NZQA has advised schools that with Omicron the impact on teaching, learning and assessment is different from other years, and that this will vary considerably between schools. NZQA and the Ministry of Education continue to monitor these impacts closely and are continuing to engage with sector peak bodies.
While Term 1 was disrupted, NZQA believe there is sufficient time in the year to manage the effects within the parameters of NCEA’s structures. If mitigation measures are required later in the year, NZQA and the Ministry will provide advice to the Minister.
With the peak of Omicron passing or having passed, please DO NOT assume there will be COVID mitigations such as those used in 2020 and 2021. These measures were designed to respond to a national/regional lockdown situation with widespread school closures, and these are not anticipated by the MOE or NZQA in 2022. Therefore, the application of Learning Recognition Credits (LRC’s) will almost certainly not be available in 2022.
Keeping this in mind it is there essential that all Year 11 – 13 students complete all assessments as directed by their teachers. Teaching and Learning Programmes have been amended, in line with NZQA best practice advice, in order to reflect the disruption caused by Omicron in Term 1. If your daughter is struggling to complete her assessments, then please contact her Year Level Dean in the first instance. Our Deans are happy to provide advice around time management and offer strategies and solutions.
Parents are able to check their daughter’s progress with achievement against standards via the KAMAR Parent Portal. As your daughter completes internal assessments, marks are recorded on KAMAR once the work has been moderated. These are available immediately to parents. If your daughter has received a Not Achieved for a standard there could be two reasons for this; firstly, the work was not handed in by the deadline and no extension was sought or secondly, the work produced did not meet the standard. All internals for which a student has received teaching, and been given class time to complete the assessment, will be marked as Not Achieved if no work is received by the classroom teacher. For a student to be withdrawn from the assessment there needs to be negotiation with the school prior to the teaching and learning being undertaken.
I cannot stress strongly enough how important it is for students to come to classes ready to learn and engage with the content, concepts and skills being covered. If your daughter is absent from a class through illness, it is expected that she will catch up on the work missed. This can be done via Google Classroom, or by checking with other students what was covered, or by directly asking the teacher. If your daughter is away for an extended period of time, then please contact her Year Level Dean. Covid-19 remains an ongoing issue in our community and will continue to for some time however, teachers are aware of this and are working directly with those students who continue to be impacted by the virus.
We will be running an NCEA evening on June 2 in the Turley Auditorium, all parents of Years 10 – 13 students will have received an email from me about registering for this. Please make it a priority to attend this if you are unsure of how NCEA works and what the requirements are. Whilst this is directed mainly parents and students new to NCEA the information remains relevant for all Year levels, and will cover over all aspects of NCEA that you might face in the coming years.
