 PRESENTATION TO PARENTS  FEBRUARY

NCEA Level 1: WHS 86.2% National 80.8% NCEA Level 2: WHS 92.9% National 84.3% NCEA Level 3: WHS 84.2% National 77.7%

The National Certificate of Educational Achievement  Assessment that recognises the wider talents of students  NCEA is more than a mark or percentage.  Fair and sensible assessment  Uses a combination of internal and external assessment.

 Students need a total of 80 credits, including 10 literacy and 10 numeracy credits, to achieve NCEA at Level 1.  NCEA Level 2 requires 60 credits at Level 2 and 20 credits at any other level, total of 80  NCEA Level 3 requires 60 credits at Level 3 or above and 20 at Level 2 or above, total of 80

 Standards Based Assessment which shows what students know and can do. That is why each unit / topic of work is called an Achievement Standard.  Each Standard describes the level of work students need to produce. Achievement Standards are assessed and graded as– Not Achieve, Achieve, Merit and Excellence. commonly shown as NA, A, M, E  There are clear and specific criteria that need to be reached at each level to gain any of the above grades.

 Most students will sit examinations at the end of the year which are managed and marked by NZQA. (External assessment)  Some Standards will be assessed by the school.(Internal assessment) Subjects that are named with an ‘I’ mean that they are all internally assessed.eg Sci 1, Eni1, Mai1  All WHS subjects will have some internal assessment which recognises the importance of assessing laboratory skills, fieldwork, research, participation, performance, skill mastery.  Internal assessments are moderated by independent moderators who evaluate work from all schools around the country.

NCEA qualifications are made up of a currency called ‘ credits’  Every standard is worth a set number of credits. ie Drama 1.1 is worth 4 credits. Drama 1.4 is worth 5.  Most full year courses at Wanganui High School will offer between 18 – 22 credits.  A topic of work, known as an Achievement Standard may be worth from 2 credits to 12 credits. A 2 credit unit will be covered over a short time, a 12 credit unit will be covered over a longer time period. ( Visual Art – 12 )

 The grade of each type of credit achieved – A, M and E – determines the quality of the certificate earned.  50 Merit credits or 50 Merit and Excellence credits combined will allow the certificate to be endorsed with Merit.  50 Excellence credits earned will allow the certificate to be endorsed with Excellence.  There are now Subject Endorsements. If a student earns 14 or more credits in a subject at Merit and / or Excellence, with 3 credits from Externals, and 3 from Internals, they will gain a subject endorsement.  The higher the quality of NCEA Level 1, the better the student’s prospects at L2, L3, and tertiary study

Literacy Requirements.  To gain NCEA Level 1 students must gain 10 Literacy credits which show a proven level of reading and writing skills.  Literacy credits can be gained from several subjects. There are no literacy requirements for Level 2 and 3 NCEA.

 In order to pass NCEA Level 1 students must gain 10 numeracy credits  Mostly gained from maths  WHS ( Thank you Mr Burrows! ) has created a booklet to aid the gaining of these credits from the Mai 1 course.

 There can be only one resubmission opportunity for any assessment. There is no further teaching allowed.  There can be only one reassessment opportunity for any assessment. This is where a totally new task is given to assess the Unit of work, and there may be further teaching available.  Resubmissions and reassessments are not common

 If the student misses an external examination, due to acute medical reasons or bereavement, they can apply for a Derived Grade.  This grade will be based on their Wanganui High School examinations in September.  This is not an easy process and students are often disappointed with their derived grade result.

Extensions: If a student is absent on the day that an assessment is due, or leading up to that assessment, the student can apply beforehand, for an extension. Extensions must be made on application to Mrs Spooner. An Extension can only be given for 5 days, or 10 days at Principal’s discretion. NZQA fees are $76.70

THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!  In most subjects, in order to study at the next level, students must gain at least 12 credits in the current level of study.  In some subjects, the Entry requirements are very specific ie: students may need to have passed a specific Standard ( eg Algebra in Maths ) or the External exam in order to move up to the next level.  What subjects they can study at Level 2 impacts hugely on Level 3 study and University Entrance. 

Some initiatives that Wanganui High School uses to improve student achievement: The Student Diary: All students should use this, or a device as their most important management tool. In the diary are: Credit count sheet Term Planner Assessment dates Weekly planner Daily planner

Course Outlines – Assessment Schedules  Each subject has a course outline which tells the students when their assessments are, to within a week.  All students will be asked to transfer those assessment dates into their Student Diary Term Planner, and Weekly Planner.  Or……. students and families will be able to access this information via the Ultranet. Here is an example.Ultranetexample.  This enables the students to see at a glance how busy their schedule is, and encourages students to sensibly work towards each assessment. It also encourages sound time management, and an independent work ethic.

Academic Mentoring Form teachers meet personally with each student 3 times a year to discuss progress. Together they discuss long and short term career and learning goals, current results, attendance, pastoral history, student diaries, academic calendars, and plan with each student how their optimum progress can be reached. Form teachers then feed back to the Deans, who may have further conversations with subject teachers, and may contact parents. Merit Reward System

 Early in Term 3 we assess the % of credits that a student has earned. Once a student has earned 75% of their available internally assessed credits they are granted Study Leave during the Wanganui High School exams.  This is strongly promoted and students are encouraged to reach that magic figure.  Students who have not met the criteria of 75% are timetabled to remain at school working independently towards gaining further credits during the 10 day examination period.  There are two very clear benefits– students work hard to reach that figure, optimising their overall achievement.  We identify those students who are at risk, and are able to plan further support and interventions.

MOST IMPORTANTLY……. The year’s completed curriculum is like a perfectly finished jigsaw - the ‘whole picture’ Each lesson is a jigsaw piece. Each absence is a missing jigsaw piece. Absences impact on the final jigsaw It’s not the ‘whole picture’. The best learning and achievement takes place when you have the whole picture. --

To Students, Parents and Caregivers  Term 1- 4 Week review of all students’ courses, Interim Reports – simple report on attendance, effort, work, and homework in each subject Parent teacher interviews  Term 2 – Student Feedback to teachers re own progress & classes, Senior reports, Parent teacher interviews  Term 3 – Computer printout of NCEA results & external entries checked by students Study Leave ( need 75% assessed credits to gain Study Leave )  Term 4 – Senior Reports

All the Time………  Progress monitoring by Form Teachers, subject teachers, and departments  Parents are contacted by subject teachers, Deans, AP if there are concerns  Parents can get an update on students current progress by contacting the School  At risk students are identified and closely monitored by Deans and Senior Leadership Team.  We encourage students to aim for their best possible results

 Ask lots of questions, about school, hwk, results, friends, classes, teachers, life! Look at the Ultranet regularly. Encourage your child to use it as a planning tool.  Talk about getting Merit and Excellence credits, and earning Merit and Excellence endorsed Level 1 ( 50 !! )  Talk about pathways of study, and future opportunities  Explore the Options 2014 page on the website  Praise all effort and achievement  Encourage extra curricular activity – the greater the connection to school, the better the results  Ensure a balance of school, work and play  Contact the school – usually the Dean, if you have any concerns or want information.  Be positive, all students want to do well.

 Contact the Student Centre, ask for the appropriate person, i.e subject teacher, Dean, AP.  For course selection, a booklet will be available for students.  Parent- teacher interviews.  The Wanganui High School website. This contains a section known as the ULTRANET which can be accessed from your home computer.    youthguarantee.net.nz/ vocational - pathways / ‎ youthguarantee.net.nz/ vocational - pathways / ‎

 Click on …….. “ Click here to see the 2014 NCEA Level 1 presentation for parents”