Students must achieve all of the Literacy and Numeracy Common Assessment Activities (CAAs) in order to gain a certificate in NCEA at any level.

This year in May a huge number of Westland High School students in Year 10-13 will sit the Literacy and Numeracy Common Assessment Activities (CAAs) in Ka Tiritiri o te Moana (the Hall).

Students attempt some or all of the CAAs, when they are ready. These assessments are a recent change to the requirements for NCEA and students must achieve all of them in order to gain a certificate in NCEA at any level. Students can attempt the three assessment tasks as many times as they need to pass them, and so at any CAA event, we will have students of all year levels Year 10 and above doing their best.

We begin offering the opportunity for the CAA to students from Year 10, when their curriculum level suggests they are ready. Opportunities occur twice a year and are marked by NZQA. 

In the Year 10 cohort in 2024, WHS entered students for the Reading and Writing (or Literacy)  CAA in May if they had internal testing that suggested they would pass. All students, regardless of testing data, were entered for September CAA to give them a chance to attempt and succeed, having had most of a year’s learning to progress them towards this standard.

Final results were extremely positive,  by the end of 2024 83% of Year 10 students gained one or both of their Reading and Writing CAAs. 

We want to acknowledge the support from whānau at home in helping their students to lift their reading and writing skills through practise and support at home. This achievement is a reflection of what happens at school and at home.

Of those students who did not gain their CAA, absences from school played a heavy role in this result, including several students who did not attend the CAA tests themselves. 

The journey begins now for the Year 10 students this year, who will need to start reading as much as possible at home, on any high interest topic, and take their opportunities to practise their writing skills as well.

Siobhan O’Malley

Across School Literacy Lead