NCEA by KingsWay School

NCEA and the effects of COVID-19

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What impact has COVID-19 had on NCEA and the end of our school year?

COVID-19 continues to impact across New Zealand and globally. Thankfully, the inherent flexibility within the NCEA qualification means that programmes and assessments can be adapted to best suit learning needs.

In the Senior School we have tried to carefully monitor student achievement during lockdown and where possible, manage assessment pressures on return. One solution we are putting in place is for a 'catch-up week' towards the end of Term 2. This is mainly for some of the more practical subjects such as Outdoor Education, Hard Materials and Music. Students who study these subjects will be given additional time to complete tasks that have been impacted by the lockdown. We will be regularly reviewing curriculum learning this year to see if further changes need to take place from normal timetabling in Term 3.

The Government has announced a number of changes to give students more time to prepare and manage the impact of disruptions as well as overcome barriers to learning.

  • NCEA examinations and Scholarship examinations will be delayed. They will start on 16 November instead of 6 November. An updated examination timetable is available here.
  • Submission dates for portfolios in subjects like Art have been extended and there is less emphasis being placed on verification of grades to allow more time for students to complete work.
  • Additional credits will be awarded as Learning Recognition credits. For every 5 credits, students achieve they can be awarded an additional 1 credit.
  • Criteria for Merit or Excellence endorsement has been lowered.
  • University Entrance (UE) has been reduced to 12 credits in three UE-approved subjects.

Furthermore, all Senior School students will be expected to maintain contact with KingsWay School until December. In previous years, once students had 'signed-out' to go on study leave, they were generally finished for the year, except for the days they wrote their examinations. This year will be different to previous years. We plan on using additional time to catch up gaining on credits, revision, and the completion of other subject requirements.

All this means that we aim to work with all students to ensure they have the best possible opportunities to succeed this year, despite the many disruptions COVID-19 has caused.