August 2024 EmaiLink 6

General administration and data

Change in team name

You will start to see the School Quality Assurance and Liaison team referred to as School Quality Assurance and Support. Along with this name change, you will also start to see changes in how we continue to support schools with NCEA assessment.

School contact details

Please keep your school’s contact details up to date in MyNZQA|Provider Login as we use these details to contact the appropriate people.

Check details and make changes through the Profile link in the School’s Administration area.

2025 wall planners

Please use the link if you wish to opt out of receiving printed 2025 wall planners. If you do not opt out, you will be sent a 2025 wall planner.

Opt out of receiving a printed 2025 wall planner (external link)

The cut off for opting out of receiving the 2025 wall planners is Wednesday 30 October 2024.

The digital version of the key dates planners will be available online mid-December.

Course names

Please note NZQA can currently only accept course names up to 60 characters long through data file submissions.

Any course name longer than 60 characters in your Student Management System (SMS) will be truncated when you submit a data file.

Schools and kura who use web entries can have course names up to 100 characters long.

Ngā Manu Kōrero and Te Ao Haka TAPā

We are aware of the clash with Te Ao Haka TAPā for ākonga also participating in Ngā Manu Kōrero.

We are keen to support schools where this is the case and have been contacting schools with entries directly to discuss what to do. 

26 August data file submission

All external standard candidate entries should be submitted to NZQA by 26 August to allow schools and NZQA to plan and prepare for the end of year examinations.

Any files sent after this date may not be processed in time for candidates to receive personalised papers or for external entries to be withdrawn.

Please carefully check entries to eliminate the need to send multiple files, as this delays processing of files.

This data file needs to contain all confirmed entries and method (paper or digital) for externally assessed standards, including NZ Scholarship. This allows for:

• candidates to receive personalised examination materials
• completion of the attachment of Special Assessment Conditions
• timely management of examination clashes
• accurate billing for international candidates as the invoice for international fee-paying students will be based on this data.

Please check and adjust as necessary, your student entries in the next assessment event for the Literacy and Numeracy | Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau co-requisite.

Schools will be sent information after 26 August about how to manage any late entries for externally assessed standards.

International fee-paying students

Schools are advised to check that the entry data they provide to NZQA accurately reflects the NCEA assessment programme for their international students. This includes reporting results for any internal assessment undertaken.

After 26 August, NZQA will invoice the school to cover the relevant fees for all international fee-paying students entered in assessment standards, including New Zealand Scholarship.

Schools must pay the invoice by 31 October. The relevant fees are set out in the Fee Schedule.

Paying fees for fee-paying international candidates

A NCEA fee is payable to NZQA when an international fee-paying student engages in any assessment against standards listed on the Directory of Assessment and Skills Standards and qualifications on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework.

This fee includes the use of standards and associated assessment activities within a teaching, learning and assessment programme that may be used to report to parents.

External moderation

External moderation reminders

External moderation is required to be submitted once you have finished your school processes for marking, internal moderation and returning results to students. All external moderation should be submitted by 20 October.

Please contact your School Relationship Manager if you:

• have standards on your moderation plan that you are not assessing this year. Your plan can be updated to remove the standard and where possible include a more appropriate standard.
• have standards in your external moderation plan where the assessment process will not be finished by 20 October. If not already discussed with your SRM, an extension can be arranged, which will ensure you are still able to submit material.

External moderation feedback

The expected process for the follow up of external moderation is outlined in:

External moderation follow-up for schools [DOCX, 35 KB]

There is a full explanation of the outcome statements in the external moderation sections:

External moderation outcomes

As covered in the LNA seminar, external moderation is not verification, it is a post-assessment process that provides feedback for when you next assess the standard.

Unlike verification, schools do not re-mark student work using the feedback or change grades up and/or down.

Te Marautanga o Aotearoa (TMoA)

To view assessment material for TMoA, please visit the TMoA landing page and navigate to the wāhanga ako you require.

Te Marautanga o Aotearoa

Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau - Co-requisite

Pātai Aromatawai – TAPā 1

The Pātai Aromatawai for Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau TAPā 1 are available now on:

TAPā page

The Pūrongo Aromatawai will be available soon.

Preparation for TAPā 2/Assessment Event 2 (9-20 September 2024)

The following information and resources to prepare kaiako and ākonga for Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau TAPā 2/Assessment Event 2 are available on the:

TAPā page

• Assessment specifications
• Guide to preparing for TAPā assessments
• Sample TAPā assessments
• Te Reo Matatini (Reo Whakaputa) 32415 – Instructions and guidance around assessing and submitting the Tūmahi Kōrero component of standard 32415.

Any questions can be sent to trmp@nzqa.govt.nz.

Digital submissions and Kete Manarua submissions due 30 October

Kete Manarua for all Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, Te Reo Māori and Te Ao Haka external assessment standards, and digital submissions for NZ Curriculum subjects are due to be submitted to NZQA for marking by 30 October.

Kete Manarua and digital submissions should be submitted using the new digital submissions tool.

Instructions and how-to guides can be found on our website:

Using the new digital submissions tool

Derived grades

Schools are required to send derived grades for unexpected events to NZQA before the beginning of the external exams in November in case they are required. The grades that schools submit must be from quality assured, pre-existing, valid, authentic, standard-specific evidence from a practice assessment. Most schools hold practice exams to create these grades.

Schools must ensure that their practice exams match the format and conditions of the external exams.

Grades submitted to NZQA must be quality assured using verification or justification processes to ensure the grades are valid.

Quality assurance processes

More information about the quality assurance process can be found here. Schools must also hold documented evidence of this process. Templates can be found here under ‘Resources for school assessment’.

Resources for Principal's Nominees

You can monitor the grades that have been submitted to NZQA using the ‘Reported Derived Grades for Unexpected Events’ link in your school’s Key Indicators. This will provide a percentage of the entries that have been submitted and a spreadsheet of the subject areas that have submitted grades and those outstanding.

Pre-approval applications can be submitted now for students selected for National Representation. More information and the application form can be found here.

Get the application form [DOCX, 85 KB]

Please consider carefully entries into external exams for students with a long-term illness, ongoing chronic conditions or trauma. The focus should be on providing the best possible conditions for the student to get well and recover; the environment of an external exam may not provide this.

For any queries regarding derived grades, please contact the derived grades team:

Email derivedgrades@nzqa.govt.nz

Special Assessment Conditions (SAC)

SAC timeline

Submitting applications

The deadline for submitting 2024 applications using the trial Notifications Gateway closes at the end of Term 3. This is also the deadline for submitting Computer Only Notifications. From Term 4, SAC applications can only be submitted using the Approvals Gateway.

The deadline for submitting 2024 applications under the Learning category also closes at the end of Term 3. Applications under the Sensory, Medical or Physical categories can be made until the end of the examination period. Please submit these as early as possible. 

Attaching SAC entitlements to exam sessions

Check the previous EmaiLink (#5 July) and SAC Update (#3 June) for advice on attaching SAC entitlements to exam sessions. Please aim to complete this as close to the submission of your last data file as possible.

Guidelines on how to complete this process can be found on page 38 of the:

SAC Online Tool Guide [PDF, 1.9 MB]

SAC for Level 1 externally assessed submitted standards and TAPā in Term 3

Guidelines for providing SAC for these assessments can be found at:

SAC for Level 1 externally assessed submitted standards and TAPA in Term 3

Support

If you would like advice and guidance in any particular instances, please contact NZQA’s SAC team (sac@nzqa.govt.nz) or your School Relationship Manager for advice. 

PN checklist - Nga māhi

Action items for Principal’s Nominee by calendar month

26 August data file

Ensure entries for external standards are accurate.

Check entry data for international students.

Submit data file.

26 August data file follow-up

Check Batch Information after File Submission.

Check Key Indicators from Provider login.

Make any subsequent external entries using the Late External Entry Process.

Assessment Event (AE2)

Advise NZQA of your nominated dates and estimated numbers for Literacy, Numeracy and Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau AE2 through your Provider login.

External moderation

Inform your School Relationship Manager of any required changes to your moderation plan and if material will be submitted after 20 October.

Online workshop

Inform kaiako to register for online workshops about NCEA Level 1 internal achievement standards for Te Marautanga o Aotearoa (TMoA) and Te Reo Māori, as well as the Level 1-3 standards for Te Ao Haka.

SAC

Remind Learning Support staff of the deadline for submitting SAC applications made under the Learning category is the end of term .

Attach SAC to external assessments by end of term 3.