English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:623;Page:18371] 
4.  
Hon BILL ENGLISH (National—Clutha-Southland) 
 to the  
Associate Minister of Education 
: Who will be accountable for any unfairness or inconsistency in NCEA results? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE (Associate Minister of Education) 
: 
 The New Zealand Qualifications Authority and the Ministry of Education have operational and policy-setting responsibilities respectively with regard to the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). If any unfairness or inconsistencies are identified as having arisen out of the performance of those agencies I will take responsibility for ensuring they are addressed by the respective agencies. 
Hon Bill English 
: How does he think students feel when they have seen in the last week stories in the media about a student who won a geography scholarship yet had never attended a geography class; claims that while 1 percent of biology entrants won a scholarship 60 percent of accounting students won a scholarship; and that students who did poorly in level 3 ended up winning scholarships at level 4; and why has he sat dumb while the credibility of the NCEA has been eroded? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: Some such experiences clearly are not uncommon in examination systems and equally clearly need investigation. However it should be no surprise that such matters occur when examiners mark approximately 1.8 million exam scripts as they have in the 2004 exams. As I have already stated I will ensure that such perceived inconsistencies are fully investigated. 
Jim Peters 
: Would there not be greater integrity with regard to the NCEA if all unit standards were separately noted on the student’s record of learning thereby making clear and distinct the record of achievement standard credits? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: I am certainly prepared to entertain incremental improvements to the NCEA and I thank the member for his suggestion. I must say that in a system that is overwhelmingly supported by the community—students and parents—it is much more productive to work to improve the system rather than try to pull it down. 
Bernie Ogilvy 
: Does the Minister agree that the NCEA’s inability to act decisively gives the public no reason to have any confidence in the New Zealand Qualifications Authority; if not why not? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: I must acknowledge some difficulty understanding the question. I do not understand why the NCEA should be required to act decisively. 
Hon Bill English 
: Is the Minister aware that schools have been asked to comment on the scholarship exam from 2004 by 18 February but as of today 8 February schools have still not received the national profile results which would enable them to compare their performance with the national norms—results that were in fact promised in a circular put out by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority to be delivered in late January and why have those results been delayed? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: The member will recall that I said in the House last week that it was my understanding that those results would be sent to schools “within the next few days”. I have inquired further and I am informed that those results will be going to schools this afternoon. For the member’s information and for the interest of the House the results for which Mr English is clamouring were last year released to schools in April. 
Hon Bill English 
: Can the Minister answer the question I asked him earlier on which was this: why has he subjected students to a week of bad publicity based on rumours about a qualification for which they have all worked extremely hard while he has sat around plotting neat little spin operations with the New Zealand Qualifications Authority and students watch the credibility of their qualification go down the drain? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: I rather think it is the questioner who has subjected the students and candidates in our exam system and scholarship system to appallingly bad publicity and I think he should look in the mirror rather than accuse me of making statements like that.