Hon. Bill English MP
National Party Education Spokesman

05 November 2005

Another NCEA exam is ‘tweaked’

National Party Education spokesman Bill English says another NCEA exam is being re-marked to adjust pass rates to more acceptable levels.

"I have been advised that the marking schedule for Level 3 Biology has been altered a number of times during the marking process in order to get the right number of merit and excellence passes.

“As with the English papers, this looks like more on-the-hoof scaling to get the right result.

“NZQA has admitted that Level One English will be re-marked according to a new schedule. However, what’s very worrying is that in Level Three Biology, there has been a number of changes.

“It will be difficult for NZQA to show that this type of scaling has integrity when it appears to be tinkering with standards and making up the marking schedule as it goes along.

“This scaling of results is a major defeat for the NZQA, which deserves credit for owning up. However, parents, teachers and students deserve to be given more precise information so they can be assured the changes are credible,” says Mr English.

ENDS

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