Pacific teachers worried about new NCEA test rates - ‘Kids were disillusioned’

By RNZ

Poor results in trial NCEA tests have been heart-breaking for teachers and students in Pacific nations.

An independent report on a September trial of reading, writing and maths tests said teachers in Niue and the Cook Islands found the tests were difficult.

Between 120-180 Realm country students sat each of the September tests with 19 per cent passing numeracy, 21 per cent reading and 27 per cent writing.

The results were well below the overall pass rates of 46 per cent in writing, 57 per cent in numeracy, and 58 per cent in reading.

The report said people in the Realm countries had a positive attitude to the tests and put a lot of effort into preparing for them.

“But the pilots have really taken their toll … on the well-being of staff and students…there have been aspects of the pilot that haven’t been good enough,” a teacher told evaluators.

“It’s battering. We had kids that were disillusioned. We’ve had examples of mental well-being really being impacted… It’s high stakes for them ... It’s been massive and heart-breaking,” said another.

The report said schools had problems with wi-fi connectivity, access to devices, and students’ digital skills.

It said officials should consider using paper-based tests until the difficulties were resolved.

The report said teachers suggested the contexts used in some questions were too unfamiliar for Realm students and the language used in the numeracy test was too complicated.

Teachers also warned that most Realm students learned English as a second language and were disadvantaged by the tests.