Secondary school principals and teachers are raising the alarm after thousands of students failed the new online NCEA literacy and numeracy tests. Māori and Pacific students were particularly affected.
“It’s not helping with the equity gap at all, in fact, it’s exacerbating it,” said Vaughan Couillault, president of the Secondary Principals’ Association. Some believe these tests may be creating more problems than they solve.
In May of this year more than 54,000 students sat the numeracy test, but 54% failed. Failure rates were as high as 77% for Pacific students and 71% for Māori.
Similarly, over half of Māori and Pacific students failed in reading and writing. Pip Tinning, president of the Association of Teachers of English, described the results as “absolutely horrific,” especially for Māori and Pacific students.
Teachers are also questioning whether the online format of the tests is a factor in the low pass rates. Some students may not perform well in online exams, which could be contributing to their poor outcomes.
Additionally, the pressure on schools to quickly bring students up to standard is immense, with concerns that the focus on passing these tests might overshadow broader educational goals.
The next round of testing is scheduled for September. There are calls for changes to be made before then.
The Centerist.