Attended a 'masterclass' or fireside chat organised by the NZVETRF presented by Rebecca Frankum, Transitions in Upper Secondary School Education, OECD Secretariat. A recent report 'the theory and practice of upper secondary certification' authored by Hannah Kitchen and Rebecca, forms the basis for the discussion.
Notes taken from the presentation/discussion:
Josh Williams from Skills facilitates the session. He began with an overview of NZVETR, the background to this session (the change of NZ school leaving qualifications) and introduce Rebecca - who presents from Paris.
The presentation worked through the report, with an emphasis on some of the implications and applications within the NZ context.
- Began with the importance of upper secondary certficates as it accreditates them towards the next step in their lifes.
- Study looked into how upper secondary certificates were structured. did they incorporate and assess a broad range of skills? reflect the diverse skills and strengths of all students? enable progression to the students' next steps.
- Analysis of upper secondary certicates (71 certificates, 38 systems) on nature of assessments, who marked, what did they include, was there activity within unseen questions/tasks? allow for natural occuring evidence.
- 3 categories - certificates that include external exams, but no internal assessment; certificates include internal but no external exams; and certificates that include both (NZ NCEA is an example).
- exams still have an important role as they assess complex skills like analysis, evaluation and creating and include a range of problems, sources and multimedia materials.
- Higher education entrance exams - same exam papers, consistent marking, consistent standard of difficult, same exam conditons. Useful as 'gate keeper' - certify knoweldge, understanding and skills and facilitate selection.
- Wider range of exam formats support validity but can be hard to design and some skills (practical, social. emotional, higher order ectc) hard to assess.
- Balancing assessment approaches (fairness, credibility, relevant, manageable) supports robustness of certificates.
- Most systems (usually 3 - 2 vocational and 1 general) have separate certificates for vocational education - NZ is an outlier with one to fit everything.
- Models for designing upper secondary education include personalised systems (significant choice) (Australia, NZ, US of A), intermediate (Estonia, Poland, Denmark), structured (limited choice) (Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland).
- how vocational certificates are assessed shapes pathway opportunities. All external, all internal or both. Vocational certificates are generally all internal whereas general programmes are mostly all external. General certificates usually set by teachers and assessed externally. Whereas VET set by teachers and 'boards' and may be assessed both externally and internally.
- Achieving 'parity' across vocational and general certificates is not about just assessing the same skills and providing the same pathways, Vocational upper secondary certificates need to balange authentic assessment of practical skills and also providing pathways to higher education. Efforts fo create equitable pathways can result in close alignment to general certificates, masking the unique value and skills of vocational programmes.
- To meet the parity challenge, need to involve a range of stakeholders and assessment formats. Assess occupational skills through practical exams and workplace assessments. Involve professionals and employers through local juries or assessment boards to ensure vocational certificates represent the skills and knowledge of industry.
Q & A followed.
Balance between vocational and general is a challenge, fit for purpose and enable learners to be recognised for what they have developed through education.
Modern certificates tend to recognise a wider range of skills, knowledge and attributes, beyond just the academic. Curriculum reforms tend to focus on how to accredit across the wide range.
In NZ, autonomy from students and teachers is high. This is not the case internationally. Innovations and ways to meet the needs of learners by schools, means the consistency across NCEA is difficult to manage. Retaining this flexibility is still important.
There is room for both external (exams) and internal assessments. The purpose of the assessments, and what is to be assessed should be the key to making the decision.
Recognised the complexities of VET learning :)
Good update on what is happening in the school completion certificates. There is no right/wrong approach, many challenges, and working through these require clear understanding of the purpose of these qualifications.
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