Too Tough Test in Typing Also Needs Scaling

Concerned Teachers
P.O. Box 5035
Papanui
Media Statement

Sunday 14 January 2001

Attention: Education/Political Reporters

Too Tough Test in Typing Also Needs Scaling

“Examination results in School Certificate Typing have also had to be scaled up significantly to be fair to students,” said Concerned Teachers spokesperson Peter Calvert. Mr Calvert said that this was in addition to the well publicised problem in Bursary Maths with Calculus.

“The Typing examination had at least one question worth 16 marks that was poorly set and looked like it should have been in a Home Economics test instead. Students and teachers had real difficulty working out what the Mr Men type cartoons were about and could not understand why they were being tested about their knowledge of hygiene in a Typing exam!”

“This examination if left ‘unscaled’ would therefore have penalised the students who sat this subject. To be fair NZQA has had to lift the marks through the marking schedule so that the correct ratio of students pass as in other subjects,” said Mr Calvert.

“In School Certificate Typing, because NZQA likes students to get the same raw mark as their scaled one, markers were told to give all students full marks for the hard question if they attempted it, even though their answers were wrong.”

This has allowed the normal distribution to be arrived at,” said Mr Calvert. “From 2002 there will be no scaling for School Cert (level one of NCEA) because there will be no predetermined distribution of grades. If students get a tough test like this, too bad. This is patently unfair.”

“NZQA had five different staff editing the TIM paper. Given this process can result in such bad papers, how fair will the NCEA be for students? Maybe it is the students of Typing and Maths with Calculus who should have got the $2 000 stress payments, not NZQA staff!” said Mr Calvert.

Ends: For More information contact: Peter Calvert 021 2111 825 E-mail ConcernedTeachers@xtra.co.nz Website www.concernedteachers.com

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