Upcoming NCEA changes

 Since late 2020, secondary school teachers from across the country have been learning about the upcoming changes to NCEA.  In my role as Manaiakalani’s Secondary Specialist, I am fortunate to be a part of the ACCORD training days administered by the Ministry of Education.  I’d have to say, the changes are a positive step forward. This is the first significant change since the forming of the New Zealand Curriculum (2007) document.  The amendments include changes to the Literacy and Numeracy Standards and subject specific NCEA Achievement Standards.

The purpose of the change for the Literacy and Numeracy standards is to strengthen students’ understanding and to apply these skills in diverse contexts.  Hence, all secondary school teachers, regardless of subject speciality, are being asked to include elements of literacy and numeracy.   

Students from Year 9 upwards will have the option of taking Literacy and Numeracy in English or sitting the Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau Standards.  

The Literacy and Numeracy standards will be assessed online through a NZQA Common Assessment Activity.  

Initially, students entering the Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau standards can choose to complete a NZQA Common Assessment Activity or submit a portfolio of work.   This will be reviewed by NZQA following the first round of assessments.

To meet the requirements, learners will need to pass:

• either literacy or te reo matatini; AND 

• either numeracy or pāngarau to meet the requirements.

Each standard or set of standards is worth 10 credits; however, these credits do not count towards the 60 credits required for NCEA. 

Students must pass both the Literacy and the Numeracy standards in order to achieve NCEA. 

Although the changes will not become mandatory until 2023, teachers are being asked to give immediate thought to the inclusion of literacy and numeracy aspects in all subject areas. There are also around 250 high schools running pilots in 2022.

How teachers embed literacy and numeracy learning opportunities within topics that involve authentic scenarios will be key to aiding students’ understanding. I’m sure this will be a highlight of our upcoming Manaiakalani Department Discussions as we share practice and examples of what this could look like.

Literacy Standards

In literacy there are two unit standards, one for reading and one for writing. The reading component includes three big ideas: Learners make sense of written texts, learners read critically, and, learners read for different purposes. This approach aligns really well with Manaiakalani’s Designing Learning With the End in Mind research framework and will be a valuable tool for teachers’ practice as they work towards meeting the literacy criteria. Furthermore, with so much emphasis on the need to develop students’ critical thinking skills and the ability to discern fact from fiction, the literacy component should provide plenty of material for real world contexts appropriate to developing students’ understanding. More information and the Literacy Learning Matrix can be found on the new NCEA.education.govt site.

Numeracy Standards

The Numeracy standards cover Mathematics and Statistics in applied situations. There are two central themes; Process Ideas and Contents Ideas. The whakatauki that’s guided the development of the Numeracy Standards, Whiria te kaha tūātinitini, whiria te kaha tūāmanomano refers to threads within our societies that include academic, social, emotional, and cultural realms.

I am interested in learning how teachers plan to incorporate numeracy across the curriculum using real world scenarios so students can apply their learning. For the breakdown of the Numeracy Matrix and more information go to the Numeracy page on the NCEA Education Site.

NCEA changes

Every NCEA subject area has had changes.  Some subjects have received more NZQA Achievement Standards, while some are being consolidated to offer fewer quality assessments.  For more information, see the individual curriculum areas.

Teachers are being encouraged to make use of the following sites to aid their practice. 

• The learning progression framework
• PaCT - The progress and consistency tool. 
• e-asTTle 
• TKI