Hono-ā-īmēra mō ngā kura katoa #2

March 2022 EmaiLink 2

Rārangi Take ki tēnei Hono-ā-īmēra (EmaiLink) pānui

Nau mai, haere mai!

Welcome to the March 2022 newsletter EmaiLink 2.

Please refer to the online version of the Key Dates to ensure you have access to the most up to date information.

Key Dates for National Secondary Qualifications (external link)

General Administration and Data

Find out about:

  • Datafile submission
  • Candidate Information Sheets
  • Changes to University Entrance Literacy
  • 2022 Level One Literacy and Numeracy Standards
  • ECM recruitment for 2022
  • Memorandum of Agreement
  • Registering students for their Student Login
  • Reporting results in the year they are assessed
  • Reporting entries and results for draft achievement standards
  • New achievement standards pilot 2022

NCEA online

Digital practice exams 2022

Digital practice exams using NZQA’s online platform (Assessment Master) will be available to schools between 15 August and 30 September. Kaiako/teachers will have access to the platform from 1 August until 15 October, allowing time for preparation and marking. You might consider how best to use this window to offer digital practice exams on the NZQA platform as in-class assessment tasks, or as part of your own practice examination schedule, or both.

Subject Associations have agreed to provide digital practice exam content for all external standards in Agricultural and Horticultural Science, Business Studies, Classical Studies, English, Health, Home Economics, History, Media Studies, and Social Studies. NZQA has subject matter experts providing the same for Te Reo Māori and Te Reo Rangatira.

Content provided by Subject Associations will only be available from NZQA on the online platform. Printable versions will be available from the Subject Associations to their members only.  

The entry process has been streamlined. You will be able to manage your Digital Practice Exam entries by flagging them in your SMS, or in the School Portal for Web Entry schools.

More information about what you need to know and do will be provided in coming weeks.

Access to 2021 digital exams

Last year’s digital exams will be available on the NZQA website and via Student Logins from May. Until then students and teachers can access the 2020 exams to familiarise themselves with how digital exams work.

Find past digital external assessments (external link)

Network assurance checks

Contact your School Relationship Manager to register your interest in having a network assurance check on the suitability of your IT infrastructure for digital exams later in the year.  

Reminders

A2022/1 - New Zealand Sign Language – temporary removal of external credit requirement for course endorsement

A2022/2 - 2022 National School Qualifications: Candidate Information Sheets

A2022/3 - 2022 Assessment Specifications for NCEA and New Zealand Scholarship External Assessment

A2022/4 - Draft achievement standards added to base scope for schools. Reporting entries and results for draft achievement standards

2021 NCEA Statistics

The last refresh of the Principal’s Report will be on 28 April (data cut date 4 April).

Assessment Specifications 2022

Notification for 2022 Assessment Specifications was published in January.

2022 Assessment Specifications for NCEA and New Zealand Scholarship External Assessment: A2022/3 - 11 Mar 2022

Leading National Assessment seminars 2022

Unfortunately, due to the impacts of Covid-19, we were unable to host our usual Leading National Assessment seminars during Term One.

All going well, we will be able to offer a face-to-face seminar in Term Two. NZQA will be in contact once we have some certainty around this.

In the meantime, you should have received two resources designed to support school assessment practice:

  • PN Handbook 2022 Final
  • Handbook: Assessment in Uncertain Times

If you did not receive these resources, or you would like them sent again, please contact your School Relationship Manager.

Information for Staff

Approved calculators list for external assessments in 2022

Approved Calculator List (external link)

Assessor Support 2022

At the end of last year NZQA sent flyers and posters to schools promoting our new Online Assessor Support programme. If you would like to order more, please contact us at ams@nzqa.govt.nz.

Visit our Assessor Support - Assessment & Moderation web page to get more information and to share the spotlight videos, highlighting what materials are now available. Each NCEA subject page has also been updated with a list of modules for each subject. More material is being developed in 2022, based on teacher feedback.

Assessor Support - Assessment & Moderation (external link)

NCEA Subject Resources (external link)

National Moderator Reports

The National Moderator Report is published to give assessors an overview of general issues and trends identified during external moderation. These reports are available on the NCEA Subject Resources pages found on our website.

NCEA Subject Resources (external link)

Assessment & Moderation at NZQA would like to have feedback on the published reports from different learning departments/faculties in your school. At the end of each report there is a link to a short survey.

Moving Image portfolio submissions

The Assessment Specifications for 2022 govern the submission process. Please note candidates submitting a moving image portfolio can no longer send these on DVD. All moving image portfolios must be submitted electronically via an online submission process.

Assessment Reports from NCEA external assessments

Assessment Reports from external assessments in 2021 are now published on the subject pages of our website.

Special assessment conditions

SAC application deadline

The “first deadline” to submit SAC applications is the end of Term 1. This is not a closing date as applications can be submitted until the end of Term 3. However, the earlier that applications can be received, the quicker these can be considered and the sooner certainty can be provided to schools and students.

We are aware that some schools are facing delays in preparing and submitting applications as a result of current student and staff absences. Please be assured that students will not be disadvantaged if applications are made after the “first deadline”, although it may take longer to process applications received after this date.

If you have any concerns about preparing or submitting SAC applications, please contact sac@nzqa.govt.nz

Update contact information

We have noticed that the contact information for SENCOs continues to be out of date for many schools. This information is used to email important messages that will be missed if email addresses are wrong.

You may also want to add the contact information of any other staff involved in the SAC process, such as Learning Support Co-ordinators. Contact information is found on your schools’ NZQA Provider Login page at School’s Administration/Profile.

PN Checklist

  • Submit 1 April datafile
  • Review ECM recruitment for 2022
  • Update your results file in your SMS after the final statistics refresh
  • Distribute candidate information sheets
  • Advise teachers to check the March update of Assessment Specifications for NCEA and NZ Scholarship external exams
  • Consider the implications of the changes to UE Literacy
  • Register your interest for a network assurance check
  • Discuss participating in this year’s digital practice exams with teachers
  • Help students to register with NZQA and create a Student Login
  • Update SAC contact information