Logjam as students check results

Hawke's Bay students were able to put their minds at ease and check their NCEA results yesterday - those that could beat the traffic and actually log on, that is.

About 5800 students sat Levels 1, 2, 3, and Scholarship exams in the region last year, and after a rigorous marking and moderating process results were released yesterday amidst a storm of computer glitches that brought the site to a standstill.

On Monday, a testing hiccup meant some students were able to access their results a day early - only to have access revoked five minutes later.

Hastings Girls' High School student Catherine Cater, 18, who has just completed Year 13, said she was unaffected by the hide-and-seek results display and also the traffic overload that yesterday denied access to many eager students, including her twin brother Harrison.

"I think I must have been one of the first and had no glitches at all but then literally maybe half an hour later my brother tried and couldn't log on."

The plight of many locked out of the website was recorded on Facebook and Twitter, but Catherine said she was pleased with her results, already securing her pass and endorsement before exams began.

She will study media and journalism at Massey University in Palmerston North next month.

An NZQA spokeswoman said the site was tested extensively before the results were released, and maximum resources had been dedicated to ensuring their accessibility.

"Even with this amount of preparation some users are facing delays being able to log in to access results. We are actively managing the system to maximise performance."

Of the 5844 students who sat NCEA and scholarship exams in Hawke's Bay last year, 2794 were at Level 1, 2206 at Level 2, 1527 at Level 3 and 320 at Scholarship level.

NZQA said students had until February 18 to apply for reviews and reconsideration, or for standards to be re-checked or re-marked.

New Zealand is the only country in the world to return marked exam papers to students, which would take place later this month.

After the papers have been returned, Scholarship students would be able to view their results online from mid-February.

Students can also request paper copies of their result summaries and achievement records from today.

National student achievement statistics - where anyone can view a school's achievement rates - would not be published until March.