Government announces $2.5 million to help teenagers pass new NCEA tests

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The government has announced a $2.5 million plan to help teenagers failed NCEA critical tests in reading, writing and maths earlier this year.

Education Secretary Erica Stanford said the money would give teachers at about 160 schools literacy and numeracy skills and free up time to conduct small group sessions with their students.

She said about 10,000 students would benefit in the current academic term and in the first term of next year.

The funding was allocated based on the results of the May round of tests, in which only 46 percent of the 55,000 students who attempted the numeracy exam passed. In reading and writing, the passing rate was 59 and 56 percent.

The government’s announcement came after warnings from teachers and principals some students had problems with online tests and the alternative – 20 credits under specific standards – also proved difficult.

They warned that NCEA attainment figures would plummet because students must pass core requirements before they can gain any NCEA qualification.

Stanford said there is a delicate balance to be struck with the underlying conditions.

“When you see young people trying to cross the line, the first thing that comes up is, ‘Oh, well, I’ll just drop the standards,’ but that’s not going to help anybody, and it’s not going to help these young people. It’s fundamental literacy and numeracy assessment, I need to get them across the line,” she said.

According to Stanford University, teachers were very vocal about “problems related to literacy and math skills.”

“It is vital that… young people who are struggling to gain basic literacy and numeracy skills have more targeted support.

“So small group interventions by teachers who are well aware of the basic literacy and numeracy requirements, who can sit and work in a one-to-one situation with these students to help them get across the line.”

Stanford said certain schools and parts of New Zealand needed special help.

The move to structured literacy and numeracy in primary schools will ensure future cohorts of pupils are better prepared for the key requirements, but in the meantime the government wants to help teenagers who will not benefit from the change, she said.

“These are the kids who are working really hard at the moment, they’re doing a task two, three or four times to get across the line.

“The ability to pay at the time of release to get specialized support in a small group to help them get through the line will be just one of the many things we’ll be announcing.”

Stanford said the schools participating in the initiative have students in grades 9-11, and she expects some of them to provide extra help to students in grades 12-13 who don’t have enough time to take the required exams before when they graduate from high school.

Funding for the intervention can be extended if the results of the May round of relevant tests next year show that it was effective and if there is still a need for it.

in September Stanford announced that the alternative path will be in place until the end of 2027two years later than originally planned.