Bay students excel in NCEA

EXCELLENCE: Aquinas College student Briar Patel achieved an Excellence endorsement on her NCEA Level 2 qualification last year. She was also top scholar for technology. PHOTO/ANDREW WARNER

A large proportion of Western Bay students are not only achieving their high school qualifications - they're getting top grades.

Recently released NCEA results show the proportion of Year 11 students that gained endorsements of Merit or Excellence on their NCEA Level 1 certificates was higher than the national average in seven of the 10 Western Bay of Plenty secondary schools.

Aquinas College student Briar Patel, 17, got an Excellence endorsement on her NCEA Level 2 certificate last year.

Briar also got the top marks in the country for the technology Scholarship exam.

"I was really pleased with my results. I was working towards getting an Excellence endorsement, although I was focusing more on my hard technology subject."

Briar said she got mostly Excellence marks in her internal assessments through the year. By term three, she had already gained the 50 credits required for an Excellence endorsement.

She is considering studying product design at AUT next year.

Mount Maunganui College principal Russell Gordon said his school's endorsement rates were not where he wanted them to be.

"Our goal, first and foremost, has been to ensure that every child gets their requisite NCEA qualification."

When leaving school and entering the "competitive market" of tertiary study or the workplace, Mr Gordon said it was important students could show they had achieved at college to the highest level.

Tauranga Girls' College principal Pauline Cowens said she was pleased with the number of Excellence endorsements her students had gained last year.

"Our girls exceeded our targets by a high margin. It's a goal of ours to encourage all students to not just go for achievement, but to go for the highest level of achievement they are capable of."

Tauranga Boys' College principal Robert Mangan said he was pleased with his school's level of Merit endorsements, but disappointed in the Excellence endorsements.

"Our boys seem to strive for Merit and seem to think that's an achievement in itself, getting an endorsement. We're constantly encouraging them to strive for Excellence," Mr Mangan said.

He said a major focus of the college was getting his students to achieve NCEA Level 2.

"Our focus is on getting more boys over the line in achievement. It's about increasing the overall level of achievement."

Otumoetai College principal Dave Randell said his school endorsement rates were well above the national average and his students were performing at a high level.

Gaining a Merit or Excellence endorsement at Level 2 meant considerable scholarships to certain universities and Mr Randell said students were told this was a target to meet.

The Bay of Plenty Times was unable to reach other schools for comment.

Assessment
In NCEA, students gain credits for each assessment they complete. Students must achieve a certain number of credits to gain an NCEA certificate.

Assessments are graded with Achieved, Merit or Excellence and the corresponding credits are assigned to those categories. If a student gains 50 Excellence credits, their NCEA will be endorsed with Excellence. Likewise, if a student gains 50 Merit credits (or a combination of Merit and Excellence), their NCEA will be endorsed with Merit.

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