Reassessment and resubmission

Occasionally further formal assessment opportunities are available for internal standards. This is only possible if further learning has occurred and if there is time in the programme to offer them. If a reassessment opportunity is available, there is a maximum of one reassessment opportunity for a standard. You complete a different task assessing the same standard. You are awarded the higher of your two grades for that standard.

Some departments are able to offer resubmission opportunities. The same assessment task or item can be handed in again for remarking within a specified time. This allows you to redo some of the task in sections where parts did not quite meet the standard.

Resubmission is possible only for students who have made a genuine effort to meet the standard, but have just missed out on the credits. Don’t imagine that you can take a casual approach, put in little effort and expect to have another attempt at the same task.

There is no reassessment available for external achievement standards. If you do not achieve some or all of your external achievement standards you will have to wait 12 months if you wish to sit them again during the next year’s examinations.

The good thing about reassessment and resubmission is that you have another formal chance to succeed.

However, not all achievement and unit standards have reassessment or resubmission opportunities because of the nature of the assessment tasks and because of the pressure ongoing assessment places on teaching and learning. You must check the subject handouts for all your subjects carefully for details about this.

Some assessments take place over a longer period of time and there are a number of opportunities to reach the standard. You may do a portfolio of work and select the best pieces of work for submission towards the end of the course. The teachers give you feedback and you have the opportunity to improve your performance before the final submission date. This is different from a formal resubmission opportunity. It is part of the normal teaching and learning process.

Compassionate consideration for external qualifications

If you miss the external examinations because of ill-health, an accident or family bereavement you are able to apply for estimated grades for the external achievement standards that you missed.

It is most likely that school practice examinations will be used to estimate these grades.

You will need to see Kate Williams during the external examination weeks and get the official forms. You will have to take them to your doctor to complete if you are ill and then hand them in to Kate Williams on or before the last day of the examination period.

Special assessment conditions

For a handful of students with special needs, adults are available to read and/or write their internal assessment tasks and examinations.

There are strict guidelines and outside professional evidence is required. Normally you will have been identified and have received this support at primary and intermediate school as well as in years 9 and 10.

It is very rare for students to gain special assessment assistance for the first time in the senior school. Strong outside evidence is needed and your academic performance must be well below average. You also have to show clearly that you have the potential to achieve much higher grades. Breaking your arm just before the examinations is not grounds for having a writer. (See compassionate consideration above.)

Applications are finalised in term 2.

NZQA’s policy is available on their website, http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/acrp/secondary/index.html , in Section 6. Qualification Authority based Assessment Rules and Procedures.

Timing of assessments

Each term you are given a term planner which shows all the subjects at a level and the weeks when assessments will occur.

Usually these dates will not change. If for some compelling reason they do have to be altered the department will give you the new date in writing at least two weeks in advance.

Each subject provides you with the actual due day (and time, e.g. in the class spell or at the end of the day) for your internal assessments in that subject.

You get that date at least two weeks in advance and in writing.

Teachers use a year planner to try and avoid clashes of dates. However, there are always some weeks that have a lot of assessment and some weeks that have very little. You need to manage your time. If you are very overloaded you may apply for an extension of time.

The Learning Support department offers after-school workshops in time management and study techniques.

Keeping your work safe

You should hand in your own work.

You should give it to the teacher in person at the time specified. The teacher is not responsible if work left on a desk or in a pigeonhole goes missing.

The only exception to this is if you are absent when a piece of work is due (see the section on late work). You may phone the school office and then get a friend, parent or courier to hand the work to the person in the school office. The office will sign it in and put a time and date on it to protect you.

Your internal assessment material is likely to be retained by the department especially if other classes have not yet completed the task. In addition, schools have to hold at least one set of assessment work so the standard of marking can be checked by NZQA. The subject departments are responsible for the safe storage of all your internal assessment work. 

Checking your assessment data

You have the right to check all the internal assessment data held on computer before it is submitted to the New Zealand Qualifications Authority.

This usually happens when all the internal assessment is completed in term 4.

You are asked to sign that the data is correct.

Before you sign, you have the right:

· to ask your teacher to show you the assessment work held at the school so you can check the original marks

· to show the teacher that a grade was changed because of an appeal by providing a copy of the appeal letter or changed assessment sheet

· to view the corrected computer printout.

It is your responsibility to keep in a safe place all the internal assessment grade sheets as you get them. You should also keep any appeal letters.

It is not possible to challenge a grade once the two-day appeal period has passed unless you are away from school legitimately. (See the appeal chart.)

Privacy Act

Your assessment information is held on computer. It is not available to unauthorised people. You have the right to view your own data on request. Your information is used only for reporting and NZQA purposes.