2008 NCEA Survey Results

Survey results teachers' and candidates' views of the 2008 NCEA and Scholarship assessments, and of Principals' Nominees on the procedures surrounding the NCEA.

The following are summaries of the results of surveys that the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) undertakes annually following the completion of National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) and New Zealand Scholarship examinations for that year.

Please note that this summary report is not intended to provide an in-depth analysis of differences and trends identified.

Interpretations of the findings should consider the level of response to the surveys, especially of the smaller response rates, as these may bring potential bias.

CONTENTS

2008 Survey of NCEA Candidates - Summary

In 2008, candidates being assessed for standards contributing to NCEA levels 1, 2 and 3 were given the opportunity to comment on their assessment experience. The survey was posted to the home addresses of 1,800 randomly selected candidates entered for at least one external standard at levels 1, 2, or 3 (600 students were selected at each level). A total of 248 surveys were returned from NCEA candidates, representing a response rate of 13%. This low response rate may bias the result.

The 2008 survey sought information on candidates' profiles, experiences of external assessments, perceptions of internal versus external assessment, external assessment supervision and perception of endorsed certificates.

NCEA respondents' profile

• More females responded to the survey than males, particularly at level 3 where 61% of those returning surveys were female.
  
  
• Across levels 1, 2 and 3, the majority of candidates (82%) entered 80 credits or more with most candidates (77%) entering between 80 and 159 credits.
  
  
• Overall, 66% of candidates entered over 20 standards (including unit, internal and external achievement standards). On average, level 1 candidates attempted a higher number of standards than levels 2 and 3 candidates (43, compared with 40 and 24). This may be due to the fact that candidates need 80 credits for level 1 but only 60 for levels 2 and 3.
  
  
• While 26% of level 1 candidates responding to the survey had withdrawn from external achievement standards once they were entered for them, this increased to 32% for level 2 and 50% for level 3 candidates. The most common reasons given for withdrawing were that they ran out of time to complete a standard, they were not prepared for the examination, did not know the topic well enough, or that it was too difficult.

External assessment experience

• Over 82% of respondents reported that the written instructions and the questions in the examinations were clear and easy to understand "most"or "all of the time".
  
  
• Overall, 33% of candidates ran out of time in an examination session. This varied greatly by the level studied, with 59% and 67% of those studying at levels 2 and 3 running out of time compared to only 30% of level 1 candidates.

Internal versus external assessments

• Overall, 60% of candidates preferred mostly internal assessment. The proportion preferring internal assessment was slightly higher among level 3 candidates (78%) and slightly lower among level 2 candidates (41%). Reasons for preferring internal assessment included that it was less stressful, that the knowledge was fresh in their minds, and that internal assessments were spread throughout the year rather than in one concentrated examination period.
  
  
• Overall, 47% of candidates believed internal assessment was a better measure of learning compared to only 13% of candidates considering external assessment a better measure of learning. One third of candidates considered an even mixture of internal and external assessments measures learning better. Further, 41% of candidates did not think it was important whether their credits came from internal or external assessment.

External assessment supervision

• Candidates were positive about the examination supervision, reporting that the supervisors gave clear instructions before each examination started and that the supervision was quiet and non-distracting.

NCEA endorsed certificates 

• Overall, 74% of candidates expressed that the possibility of gaining a merit or excellence endorsement on their NCEA certificate gave them at least a small increase in motivation to achieve higher grades. The most common reasons for being motivated by NCEA certificate endorsements were that they wanted to be recognised as having achieved better than others, or that it would assist them in the future (e.g. for getting into University or being noticed by employers).

2008 Survey of SCHOLARSHIP Candidates - Summary

In 2008, candidates sitting Scholarship examinations were given the opportunity to comment on their assessment experience. The Scholarship candidate survey was posted to the home addresses of 500 randomly selected candidates entered for at least one Scholarship subject. A total of 110 surveys were returned from Scholarship candidates, representing a response rate of 22%. This low response rate may bias the result.

The 2008 survey sought information on Scholarship candidates' profiles, Scholarship examination experience and examination supervision.

Scholarship respondents' profile 

• Most Scholarship respondents were Year 13 students (85%); the remainder were in Year 12. More females (62%) responded to the Scholarship survey than males (38%).
  
  
• Candidates most commonly sat one Scholarship examination (42%), although 14% sat Scholarship in four or five subjects. Candidates commonly reported that they chose to sit Scholarship for the monetary awards, personal challenge, or for the experience/practice.
  
  
• Scholarship candidates, on average, attempted 122 credits, slightly higher than the average for level 3 candidates (99).
  
  
• About one in four candidates withdrew from a Scholarship subject after they had entered it. The main reason for withdrawing was that they lacked the time to study for the exams, or that they focused on other exams instead.

Scholarship examination experience

• Over half of Scholarship candidates considered the level of difficulty of Scholarship examinations to be "about right", but 21% rated them as "difficult" or "very difficult". Over two thirds (70%) of candidates considered that the examinations were "a fair test of their ability".
  
  
• The majority (87%) of Scholarship respondents claimed they were "well" or "very well prepared" for their assessments. A further 49% reported they were "kind of prepared".
  
  
• Overall, 60% of Scholarship candidates considered that the time allowed for assessments was "about right". Thirty five percent (35%) of candidates left at least one Scholarship examination early.
  
  
• Scholarship candidates' suggestions for improvements to Scholarship examinations included the timing of the examinations within the overall examination schedule. It was generally agreed that Scholarship should take place after level 3 examinations.

Scholarship examination supervision

2008 Teachers' survey - Summary

In 2008, teachers were given the opportunity to comment on the NCEA and Scholarship external assessments. Five paper copies of each survey (levels 1, 2 and 3) and an email with a link to an online survey were sent to 442 secondary schools with external NCEA entries, inviting teachers to comment on their subject's examination. Schools with students entered for Scholarship (n=323) were also surveyed on Scholarship examination. Feedback was requested for all subjects at level 3, while selected subjects were chosen at levels 1 and 2.

A total of 1011 surveys were returned from NCEA teachers, representing 1999 responses (33-38% responses from schools for Levels 1-3 surveys) while 187 surveys were returned from Scholarship teachers, representing 257 responses (25%). This year for the first time teachers were able to respond either online or via a hard copy. About two thirds of responses were via a hard copy and the remaining online.

2008 NCEA Teachers Survey

Similar to 2007, overall teachers' feedback was positive about the 2008 NCEA external assessments in the following aspects:

Content and the level of difficulty

Teachers generally agreed that the tasks provided good coverage of the achievement criteria and those questions were communicated clearly and precisely. The reading level was rated as "suitable" for the year level of students, with slightly fewer teachers (over 75%) rating the overall difficulty level as "suitable".

Clarity of instructions

The majority of teachers (87%) agreed that the instructions were clear and appropriate, and that the assessment specifications were helpful.

Layout of answer booklets & resource material

Over 90% of teachers rated the layout of the answer booklets highly in terms of space for planning, space for full written answers, and room for drawing diagrams. Similarly, teachers also rated the resource material highly in the clarity of diagrams, photos, and accompanying information.

Suggested time

Averaging across all standards, the majority of teachers rated the suggested time as"sufficient". The remaining teachers in general were more likely to report that the suggested time was short rather than long.

Preference of survey response format

Overall, 34-37% of the NCEA levels 1, 2 and 3 teachers preferred to complete NZQA surveys online while about 15-20% favoured paper survey. The rest of teachers did not mind if the survey was online or on paper.

2008 Scholarship Teachers Survey

Teachers' feedback about the 2008 Scholarship examinations was positive; between 76% and 97% of Scholarship teachers were satisfied with the content, instructions, layouts of the answer booklets and resource material and the level of difficulty of the Scholarship examinations.

• More than 90% of respondents agreed that there was appropriate coverage of the subject, and that question depth and breadth was appropriate. There was also strong agreement that questions were communicated clearly and precisely.
  
  
• The clarity and appropriateness of instructions were rated highly by the majority of Scholarship teachers.
  
  
• The layouts of the answer booklets and resource material were rated highly by the majority of the Scholarship respondents.
  
  
• Averaging across all Scholarship subjects, around two thirds of respondents believed that the suggested completion time was "sufficient".
  
  
• Over three quarters of respondents rated the overall difficulty level of their Scholarship examinations as"suitable"for Scholarship students, with 15% of teachers stating the examinations were a "a little too difficult" or "very difficult".

2008 Principal's Nominees End of Year Survey - Summary

In November 2008, an email was sent and a paper survey distributed via circular (SecQual Circular 2008 – 033) to all 442 Principals' Nominees inviting them to provide feedback on the various procedures surrounding the NCEA. A total of 331 surveys were returned, representing a response rate of 75% from schools.

The survey consisted of four parts: school liaison, monitoring and reporting, external moderation, the process for entries and results and the responsiveness of NZQA to queries.

School liaison, monitoring and reporting

• Eighty-four percent (84%) of schools attended at least one meeting with their School Relationship Manager (SRM) in 2008. Over 80% of the Principals' Nominees rated their meeting(s) with SRMs as "useful" or"very useful".
  
  
• Principals' Nominees were also positive about the various SRMs' visits (e.g. the managing national assessment visits) with 83% of those visited rating them as "useful" or "very useful".
  
  
• Overall, SRMs' support was highly regarded by Principals' Nominees. A number of Principals' Nominees stated that interactions with SRMs reinforced their schools' good practices and offered practical suggestions when improvements were recommended.
  
  
• Most information sources the survey asked about were rated as "useful" or "very useful" by at least 95% of Principals' Nominees; this included the NZQA website, the 2008 improvement to the school security login sections, high and low security school login pages on the website for the Principals' Nominees, assessment matters circulars and new subject-specific web pages. Scholarship circulars were rated as 88% "useful" or "very useful". Many Principals' Nominees commented that teachers at their school did not, or would not, use the low security login sections for teachers.
  
  
• Overall, 89% of Principals' Nominees stated that they attended one of the Principals' Nominees Seminars held in February / March 2008.

External moderation

• Over 91% of Principals' Nominees considered external moderation to be"useful" or "very useful" in providing reassurance for teachers and for informing future assessment practice; even higher proportions (over 93%) of Principals' Nominees perceived that the annual national moderation report and more detailed feedback in the subject moderation reports were"useful" or "very useful"for subject teachers. Seventy-five percent of Principals' Nominees regarded the option to submit their own evidence for specific feedback as "useful" or "very useful".
  
  
• Overall, 86% of schools reported that individual subject moderator reports were returned in a timely manner "most" or "all of the time".
  
  
• Sixty-five percent (65%) of schools use the National Moderator reports across "most" or "all" departments.

Entries and results

Ninety-one percent (91%) of Principals' Nominees rated the process for submitting entries and results to NZQA as "good" or "excellent".

Responsiveness of NZQA staff to Principals' Nominees' queries

The majority of the Principals' Nominees (93%) rated the responsiveness of NZQA staff to their queries as "good" or "excellent".

2007 NCEA Survey Results | 2006 NCEA Survey Results

Page updated: 16 June 2009