The 2020 NCEA exam schedule is out. The NCEA exam dates have been moved back due to Covid -19 to give students more time to prepare.

You can access a copy of the Exam schedule by visiting the NZQA website,

What do you need to know about assessment for NCEA?

Start by getting a good basic understanding of NCEA, it's never too late. You can google NCEA and get to the NZQA website, download the brochure, download the app or watch the video.

What do we do at Westland High School?

The sections that follow outline our expectations of you, what you can do if things go wrong, and where you can go for help. Some key support people and their contact emails are:

Deputy Principal Ākonga (Students) Mr Brailsford peterbrailsford@westlandhigh.school.nz

Deputy Principal Academic Mrs Reeves adriennereeves@westlandhigh.school.nz

Principal’s nominee Ms Mallinson phillippamallinson@westlandhigh.school.nz

Heads of Learning

English Mr Waldie danwaldie@westlandhigh.school.nz

PE/Health and Outdoor Ed Miss Bateup sarahbateup@westlandhigh.school.nz

Science Mr Manuel chrismanuel@westlandhigh.school.nz

Technology Mrs Davies gaildavies@westlandhigh.school.nz

Arts Ms Ikiua nartarshaikiua@westlandhigh.school.nz

Māori Mrs Weepu christineweepu@westlandhigh.school.nz

TIC Social Science Mr Wickett rosswickett@westlandhigh.school.nz

Mathematics Mr Kelderman inokelderman@westlandhigh.school.nz

TIC Outdoor Ed Mr Talbot miketalbot@westlandhigh.school.nz

Sports Academy michaelwaller@westlandhigh.school.nz

Course expectations and attendance

It is expected that you:

• Follow the course for the whole school year, or trimester where appropriate

• Full fill reasonable course work, homework and assignment requirements, including all conditions for special studies, field and/or practical work

• Attend school regularly

• Participate in all learning and assessment activities in a course

• Make a satisfactory effort in class

• Behave in a safe and responsible manner and be considerate of others in all activities associated with the course

• All students under 16 years of age are required by regulation to attend school

Missed assessments:

You might miss internal assessments for a range of reasons, and where the circumstances are beyond your control, every effort will be made to assess your work against the standard.

If you are absent through illness, accident or bereavement

Under these circumstances you are legitimately absent and, where feasible, you will be allowed to attempt the assessment or a full reassessment opportunity will be available. This may not always be possible and no estimates of grades can be given. For short-term absences of this nature parents should verify this by an email or text to the whānau teacher or the attendance officer. For long-term absences independent documentation must be supplied to the attendance officer. If an assessment task is missed then independent documentation (i.e. medical certificate, etc) may be required.

If you are absent due to school activities

This involves absence for authorised out-of-class activities such as EOTC trips, sporting and cultural fixtures, or Trades block courses. For any assessment tasks that are wholly completed during this period of absence you will be allowed to attempt the assessment or a full further assessment opportunity will be available. This may not always be possible and no estimates of grades can be given. However, assessment tasks that extend beyond this range of absence, providing a fair and reasonable length of time is available, must be submitted on the due dates.

If you are absent for personal activities

This involves absences such as family travel, holidays during term time, or other activities determined by you or your family, rather than the school. For this kind of brief, planned absence, parents should consult the principal in advance for approval. You should make every effort to ensure that you do not miss any assessment task since any absence in this category might lead to a ‘Not Achieved’ grade, and no further assessment opportunity is guaranteed. Work will not normally be set for you if you are absent under this category.

If you are truant

If you are truant for an assessment for which you have been prepared, you will get a grade of ‘Not Achieved’, and no re-assessment will be guaranteed.

Any absences will impair performances in course work, and on return to school you need to catch up the work missed. After a reasonable period of time you will need to give evidence to your teachers that catch-up work has been satisfactorily completed. To be eligible for a further assessment opportunity you must have demonstrated some visible progress and effort to achieve the standard.

You are expected to make every effort to be aware of your assessment requirements and thus avoid missing assessment tasks or due deadlines.

Where a student refuses or fails to supply either a letter from parents or the documents necessary to legitimise an absence, such absences will be categorised as truancy unless and until the documentation is supplied.

The attendance officer, in association with the whānau teachers, are responsible for maintaining correct records of attendance and will categorise each absence into one of the above categories. Whānau teachers will keep parents informed where such absences may jeopardise the awarding of a qualification.

Authentication

It is important that we can be sure that the work being assessed is your work, and not that of someone else. To be sure of this, you may be asked;

• To participate in conferencing at certain checkpoints

• To hand in plans and rough drafts

• To keep ongoing work at school

• To answer questions orally

• To sign authenticity statements

• To sit separately from other students

• Material completed and handed in for assessment must be your own work.

• Where appropriate you may be required to complete an assessment cover sheet indicating that the work is your own.

You should not accept undue assistance from any person in the preparation or submission of work. For items of work that are produced over an extended period, you may be required to keep any plans, drafts, worksheets or log books used in the preparation of the work.

Breaches of the rules

Copying: You may not copy another student’s work, nor allow your own work to be copied.

If work is found to have been copied, you will receive a 'not achieved' grade for that assignment and no further assessment opportunity will be given. If the work has been copied from another student then both students will get a 'not achieved' grade for that assignment and no further assessment will be given. Students who copy work or allow their work to be copied will be referred to the principal’s nominee who will inform parents/caregivers.

Plagiarism: You may not use material sourced from reference books, the internet or any other published sources as your own. Material sourced from reference books/internet must be appropriately acknowledged. Where you have copied material from reference books or the internet without appropriate acknowledgement, you may receive a 'not achieved' grade for that assignment and no further assessment opportunity will be given. Students who plagiarise published authors will be referred to the principal’s nominee who will inform parents/caregivers.

Disrupting other students: You may not distract others or disrupt an assessment by talking when silence has been requested or in any way interfere with other students’ assessment opportunities. This includes drawing on others’ work, moving furniture, making noises, throwing things etc. Where you have disrupted an assessment, you will receive a 'not achieved' grade for that assignment and no further assessment opportunity will be given. Students who have disrupted an assessment will be referred to the principal’s nominee who will inform parents/caregivers. Students who have had an assessment disrupted by another student may be given extra time if required to complete the assessment.

Bringing material from outside the classroom into a test situation: You may not bring into an assessment any material that has not been approved by the teacher running the assessment. This includes bringing notes, as well as dictionaries or other reference books.

Use of phones: Cellphones/smartphones are not permitted to be used during class time.

Dealing with breaches of the rules

When a teacher suspects that a breach of the rules has occurred, a note of the incident will be made at the time and you will be warned of possible consequences. The principal’s nominee will be notified and you will be asked for an explanation of the breach.

Students who repeatedly breach the rules may be subject to further disciplinary action by senior leadership. Where a breach of the rules has been proven to have occurred, the principal’s nominee will keep a written record of the investigation. If there is a dispute over whether a breach of the rules has occurred, the appeals process should be used.

Retention and storage of student work

Test scripts/assessment activities will normally be marked and available within three weeks after the deadline for submissions. They will be accompanied by sufficient oral or written information to allow you to see how well you have completed the aims of the assessment. You will be required to check your work and verify the assessment decision by signing the cover sheet. Your teacher might retain your work for moderation purposes, and you cannot take it from the classroom unless the teacher gives you permission. If you wish to appeal do not sign for the grade awarded and follow the appeal procedures.

You must keep a record of your grades, and check them against the grades on KAMAR. If you think a mistake has been made, you can lodge an appeal.

Appeal Procedures

You are able to lodge an appeal for any assessment-related decision. First discuss any assessment problems with your classroom teacher. If you are still unhappy, discuss the situation with the Head of Learning (HOL) and then the principal’s nominee if you are still not satisfied. This must happen within five days of the return of your work.

If the appeal reaches the principal’s nominee, a written record of the investigation and the resulting decision will be made. Copies are circulated to you, the subject teacher, HOL and principal. You will be asked to sign the decision to show that you have been made aware of the outcome of the investigation. The principal has the final decision.

Breaches of the rules will be investigated by the principal’s nominee, and any appeal will be investigated by the deputy principal (curriculum.) Where the subject teacher is the principal’s nominee, the deputy principal will follow the same process as outlined in the point above. Under no circumstances will the final decision be taken by a person who has been involved in the investigative phase of the appeal, or the subject teacher.

No appeal of grades will be considered after five school days dating from when the script/activity was handed back or breach of the rules was alleged. During this period, students who wish to appeal their results may not take the material out of the classroom.

Re-submissions and re-assessments

It is important to understand the difference between a re-submission and a re-assessment. If you have provided most, but not all, of the evidence required to achieve a standard, or a grade (merit or excellence), and no further teaching is required for you to achieve the standard or grade, you may be allowed to re-submit your work. Examples of where this is appropriate are where an arithmetic error in a mathematics assessment has affected the answers provided. You may be able to see the error for yourself and correct it, without requiring a whole new task.

When the teacher has gone over the assessment with the class, or further teaching is required for you to achieve the standard, a new task will be required and a new assessment opportunity, if there is sufficient time in the programme. This is a re-assessment, not a re-submission.

External Assessment

In term four each year, national examinations take place. These are one form of external assessment (which means outside the school) and the other common one is by portfolios, in art, graphics and photography. The information that follows applies mainly to examinations, but can also happen if you are unable to complete a portfolio.

If something happens to you that leaves you unable to participate in the exam, or that your performance is likely to be impaired, you must contact the principal’s nominee as soon as you are aware of the situation. This includes situations of illness, bereavement and other unexpected events. When you let the principal’s nominee know, you will then be provided with the necessary documents to complete the application.

You will receive your answer booklets after marking and will be able to appeal the results of your external assessments.

Privacy

Information about your results will be made available only to you and staff who need the information. It is not available to other students. If your work is kept to be used as an exemplar, your privacy will be protected (other students will not be able to identify the work as yours.) This includes use of video and photographs.