SUCCESS! NZQA Apologise!....Justice for NCEA Students Still Not Over Though!

Thank you guys for all your support with this petition over the course of the past week! We have succeeded in over half our requests from our petition to NZQA, most of which is outlined in the Stuff article linked below. Although the article does not reference our petition, we should be proud in our contribution in attaining justice for NZQA students. NZQA has apologised regarding their poor communication following the severe earthquakes that struck New Zealand on Monday last week. Wellington High School principal Nigel Hanton stated "I was called by the Ministry (of Education) at about 6.40 that morning, as they were directing schools to close. We didn't get information from NZQA until some hours later." Sacred Heart College (Lower Hutt) principal Maria Potter also voiced frustrations, stating "The message on Monday came out far too late for us. We needed to know a lot earlier what was going on, so now we're getting frustration from parents and all the rest of it." We can now proudly say that we have achieved success in obtaining an apology from NZQA. Some of our other requirements have also been met so this update will go through the progress in attaining success for each point stated in the petition: 1) Those who sat the exam on Monday should still be eligible for derived grades. - SUCCESS 2) Those who were unable to sit the exam should still be able to with a new set of questions. - NO SUCCESS SO FAR! Potentially unlikely due to the short timeframe however we are hoping for some sort of resolution from NZQA. 3) Removal of external requirements to gain course endorsement - NO SUCCESS EITHER. Could be tweaked to cover only some of the affected subjects? Hoping for a comment from NZQA regarding this. 4) Application of the aforementioned to affected areas - SCHOOLS DECIDE ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS, NO COMMENTS FROM AFFECTED STUDENTS WHO WERE UNELIGIBLE FOR A DERIVED GRADE. -- If there are any students who were affected by the natural disaster and NZQA's handling of exams last Monday 14th November and were uneligible for a derived grade then please comment your situation below so we can voice your concerns to NZQA. -- 5) Scholarship students allowed to accept initial exam grade or resit scholarship exam. - SUCCESS - Scholarship students who already sat their full exam are able to accept that grade but unsure if they are allowed to resit? -- If there are any scholarship students affected by NZQA's stance and decision regarding this then please comment on your situation below and we can try to voice your concerns to NZQA, otherwise, we are counting this policy as a SUCCESS! -- 6) Apology from NZQA - SUCCESS! 7) Emergency exam days for NCEA exams - SUCCESS - No specific information regarding the implementation of this however, it is probably still in the planning stages. 8) NZQA are to conduct a review regarding their poor handling and communication of exams - SUCCESS! - Although NZQA have not mentioned the specific details of the review such as that outlined in our petition, the fact that they will conduct a review into their management of the incident is a success in itself. 9) Schools should be allowed to offer new mock exams to students which will be used as derived grades - NO SUCCESS SO FAR. Many schools are eager to offer students the opportunity to redo their mock exams, with many students also willing to resit their mock exams and have this used as their derived grades. Mock exams do NOT show the full potential and capability for numerous reasons ranging from the content not being taught or understood fully yet to weaknesses in a student's learning or understanding of the topic not being identified yet. Everybody who signed this petition should be proud of the contribution that they have made to bringing attention to the issue of NZQA's poor handling and communication regarding the exams! However the fight for justice isn't over yet! NZQA may have apologised and promised to do better in the future but thousands of students are still affected by this today! The treatment of students and their exams by NCEA has been pathetic and our inability to sit external exams and/or resit mock exams will affect the prospects of some students for a lifetime as some may not be able to gain the credits or endorsements that they rightfully deserve! This petition will be ongoing until the point where the needs of ALL students are satisfied with all the criteria outlined in the petition being met by NZQA. Hopefully all you guys have done well in exams amidst the chaos that surrounded it! Remember to keep sharing this petition with anybody who hasn't signed it: students, teachers, parents....NZQA staff (worth a shot!) Stay Safe, Andre :-)