Credits crisis for NCEA pupils

Vicky Tai and Jade Leung from St.Cuthberts College. Photo / Doug Sherring

Some of the country's bigger high schools are cancelling more than half their pupils' NCEA enrolments - and some admit it's because the children aren't going to make the grade.

In Auckland, the Education Ministry says it received two complaints about students being withdrawn last year.

Amid claims that some schools are boosting their results by "credit cleansing" struggling students, Secondary Principals' Association president Patrick Walsh said the New Zealand Qualifications Authority should investigate "to maintain the credibility of NCEA".

NZQA data, requested by the Herald on Sunday, reveals that Hagley Community College in Christchurch withdrew pupils from 87,930 credits. That's equivalent to pulling out 800 kids, based on an average workload of 110 credits a year.

Other schools with high withdrawal numbers included William Colenso College in Napier, Linwood College in Christchurch, the top state girls' schools in Hamilton and Otago, and Western Springs High School in Auckland.

Some, like Hagley College, Huntly College and Gisborne Boys' High School, made most of the withdrawals in September - the final month before NCEA closed off.

Most schools insist the difficulty is with the MUSAC enrolment software: they are forced to enrol pupils at the start of the year for far more credits than they will ever complete.

But when NZQA sent the schools with the highest withdrawal numbers a "please explain" note this week, some schools acknowledged they were pulling pupils out if they weren't doing well enough.

Logan Park High School in Dunedin explained: "As the academic year progresses, students' strengths and weaknesses are identified and we adjust to meet these."

And Kaikorai Valley College said it was enrolling students with "borderline ability" then pulling them out later in the year if necessary. Sometimes, the college said, teachers ran out of time to teach the content.

Bali Haque, NZQA deputy chief executive, told the Herald on Sunday he was not too concerned as there were many possible reasons for high withdrawal rates, such as pupils changing course or moving schools. If there was a problem, he said, it was "marginal".

But after further questions from the newspaper, NZQA contacted schools with the highest withdrawal numbers, asking them to "please explain". Haque would supply the paper only with edited versions of their responses.

These blamed the MUSAC enrolment software, data entry mistakes, and entering children for all possible credits then deciding later which ones they would complete.

Western Springs College principal Ken Havill confirmed his school was contacted and said it had broken no rules.

At Hagley Community College, principal Brent Ingram said the 87,930 withdrawals reflected the school's unique student population, including many refugees. He made no apologies for withdrawing students at the last minute: he wanted his students to sit the credits only "when they're ready".

But he questioned the motivation of teachers at some other schools.

William Colenso College principal Daniel Murfitt said the answer was simple: He had pupils in multi-level classes, working at different levels, and all the children were entered into all possible credits studied by that class, then pulled out from those that didn't apply.

Asked if other schools were withdrawing students to engineer better rankings on school league tables, he said "There's a concern that league tables drive some schools to maybe undertake that practice."

Education Minister Anne Tolley said parents had a right to transparent information from schools and she expected schools to supply this.

NCEA'S LIFE SKILLS

Your child can now leave school fully qualified to clean a toilet, make a bed, boil an egg or safely hold a chainsaw.

Introduced with fanfare to prepare New Zealand kids for the "real world", the National Certificate of Educational Achievement has been controversial from day one.

NZQA says it constantly reviews the courses - but ultimately, the sheer range of options proves the qualification's success in providing for children with varying abilities and needs.

The Herald on Sunday revealed this year that Auckland Grammar headmaster John Morris had pulled almost all his students out of the qualification. "There's no level playing field," he says.

But some principals say it is better to keep kids in schools, studying subjects they enjoy and learning skills that will meet their needs, rather than forcing them into an old-fashioned curriculum of Latin and classics.

Bill Millward, Mangakino Area School principal, makes no apologies for his small group of pupils doing "easy credits" like learning to drive quad bikes and carrying chainsaws correctly. The pupils got a 100 per cent pass rate last year.

NCEA credits available include:

* Strip and make beds.

* Demonstrate telephone calling and answering techniques. Prepare and cook a cake, a sponge and scones.

* Service guest room toilet and bathroom areas in a commercial establishment.

* Clean motel exterior windows.

TO NCEA - OR NOT TO NCEA?

Politicians, teachers, parents ... we've heard them all debate the merits of NCEA. But what about the pupils?

We asked high-achieving St Cuthbert's College year 13 students, one who is studying NCEA and one who has chosen to do the International Baccalaureate. They agreed on one thing: it's all about working hard.

NCEA: Jade Leung, 17, one of four Kiwi students selected to attend the Chemistry Olympiad in Turkey, plans to train as an engineer at Auckland University. NCEA's strength is its flexibility, she says,enabling her to choose "hard" subjects such as physics, biology, and statistics, as well as English and painting. She wants scholarship results.

IB: Vicky Tai, 17, one of four students chosen to attend the Biology Olympiad in Taiwan, is aiming for a career in medical or biomedical engineering. She is studying three sciences, English, maths, philosophy and Frenchas well as doing community service and writing a thesis. The latter, she reckons, should help prepare her well for university study.