Curriculum Pathways at Macleans College

1. Curriculum Pathwaysat Macleans College September 2006

2. THREE PRINCIPAL PATHWAYS Vocational Studies National Certificate of Educational Achievement Cambridge International Examinations

3. VOCATIONAL STUDIES A pathway that incorporates vocational Unit Standards education in conjunction with other NCEA subjects.

4. Pathway commences at Year 12 and is open to all students at Year 12 or Year 13 level. More suited to students wishing to pursue a vocational pathway.

5. Some STAR funded Unit Standard courses may be taken off-site in addition to the student�s timetabled course.

6. Most work is Unit Standards based. Most standards are at Level 2. Sufficient standards are offered to attain NCEA Level 2.

7. NCEA National Certificate of Educational Achievement

8. National Provider: NZQA National secondary qualifications awarded by New Zealand Qualifications authority. NZQA has developed the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). The National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) is part of the NQF. See www.nzqa.govt.nz

9. From 2004 the National Certificate of Educational Achievement is available at 3 levels: Level 1 for Year 11 students Level 2 for Year 12 students Level 3 for Year 13 students Level 4 NZ Scholarship also available.

10. Gaining a NCEA A NCEA is awarded when a student accumulates 80 credits. Credits are gained by passing Achievement Standards (and/or Unit Standards). Each year-long course of study of a subject (eg Year 11 Mathematics, Year 13 English) is assessed by 5 to 9 Standards.

12. Level 3 Courses Approximately 24 credits available in each subject. Students may study only 4 courses of study on application. Some courses may not be approved for the purposes of University Entrance.

13. Assessment All assessment is standards based. A Portion of the Achievement Standards for each subject are externally assessed. The remainder are internally assessed.

14. Example: History (Level 1) 1.1 Internal Assignment 1.2 Internal Assignment 1.3 External EOY Examination 1.4 External EOY Examination 1.5 External EOY Examination 1.6 External EOY Examination

15. Standards Based Assessment Every Achievement Standard is marked using Standards Based Assessment. Standards describe what a student knows and can do. Standards describe the level of work that students need to produce.

16. Standards Based Assessment Students are awarded one of 4 grades for each Achievement Standard: Not Achieved No credit Achieved Merit Pass � gain credits Excellence No marks allocated

17. Unit Standards are awarded if the Standard is achieved. Unit Standards are either Achieved, or Not Achieved.

18. Reporting Results At the end of each academic year students receive a results notice. This profile: Lists results for all standards passed; Indicates the total number of credits gained in each subject; Reports a grade average for each subject.

19. Reporting Results Credits from all courses are stored. Students may download this information as their Record of Learning at any time, provided they have paid an NCEA entry When a student gains a total of 80 credits at a particular level they are awarded a National Certificate of Educational Achievement.

20. Gaining a NCEA Level 1 : Level 2 : Level 3 :

21. New Zealand Scholarship At Level 4. Not part of NCEA; a stand-alone qualification. Based on Year 13 content.

22. CIE PATHWAY Cambridge International Examinations run by UCLES (University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate, a department of the University of Cambridge) See www.cie.org.uk

23. UCLES has developed and provided qualifications for almost 150 years. CIE was formally established in 1998. CIE provides examinations in over 150 countries. CIE is recognised by universities and employers worldwide.

24. CIE in New Zealand CIE have a permanent office in New Zealand. The representative is Simon Higgins. ACSNZ, the Association of Cambridge Schools in New Zealand, supports CIE schools and the CIE office. See www.cie.org.nz CIE runs training courses for New Zealand teachers each year and teachers can also train on-line.

25. Performance of New Zealand Students In 2003, New Zealand students were awarded 11 �Top of the World� awards across a range of subjects including six students who gained 100%. At Macleans College in 2005 we gained: 1 x 1st in world at IGCSE 5 x 1st in New Zealand at IGCSE 2 x 1st In World at AS 7 x 1st in New Zealand at AS 3 x 1st in World at A Level 3 x 1st in New Zealand at A Level

26. Course Characteristics External examinations Practical work in science Speaking and Listening tests in languages Individual research Practical work in art, music and technology

27. CIE CIE offers 3 general secondary qualifications: Year 11 � IGCSE Year 12 � GCE Advanced Subsidiary (AS) Year 13 � GCE Advanced Level (A Level)

28. IGCSE International General Certificate of Secondary Education. CIE equivalent to the British GCSE. Foundation for higher level courses, especially AS/A Level. 8 point grade scale from A* to G.

29. Advanced Subsidiary (AS) First half of a full A Level (2nd half = A2) Covers Year 12 or Year 13 core/foundation of the subject. A worthwhile, stand-alone qualification for those who choose not to take the full A-Level. A sound foundation for tertiary study. Student gains U.E. from AS.

30. A Level AS (Year 12) + A2 (Year 13) = A Level Based on rigorous syllabuses. Challenging assessments to stretch the most able. Good preparation for Scholarship

31. Flexibility in Student Courses AS/A Level options allow flexibility, eg range from 3xA Levels up to 8xAS. Students can combine breadth and depth. 2 exam sessions available per year.

32. Reporting of CIE Results Grades. CIE reports percentage marks to NZ schools. AS and A Level grades convert to points using the UCAS tariff.

33. CIE Grade Boundaries Grade IGCSE Mark AS/A Mark A* 90 � 100 A 80 � 90 80 � 100 B 70 � 79 70 � 79 C 60 � 69 60 � 69 D 50 � 59 50 � 59 E 40 � 49 40 � 49 F 30 � 39 G 20 � 29

34. UCAS Tariff The Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS) oversees entry criteria to Higher education in the UK. The tariff: establishes equivalences between different qualifications; gives numerical values to qualifications.

35. UCAS Tariff & CIE Quals Each grade, A � E, carries a number of points. Points can be aggregated. Universities can set a target number of points for selective entry courses.

36. UCAS Tariff

37. University Recognition Universities around the world recognise the equivalence of international AS and A Levels with British entry qualifications or with their own national matriculation requirements. The New Zealand Vice-Chancellors� Committee recognises both A/AS Levels and the AICE Diploma as entrance level qualifications for admission ad eundem statum to New Zealand universities.

38. Subject Choice IGCSE offers over 50 subjects world wide to choose from and AS and A Level offer over 60 subjects. NZ based courses. There are currently four � AS New Zealand History AS Latin AS Art History AS Drama

39. Internal and External Assessment Most subjects are fully externally examined at the end of the year with one or two (sometimes three) examination papers per subject. The examination papers are marked in Cambridge, UK. A few subjects have some internal assessment. The science subjects can have laboratory practicals.

40. Mid-Year Examinations Students at AS Level can opt to re-sit most subjects in May of the following year to improve their grade, (or students can re-sit at the end of the following year). As from 2006 Macleans College will have a policy regarding this. Please check.

41. Results All internally and externally assessed results are given in late January, from the November session.

42. Levels and Programmes Many New Zealand schools offering CIE run the following programme: Year 10 (Advanced) IGCSE (Mathematics / English / Science only) Year 11 IGCSE Year 12/13 AS Levels Year 13 AS and A Levels

43. TERTIARY ENTRANCE Either the NCEA or the CIE pathway provides for tertiary entrance. It is not advisable to use a mix of NCEA and CIE to meet the general entry standard.

44. U.E. via NCEA from 2004 Numeracy 14 Level 1 credits in Mathematics Literacy 8 Level 2 credits in English (4 Reading, 4 Writing) General 42 Level 3 credits: 14+ in 2 subjects; 14+ in no more than 2 subjects

45. U.E. via NCEA from 2004 14 credits in Mathematics at Level 1 or higher 4 credits at Level 2 or above in Reading 4 credits at Level 2 or above in Writing

46. U.E. via NCEA from 2004 For example:

47. U.E. via CIE from 2004 Numeracy D grade in IGCSE Mathematics Literacy E grade in AS English General 120 points on UCAS tariff 3 D grades in AS and/or A Level subjects

48. Other Issues Include: Entry from Year 12 Approved subjects NCEA/CIE comparison

49. Entry from Year 12 U.E. criteria using CIE mean a significant number of able students can achieve the standard in Year 12. Schools want them to complete 5 years secondary. Universities want them to complete 5 years secondary as foundation for degree courses. Provisional entry may be possible using NCEA Level 2 standards but a consistently high standard of achievement will be required.

50. NCEA : Approved Subjects Not all Year 13 subjects, either NCEA are on the �Approved Subject� list. For NCEA admission only 2 of the subjects for general admission need to come from the approved list. For limited entry programmes with NCEA all subjects must be from the approved list.

51. Approved Subject List Currently all subjects taught at Macleans College are on the approved subject list, provided they are at level 3

52. CIE : Approved Subjects Most, but not all, CIE subjects have equivalent listings to the NCEA subjects. AS Business Studies is an approved subject (equivalent to Economics/Accounting). For CIE admission the 120 UCAS points must all come from the approved list. Once the 120 points have been attained any AS subject that matches NCEA can be counted for limited entry totals (up to 6 subjects).

53. Note Some tertiary qualifications require specific subjects to have been studied. See the relevant university calendar.

54. CIE: Subject Exclusions Currently students may count only one of Business Studies, Accounting, Economics for University Entrance. All may be counted for the purpose of a UCAS total after UE has been gained.

55. Future of CIE �CIE endorses the Tomlinson Report and welcomes its proposals which seek to build on the strengths of the current English education system�. �The A Level Standard remains embedded in the proposals made in the interim Tomlinson Report�. Recently some Public schools in Britain have indicated preference for CIE over other A Levels due to the rigour of CIE.

56. Summary Dual pathway implemented from 2003 Pathway 1: NCEA Pathway 2 : CIE Both pathways lead to tertiary entrance

57. Qualification Pathways NCEA CIE Year 11 Level 1 IGCSE Year 12 Level 2 Advanced Subsidiary (AS) Year 13 Level 3 AS/Advanced Level

58. Comparability to NZ Quals AS and A2 courses often significantly more demanding than the NZ equivalents of Level 2 and Level 3. Especially so in Mathematics, Sciences and Languages.

59. Comparability to NZ Quals NCEA CIE Year 11 Level 1 IGCSE Year 12 Level 2 Advanced Subsidiary (AS) Year 13 Level 3 AS/Advanced Level

60. Some examples of using the UCAS tariff. These illustrate the flexibility available.

61. CIE � Student A Year 12 Year 13 AS English E A Chemistry C A Mathematics B AS Business Studies D AS Chemistry B AS Physics A AS Physics C

62. CIE � Student B Year 12 Year 13 AS English D AS Classical Studies D AS Geography E AS Geography C AS History C AS Business Studies Ungraded NCEA Mathematics NCEA Accounting Level 1 (14 credits) Level 2 (16 credits)

63. CIE � Student C(does not achieve University Entrance) Year 12 Year 13 IGCSE Mathematics D NCEA English Lvl 3 14 credits NCEA English Lvl 2 20 credits AS Geography D AS Geography E AS Classical Studies D AS History C NCEA Accounting 16 credits NCEA Accounting Lvl 2 20 credits Level 3 NCEA French Lvl 3 7 credits

64. WEBSITES www.cie.org.uk www.acsnz.org.nz simonhiggins@cie.org.nz www.nzqa.govt.nz