The coalition Government has moved quickly to support teachers with the rollout of the new Level 1 NCEA standards, which the Labour Government rushed to implement, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.

“The previous Government implemented new NCEA Level 1 standards without providing key components like subject learning outcomes or external assessment exemplars to teachers,” says Ms Stanford.

“NZQA exemplars were not going to be released until May this year – when much of the teaching would already have taken place.

“That is why in December last year, I directed NZQA to urgently expedite the availability of all Level 1 exemplars.

“Exemplars for the Science standards are available today, while other subjects will become available through February and March, much earlier than the original May deadline.

“After teachers and subject associations raised concerns with me that the Level 1 standards were unclear about what needed to be taught for students to be successful, I directed officials in December last year to work with sector experts to produce detailed learning outcomes.

“Learning outcomes are available now and will continue to be updated throughout the year.

“I also directed officials to ensure that a Level 1 teacher guide and workshops are available to teachers to better support the roll out of the new NCEA standards.

“The new teacher guide is available today and workshops will be progressively rolled out during Term 1.

“Although the previous Government rushed the implementation of the new Level 1 standards before they were ready, these actions mean teachers have access to the tools they need to ensure students are successful at Level 1.

“I will continue to work very closely with officials, NZQA, Subject Associations and PEAK body groups to understand what further support for NCEA Level 1 can be provided.”

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