1. NCEA - Have your say Talk to us about the future of NCEA Public Engagement: 27 May – 19 October 2018
Schools and kura

2. Why review NCEA? NCEA was introduced over 15 years ago.
From 2020–2030, more than 500,000 students will gain NCEA.
It’s a really flexible qualification that works for many young people, but we know we can make it better for everyone.
This year, we have a powerful opportunity to explore ways to strengthen NCEA so it works well for all New Zealanders.
The review of NCEA is part of the wider national Education Conversation | Kōrero Mātauranga in Aotearoa New Zealand conversation.education.govt.nz/ncea
The Government wants everyone – children, young people, parents, teachers, employers, iwi, families, and whānau – to have a conversation about building not just a better education system, but the world’s best. Because second-best isn’t good enough for our young people or for New Zealand.

3. Kia huri tātou ki te arotake
Let’s review…

4. What does NCEA mean for educators?
Note to presenters: Discussion Option 1
If your time is limited, you might want to use this slide to guide the discussion. It presents focus questions to frame the discussion. The questions are from the Audience Factsheet 2D educator handout We suggest you distribute the factsheet and talk it through. You will find it at
This is your chance to tell us how we can support teachers, schools and kura so that you can focus on deep, connected learning that helps young people develop powerful knowledge, skills, and attitudes that prepare them for work or future study. We will collect your thoughts and ideas and share them with the wider conversation

5. We need your voice!
Over the next few months, we’re aiming to engage with thousands of New Zealanders from diverse backgrounds.
We really want to hear what teachers, school leaders and schools/kura think about NCEA.
What works well? What’s not so great? What could be better?
[Note to presenter: You might want to allow a moment for people to turn to a neighbour and share their immediate thoughts.]
The challenge for us is to ensure we hear from new voices and engage in new ways to make sure we hear from a broad range of people from across NZ. We particularly need deep engagement with Māori and Pacific peoples, students with disabilities, and students with learning support needs. In the past, young people have not always been included in these conversations. We aim to change that!
We have a new Minister who wants to push the boat out with a new way of working. It makes sense to use this opportunity to help us realise our aspirations for a world-class NCEA.

6. Engagement activity so far
The public consultation started on 27 May and runs until 19 October. Been extended for 1 month to allow people more time to have their say.
People all over the country have been sharing their views and experiences of NCEA – the challenges, the successes, what they like, and what we can do better.
As at August 2018:
- Over 1,500 people attending workshops on NCEA
- 5,000 survey responses
- 150 in-depth interviews underway and 53 focus groups underway
- Over 50,000 interactions on social media
- July Co-lab – 150 teachers, principals, students, union and employer and sector reps
As at July/August

7. A set of discussion documents
The ideas in the Big Opportunities document are intended to provoke, inspire, and encourage the kōrero on NCEA.
The Ākonga Māori document tells the story of the NCEA Review from a Māori perspective.
The purple discussion document sets out the background to the review.
You can find the set of three discussion documents online:
The big opportunities document sets out a set of ideas intended to spark the national conversation about NCEA.
The Ākonga Māori document tells the story of the NCEA Review from a Māori perspective.
The purple discussion document explains the background to the review, including the principles that guide the whole process.

8. He aria nui ... some big opportunities
We need to hear about your experiences with NCEA. What works well now? What’s not working so well?
Nothing in these big opportunities is completely new, but we need to hear your thoughts on whether we should use them to strengthen NCEA.
These are not the only possibilities. Tell us what you think would make NCEA even better!
[Note for presenter. Use the video links and audience handouts to provide details of each Big Opportunity, as appropriate.]
The Government wants to hear from you, starting today.
It wants teachers and school leaders to have their say on how they have interacted with NCEA in the past and how it could be an even better qualification. What do you like about it, and what do you dislike? What do you think about the Big Opportunities? What opportunities can you see for improving NCEA so it better supports young New Zealanders to transition into further education and training?

9. Note to presenters: Discussion Option 2
If you have sufficient time or prefer to use a “jigsaw” approach to your session, you might briefly explore all six Big Opportunities, using the videos or printed resources. You could then divide people into six groups to gather ideas in response to the focus questions for one of the Big Opportunity. It’s over to you whether you assign the ideas to each group or let people self-select. How you collect ideas, insights, and suggestions is also up to you – we welcome every voice.
The printed resources are there in your collateral pack, and they and the videos are available online at
This is your chance to tell us how we can support teachers, schools and kura so that you can focus on deep, connected learning that helps young people develop powerful knowledge, skills, and attitudes that prepare them for work or future study. We will collect your thoughts and ideas and share them with the wider conversation.

10. Not in scope
Some things are not in scope for the NCEA Review, but they may be worth discussing because they affect how NCEA works:
NCEA is standards-based
Both achievement and unit standards count towards NCEA
University Entrance and NZ Scholarship Awards
Individual achievement and unit standards and resources.
[Note to presenter: This is an optional slide – you may not need it but questions might come up that mean it is useful to explore what’s not directly in the scope of this review. Just hide the slide if you don’t need it.
These topics are excluded from the scope of this NCEA Review.
1. Standards-based assessment (i.e. ,anyone who meets the standard achieves. NCEA is not norm-referenced – there is not a limited percentage of candidates allowed to pass, as in our old system)
2. NCEA includes both achievement and unit standards. It is “Multi-field” – both of these (1&2) are core features of NCEA
3. UE and Scholarship are awards, not qualifications, and operate independently of NCEA. (Though they will, no doubt, be discussed in so far as they have impact of NCEA programme design and delivery.)
4. Individual standards and resources are not in scope – but start thinking about these and be ready to discuss them in 2019 when they will be the subject of a further review. Recommendations from the NCEA Review may well impact on this 2019 Review of Achievement Standards.

11. Kei te whakarongo mātou We are listening…
Have your say
Jump online and take our quick survey to tell us about your experiences of NCEA
NCEA Make Your Mark competition If you are aged between 5-20 years old there are four opportunities to share your experience and tell us what you think about NCEA. There are over $35,000 in prizes or grants up for grabs.
Public submissions
If you have lots to say, a detailed submission might be the best way to share your views. Make your submission online.
Teacher participation Join or host a conversation about NCEA or find out how your school or kura are involved.
Youth-to-Youth conversations
We want to hear what students think. You can contribute online or have your say as part of the NCEA Make Your Mark competition.
Get social Stay in the loop on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and an online AMA. #NCEAHaveYourSay #NCEAReview #EdConvo18
[Note to presenter: There are many ways to ensure the ideas that emerge from group’s discussions feed into the review – which of these would work best for this group?]
There are many ways for you and your group to have your say:
Online surveys
A national competition - NCEA Make Your Mark aimed at engaging all young people in the review. Details of the four categories and what’s up for grabs can be found at
Online public submissions can be in any form that works for you (see next slide)
Social media hashtags: #NCEAReview, #NCEAHaveYourSay, #EdConvo18.
The outcomes of all discussions and debates, submissions, survey responses and face-to-face feedback will inform the final recommendations the Minister takes to Cabinet on the future of NCEA so we want to capture all voices and viewpoints.
If you still have questions about NCEA Review or engagement process,

12. Have your say today! conversation.education.govt.nz/ncea Quick survey
Take the quick survey to share your experiences of NCEA and how it could be improved for everyone.
Survey on NCEA and the Big Opportunities
This survey gives you the chance to share what you think about NCEA and the Big Opportunities.
Detailed submission
If you have lots to say, a detailed submission might be the best way to share your views. You can either upload your own document or fill in the online form.
Note to presenter: Based on your group’s discussion of the Big Opportunities, capture the key ideas and themes to share with the rest of New Zealand. You could do this in a document of your own making or by using the online submission form. You might want to delegate this task to a small sub-group from this gathering or you might be ready to upload your submission right now.
As well as making a group submission, do encourage your participants to take one or both of the surveys.
Thanks so much for organising this session!
Ngā mihi. Thanks for taking part in the kōrero on the future of NCEA.
conversation.education.govt.nz/ncea