2020 NCEA Student Assessment Guidelines

MARCELLIN COLLEGE NCEA ASSESSMENT STUDENT GUIDELINES 1

STUDENT READINESS Student readiness is based on whether a student is ready for an assessment or not. If there are concerns about progress towards achievement, teachers can arrange with the Dean for any additional support for students to reach their full potential. DUE DATES AND TIMES Due dates and times for assessments are seen in the Assessment Statements given to each student for each subject at the beginning of the year. This is to remind the student for any upcoming due dates and, if necessary, to make changes depending on circumstances. Each student will be clearly advised by the teacher for any single-day assessments. SUBMISSION OF ASSESSMENT TASKS IF NOT PRESENT AT SCHOOL ON DUE DATE For whatever reason, if a student is genuinely prevented from attending school on the day that a task is submitted, then the work must be emailed, shared or sent in (with a friend, a family member) to reach the Student Services Office by the due time. The work needs to be clearly labelled with both student and subject name. The Student Services Office will write the delivery time on the package. MISSED ASSESSMENTS A valid reason needs to be presented to either the teacher, Dean or Student Services if a student has missed an assessment. - If assessment is a single day event (e.g. test or practical) another opportunity is given to the student to undergo similar conditions as other students. If not, the student will be recorded ‘Absent’ - If assessment is a report or essay done online, and the work has not been handed in, the student will receive a ‘Not Achieved’ - Unless a valid reason is presented, students cannot be entitled to extensions. MISSED ASSESSMENTS - VALID REASONS Valid reasons: 1) Justified sickness - one or two days with a letter from family (at the discretion of the teacher), three or more days with medical evidence 2) Family trauma - with evidence provided from family and/or Guidance Counsellor 3) Representing the school - agreed in advance with evidence of attendance from supervising teacher Unacceptable reasons that are not valid: Staying at home to finish work, family days out, birthdays, non-urgent travel, baby-sitting younger family members, sleeping in, unjustified sickness (three days absence with no doctor’s certificate or less than three 2

days without letter from parent), working, holidays in term time, travelling to non-school cultural activities, truancy. If, after considering a request and the supporting documentation from the medical practitioner, the legal caregiver, or the external organisation, the Principal’s Nominee does grant an extension then the student and the department concerned will be advised in writing. RESUBMISSIONS Resubmission opportunities are for ​individual​ students rather than whole classes. This is given if a student only has a small number of errors or omissions to make in order to go from: - Not Achieved to Achieved - Achieved to Merit or - Merit to Excellence FURTHER ASSESSMENT OPPORTUNITIES Further Assessment Opportunities (FAO’s) occurs when a topic needs to be re-taught and a new but similar assessment is given. - A standard can only contain one FAO - Every student can participate unless they have chosen to stick with the mark they have or have already achieved with Excellence. - If the student has chosen to participate, the better grade will be awarded to the student. AUTHENTICITY/BREACHES OF THE ASSESSMENT RULES Internal Assessments must be your ​own​ work. If any signs of plagiarism (e.g from the internet or unacknowledged source) is seen, the student will be penalised. The teacher will investigate the student’s work. Where work on a standard has been done outside the classroom the student and his/her legal caregiver may be asked to sign a Declaration of Authenticity to attach to the completed work. There are some very good video clips on “How to avoid Plagiarism” on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1zzsRUmCp8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjmCuPyLQBc http://www.youtube.com/watch=2a8VJAo2Aic If a student: - Has copied from another student, both students will receive a ‘Not Achieved’ - Shows any signs of dishonesty, they may receive a ‘Not Achieved’ 3

In test and examination conditions there must be no signs of communication with any other student. Any student caught cheating will receive a penalty and a ‘Not Achieved’ for the assessment, regardless of the quality of their work. Disciplinary action may involve parents or an interview with the Principal. Major dishonesty will be reported to New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). BIBLIOGRAPHIES All departments in the school follow the referencing conventions set out below. Besides training students for tertiary-level study, insistence on these conventions assists teachers in establishing the authenticity of student work. Examples: For Books: (Author- surname first; title-underlined; publisher, year of publication) Leiter, Sharon, ​English for Beginners, H​ arrap, 1967 Jones, E.M. and Solomon, B. (eds), T​ he Language Experience​, Collins, 1999 For Articles: (Author- surname first; title – in inverted commas;/editor of text – surname first; title of text – underlined, publisher; date of publication, page numbers) Coleridge, Janine J., “Origins of Greek Drama,” in Blotner, J.L. (ed), ​The Complete Guide to Greek​ ​Drama, Oxford University Press, 2005, pp. 37-76 -, “Lawyer Attacks Elderly Witness,” T​ he New Zealand Herald,​ Wilson and Horton, 27 April 1994, p.6 For Internet Sources: (Full website or e mail address) E-Mail: [email protected] Website: www.​ ​ Swimforlife.org.nz Other examples can be found on the internet. Footnotes: Footnotes are numbered sequentially and are similar in style to bibliographical entries. However, given names precede surnames and, in the case of printed text, specific page numbers are always given. 1. Sharon, Leiter, E​ nglish for Beginners,​ Harrap, 1967, p. XVII 2. ​ibid​, - for a footnote identical to the immediately preceding one 2. ​ ibid,​ p. XXI – for a footnote identical to the immediately preceding one except for page number 8. Leiter, o​ p cit​, p.3 – for the only source by the author already identified in the footnotes and after footnotes to other sources have intervened. 10. Leiter, English for Beginners, p. 97 – full details given in earlier footnote but o​ p cit​ is not of used because more than one work by Leiter has already been referred to in the footnotes. 4

Footnotes were traditionally located at the bottom of the relevant pages. However, it is now acceptable to locate them in a single list at the end of a chapter or short paper. Some publishers group them by chapter at the end of a book, preceding the bibliography. APPEALS Students who believe that they have been wrongly judged to have breached the rules may also complete the appropriate appeal form available from the Principal’s Nominee and take it to the Principal. SECURE RECORDING OF ASSESSMENT RESULTS Assessment results can be seen on KAMAR and each student's privacy is upheld unless they permit sharing their results and/or work with others. SPECIAL ASSESSMENT CONDITIONS Special Assessment conditions are given to students with any permanent, long-term or learning difficulties which will affect their performance in assessments. The Principal's Nominee, along with the school’s SENCO, will submit an application for a special assessment condition to be processed by NZQA. Special assessment conditions are not available for externally assessed Achievement Standards for: - Technology - Design and Visual Communication and - Visual Arts Students entitled to special assessment conditions in external assessments will have the same conditions organised for them in appropriate internal assessments and practice examinations by the school’s SENCO. A​ temporarily disabled​ student undertaking internal assessments who is deemed by the Principal’s Nominee to be a candidate for any form of special assessment conditions must give the Principal's Nominee adequate advance notice of all assessments for which special conditions are required. This will allow time for any necessary NZQA approval to be sought. UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE The University Entrance qualification is achieved by: (a) gaining at least 42 credits at Level 3 or higher, the 42 or more being made up of at least 14 credits in each of three different Approved Subjects; And 5

(b) meeting the UE Literacy criterion by gaining from specified Standards in a range of subjects at least 5 credits in Reading at Level 2 or higher and 5 credits in Writing at Level 2 or higher; And (c) meeting the UE Numeracy criterion by gaining from specified Standards in a range of subjects at least 10 credits at any level or combination of levels; And (d) passing Level Three NCEA. NOTE: This information applies to ​The University of Auckland only. T​ his university has a academic language requirement. The applicant must have 17 credits in English level 2 or 3. This requirement does not stop you attending the university but during your first year of study you will be required to complete a course in academic English. APPROVED SUBJECTS FOR UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE The subjects that are currently approved and available at Marcellin College are listed below. Level Three students who are a to limited entry courses at tertiary level are responsible at the start of Year 13 for ensuring that: - their courses have the requisite balance of List A and List B subjects as specified by the universities; - they have researched entry requirements, which will nearly always be higher than the 42 credits at Level Three or above which constitute, along with UE Literacy and Numeracy and Level Three NCEA, the minimum for the award of University Entrance. Approved subjects at Marcellin College are​: Religious Education, English, Mathematics with Calculus, Statistics and Modelling, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Digital Technology, Design and Visual Communication, Social Studies, Accounting, History, Geography, Classical Studies, Drama, Dance, Music, Art Painting, Sports Science. SCHOLARSHIP Students contemplating entry for Scholarship examinations must speak with their subject teachers prior to being interviewed by the Principal’s Nominee. The decision is not taken lightly, as Scholarship is awarded only to the top few percent in each subject; in general, to the sort of candidate who is consistently performing at Excellence level in a subject throughout the year. There are various forms to be filled in by teacher, student and parent/caregivers before a student is entered into a Scholarship examination. These ensure that all parties are fully aware of the commitment required on the part of the student and of the considerable support for the student expected of the adult parties. 6

THE EXTERNAL EXAMINATION TIMETABLE The timetable for the November-December examinations is posted online on the NCEA website and in the school office. THE NCEA STUDENT APP This is a most useful tool for NCEA students and parents and can be downloaded free from either the Apple Store or the Google Play Store. QUERIES Should you or your caregiver(s) have any questions about any aspect of this information, please contact the Principal’s Nominee: Ms. Alisha Hunt [email protected] 7