Parent Information about NCEA – 2018 Samuel Marsden Whitby Parent Information about NCEA – 2018

Contents Subjects – how many Achievement Standards and credits NCEA - what it is and requirements Assessments Internal Achievement Standards External Achievement Standards Policy and procedures - meeting deadlines, illness, authenticity Special Assessment Conditions (SAC) Examinations School examinations NCEA examinations Exam clashes Derived grades Checking assessments and entries Ultranet NZQA students NSN numbers

Subject choices Maths and Science - compulsory until the end of Year 11 English - compulsory until the end of Year 12 Students also do RE, SHAPE and have study periods. In Year 11 – choose 3 options (6 subjects) In Year 12 – choose 5 options (6 subjects) In Year 13 - choose 5 options (5 subjects)

Subjects - standards and credits Every subject is made up of internal and external Achievement Standards (PE is the exception) Most subjects consist of 2-3 internal Achievement Standards and 2-3 external Achievement Standards A subject may have a total of between 16 and 24 credits available (specific information has been shared with your child through Google Classroom) A Level 1, 2 and 3 course of study will have plenty of credits available to meet the minimum requirements In Year 10 students have the opportunity to complete some internal Achievement Standards so that they can become familiar with the process; credits gained are a bonus.

Achievement Standards and Credits Achievement Standards are an assessment (test/assignment) which covers a topic The Achievement Standards are all or nothing Each Achievement Standard is worth a certain number of credits (often 3 or 4) All qualifications are based on how many credits are gained from the Achievement standards entered into Credits can be assigned as Achieved, Merit, Excellence or Not Achieved

NCEA Level 1- usually Year 11 Need 80 Level 1 credits and of these 10 need to be in literacy and 10 need to be numeracy credits Level 2 – usually Year 12 20 credits from Level 1 60 credits at Level 2 Level 3 – usually Year 13 20 credits from Level 2 60 credits at Level 3

University Entrance To gain University Entrance you need to have the following: NCEA Level 3 Three subjects at Level 3, made up of 14 credits each, in three approved subjects (all our courses are) Literacy – 10 credits at level 2 or above, made up of 5 credits in reading and 5 credits in writing Numeracy - 10 credits at level 1 or above.

Scholarship – Year 13 Sat as a separate examination in November with the other NCEA examinations Provides recognition and monetary reward to top students in their last year of schooling These exams enable candidates to be assessed against challenging standards, and are demanding for the most able candidates in each subject Candidates are expected to demonstrate high-level critical thinking, abstraction and generalisation, and to integrate, synthesise and apply knowledge, skills, understanding and ideas to complex situations

Scholarship (continued) Approximately 3 per cent of Year 13 students studying each subject at level 3 are awarded Scholarship, if they reach the standard that has been set Students usually choose to sit up to three Scholarship subjects (3 extra examinations) More information can be found on the NZQA website Discuss entering into the Scholarship examinations with your class teacher Tutorial time outside of school hours to prepare for these examinations

Endorsement HOWEVER Level 1, 2 or 3 Certificate Endorsement 50 credits at either Merit or Excellence Level Individual Subject Endorsement 14 Credits at Merit or Excellence with at least 3 internal credits and 3 external credits at that level HOWEVER PE is the exception to the internal/external rule; PE is fully internally assessed

Assessments Internal Achievement Standards: Completed during the year, set by class teachers, marked by class teachers Moderated internally and externally May be offered the chance to resubmit A few subjects have an opportunity to do a reassessment for an Achievement Standard The grade gained at school is the final grade awarded Reported to parents in the school reports

External Achievement Standards: Content taught at school Followed by a class test Examined in the school examinations – Monday 27-31 August The final grade is determined by the NCEA examinations which start 7 November. These are conducted and marked by NZQA Class tests or school examination grades are reported to parents in school reports. These are indicative only and have an ‘*’ next to them If a student is unable to sit a NCEA examination, or their performance is impaired when sitting the NCEA examinations, an application for a derived grade is made. Class tests and school examination results are used to determine this grade

Assessment Policy and Procedures: Year 10 - 13 – handbook to be kept at home Signed and returned a sheet to say you have read and understood these – students and parents/caregivers Copy on pages 17 – 20 in Yr 11-13 student planners On Ultranet – Academic - NCEA page Main Points to Note: Due dates – must be adhered to Illness/family distress/school trip – the student will complete the assessment immediately on return to school Electronic mishaps – not a legitimate excuse Authenticity – work must be the student’s own, in their own words, not copied. If work is proven to not be their own, a NOT ACHIEVED grade will be awarded

Special Assessment Conditions Entries made by the school by the end of Term 1 Entitlement confirmed June/July and students and parents formally notified of this by letter Students choose what conditions they wish to use for which subjects for the school and NCEA examinations Eg: If a student is entitled to use a reader/writer or computer use, they may choose to have a reader/writer for their English examination and use a computer for their Science examination. Any other queries regarding SAC entitlements need to go to Mrs Briony Bradley

School Examinations Level 1, 2 and 3 Held under NCEA examination conditions from 27-31 August Level 1 English examination held in Karori; all other examinations at Whitby Either 2 or 3 hours in duration – students can not leave if they finish early Students on study leave over this time, coming to school for their examinations only (or to study) Results sent in Interim Report at the end of Term 3 and in school reports early Term 4 Examination timetable and rules of conduct given to students, and emailed home, 2-3 weeks beforehand

NCEA Examinations Level 1, 2, 3 and Scholarship Start 7 November – students on study leave from Friday 2 Nov Examination timetable available online All of them held at Samuel Marsden Karori All examinations 3 hours – students can leave if they finish early Conducted by NZQA by external supervisors and marked by NZQA markers Results available mid-January online

A few anomalies MCAT – Level 1 91027 mathematics external Achievement Standard worth 4 credits. It is a one hour examination sat at school on 20 September. Marked by teachers at school under the guidance of NZQA Results not available until January along with other external standard grades

Digital Technology reports Level 1 - 3 credits; Level 2 and 3 - 4 credits Work completed in class and at home 14 page report produced All reports sent to external markers end October Results available mid-January

Art folios Work completed in class and at home Folio board produced Level 1 and 2; worth 12 credits Work completed in class and at home Folio board produced Marked at school by Karori and Whitby Art teachers Sample sent for moderation Results available mid-January Level 3; worth 14 credits All folio boards sent for external moderation

Level 1 Achievement Standards completed in year 10 These will be added to a student’s Record of Learning when they are in Year 11. Physical education Mathematics Business Studies English

Problems: Examination clashes School examinations – another time over the examination week will be arranged prior to the examinations starting NCEA examinations 2 way clash – rare, sit one examination in the morning and the other examination in the afternoon, supervised over lunch break 3 way clash – very rare, may have to be supervised over night! Any clashes will be identified early in Term 2 and how they will be managed discussed and formally notified to you by the end of Term 3

Derived grades Emergency grades Situations that qualify for a derived grade are clearly outlined on the NZQA website. They cannot be planned for! Results from in-class tests and school examinations are used for this Emergency grades Earthquakes, floods etc. Notification of what to do will be on the NZQA website. They cannot be planned for!

Lastly…. Ultranet – Whitby Google Classroom NZQA website Here you can find NCEA information Google Classroom Teachers share class information, resources, homework etc with students using this. Here you can find assessment planners and course outlines – ask your child to show you. NZQA website http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ - use the parent information area and search key terms to find out what you want to know

Continued…. NSN numbers and logins Year 12 and 13 students will have these and be using them to check results Year 11 students will get these at the end of Term 2. They can then set up their login and password Important to keep a record of login and password for future use Checking entries are correct – from July students will be able to check their entries online and the results they have so far Results mid-January – using their NSN login students will check their results for the NCEA examinations (no results are sent in the mail) Record of Learning – one free copy of this can be ordered using their NSN login (not automatically sent in the mail)

Fees for NCEA http://www.nzqa.govt.nz - search fees for information on this These are disbursed to your account in August/September Any other queries to sharron.morgan@marsdenwhitby.school.nz