Comment on release of second NZQA review
4 August 2005
Comment on release of second NZQA review Tony Hartevelt,
The Deputy State Services Commissioner, today released the second part of the independent review by Doug Martin and his Review Team on the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA).
Part Two of the review focuses on the performance of NZQA in implementing NCEA and covers a number of dimensions including governance, organisational capability, stakeholder management, and professional leadership in examination processes.
This
report follows Part One, on the 2004 Scholarship, released
on 6 May 2005, and available on the SSC website:
Tony Hartevelt said the Review team consulted
widely within the sector during the course of the review.
Some 40 secondary schools with diverse characteristics were
visited, with the team mostly meeting the Principal, the
Principal's Nominee and Heads of Department of the school.
Meetings were held with representatives of education
sector organisations, employer groups, the Board and key
staff of NZQA, officials from the Ministry of Education, the
Education Review Office and the Treasury, and a range of
academics and researchers. Some 66 written submissions
were also received. Tony Hartevelt said the main findings of
the Review are:
* While there were difficulties with the
implementation of NCEA, the majority of schools and
stakeholders believe that NCEA is enhancing learning
outcomes for students and improving teaching practices.
* The NZQA focus on the implementation of NCEA was not
sufficiently strategic. It concentrated on the logistics of
the massive task of implementing the NCEA. Consequently, the
broader change management issues that arose during this
period of major transition for teachers, students and
parents did not get the attention they needed. Neither did
internal organisational development issues. * As a
result, the implementation path adopted was too steep. The
safety nets that ensured stability and reliability in the
'old system' were displaced without comparable alternatives.
Too much reliance has been placed on the self-sufficiency of
standards that are continuing to develop and change,
producing a degree of variability in the results of external
assessment that is outside of public and professional
tolerances. The report identifies a number of initiatives
designed to bring variability back within acceptable limits.
* The report identifies the lack of stability at the
Chief Executive level as a major problem. There have been
eight changes in the leadership role in as many years. NZQA
has therefore not had the opportunity to develop into a
mature and high performing organisation. The appointment of
a new Chief Executive that is well suited to the role will
do more than anything else to lift the performance of NZQA
and ensure that the implementation of NCEA is strengthened.
* The culture and capability (people, planning and
systems) of NZQA needs to significantly improve, as does the
quality of engagement with stakeholders. Communication to
parents and employers in particular on NCEA needs to be much
more focussed. The Board and Acting Chief Executive
acknowledge this and have in some instances, begun that
work. Tony Hartevelt said that the
report confirms that, after a difficult implementation, the
NCEA is beginning to return benefits for the education
sector. The findings and recommendations in the report
would provide valuable guidance for NZQA going
forward. There was a strong desire expressed by a majority
of schools and by all of the representative organisations to
address the issues that have emerged from the first three
years of implementation of NCEA and to move on. The
Review Team has also recorded the design issues that were
raised during the consultation process that did not fall
under the Terms of Reference and recommends they be referred
to the Secondary Leaders' Forum for consideration in the
NCEA Stocktake. "The report acknowledges the difficulties
that have come with the implementation of NCEA, but it also
recognizes the merits of the standards-based assessment, and
the proactive manner in which the Board, the Acting Chief
Executive and the senior management are addressing the
issues identified in the report," Tony Hartevelt said.
Contact Jason Ryan, State Services Commission, 04 495
2850 Review report The Review report and background terms
of reference is available online at
http://www.ssc.govt.nz/review-nzqa-part-two
ENDS
* Overall, it must be acknowledged that the
implementation of NCEA has been a massive undertaking and
NZQA deserves credit for what has been achieved to date, as
does the teaching profession.