Employment and Training Advisory Committee (Australia).
verification	check marking of up to eight samples of internally assessed student work by someone other that original marker.
wānanga	an organisation recognised as a wānanga by the Crown under the Education Amendment Act 1990, section 162.	Back to A-Z menu

Page updated: 27 June 2006