Day 1 of the nationwide security measures sees us all working from home, with all the challenges that brings for you and your community.
We are aware that you are likely to have a number of questions about how best to manage NZQA processes in these new circumstances. As always, your School Relationship Manager is available via email or at the end of the phone to receive your query. Just call their 04463**** number and the call will be diverted to their cell phone.
We will also publish our official advice and guidance on your school’s secure extranet login on the NZQA website in the new Covid-19 Updates section (in the same place as you can find our EmaiLink).
Please direct your teachers to this information, which will be updated as needed.
On this page
School holidays
Use the next couple of weeks when students are on holiday to take some time for yourself.
Our colleagues in Assessment and Moderation Services and Secondary Examinations have been busy preparing material to support you through the days ahead. By the time the holidays end we will have published this alongside more advice and guidance to support credible assessment.
Resource for teachers
A self-directed PowerPoint to assist teachers manage the impact of reduced teaching and learning time on their assessment programme will be available within the next week.
Evidence Gathering Templates
Last week we promised that further evidence-gathering templates would be developed. We are focusing our attention on Level 3 and working backwards.
Our intention is to create one for every level 3 internally assessed standard within the next 10 days, although publishing all of these may not be possible immediately.
We will have the first of them available on the Subject pages soon.
We will also put the Guidelines for Managing NCEA Assessment on those pages for ease of access.
Conducting remote assessment in performance-based subjects
Understandably, your teachers are grappling with the logistics of remotely delivering assessment of performance standards in Dance, Drama, Māori Performing Arts and Music. Guidelines for managing these are well advanced, and the first of these (Drama) is ready for publication on the subject page.
This has required changes to the 2020 Assessment Specifications for Drama. The revised specifications are also ready for publication.
Keep an eye out for the Assessment Matters circular about this.
External Moderation submission dates
Schools and kura with April and May submission dates have had their submission date deferred until 1 June. If you have digital material available and are in a position to upload it, you are welcome to do so when it suits you any time before 1 June.
Don’t send any physical material you have waiting until after you return to school. Any of these currently in transit to our Wellington or Auckland offices will be stored. We will delay their return and all of those we currently hold until schools are physically open to receive them.
And like everything else, this is up for review if the situation changes.
1 April entry and results file
If you are in a position to send your 1 April file to us next week, we would love to receive it.
But if you can’t manage this at the moment, please do your best to get your file in before 1 May to allow us to get a baseline indication of how many students are intending to be assessed for qualifications this year.
SAC
We have sent all of our regular SAC contacts (copy to Principal’s Nominees) an update on managing SAC throughout the current situation and published it on your High Security SAC page.
COVID-19 cases within your school or kura community
Please contact your School Relationship Manager if you become aware of any confirmed cases within your teaching and student body or wider the parent community, so that we can tailor our support to your particular needs.
We don’t need to know the details.
News from the Ministry of Education
NZQA and the Ministry of Education will help schools and kura develop effective plans for NCEA assessment and qualifications for students affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, including supporting remote learning.
This week, the Ministry of Education launched two complementary websites to support learning from home:
Learning from home (external link)
Ki te Ao Mārama (external link)
More resources will be added over time. Currently the focus is on English, Maths and Science.
Contact details
Please contact your School Relationship Manager if you have any questions, or if we can help in any way.
School Relationship Manager
School Quality Assurance and Liaison
Telephone: 04 463 3000
Fax: 04 463 3115
Email: firstname.lastname@nzqa.govt.nz