NCEA overhaul, about time!

“New Zealand students deserve a system that is universally good, not just good depending on the school and the student. The Government cannot take a backward step on NCEA reform,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“There’s no better indicator of a society’s future success than the amount of knowledge passed from one generation to the next. That requires a robust curriculum and a way of assessing it that holds everyone accountable.

“The debate over NCEA was the first time I paid any attention to politics. I watched the Principal of my high school, John Morris, fighting the Minister of Education, Trevor Mallard. Everything John predicted has turned out to be right.

“NCEA was driven by an ideology that competition and excellence are bad, and every student should create their own academic adventure. It has meant diligent students who choose robust Standards and apply themselves still do well, but there are also other, easier options.

“Over the time that the NCEA has been in place, New Zealand high school students have fallen badly in the OECD’s PISA study. The study of 15-year-olds in reading, maths, and science is done once every three years.

“In the early 2000s when NCEA was introduced, New Zealand was often in the top five. Today we are 23rd for Maths, and in each subject today’s students are about a year behind where the same aged students were at the start of the century.

“There has also been a worrying drift towards anxiety, away from resilience among students. Sitting exams and getting graded is tough, we all know that, but it serves as a useful preparation for life, taking on challenges and building resilience. By moving away from high stakes exams, we may have unintentionally worn down New Zealand’s character.

“Replacing the NCEA with a rich body of real knowledge being richly assessed is the right direction. If New Zealand is going to be a high income country through the twenty-first century, it must have the policies in place to pass useful knowledge from one generation to the next.

“ACT wholeheartedly supports this move and urges the Government not to back down."