August 2021 EmaiLink 5

Nau mai, haere mai!

Welcome to the August 2021 newsletter EmaiLink 5.

Key dates

Date	Event
30 July	Confirm participation in digital practice exams
1 Aug	Data file submission due (used to calculate the quantity of exam papers and materials for external exams) Check exam timetable clashes then confirm candidates’ external entries TRANSLATED PAPERS – Final date for ‘Answer’ and ‘Request’ flags to be set in data file DCAT & MCAT– Deadline for schools to advise NZQA of Assessment Day and number of entries Visual Arts: art bag order due
2 Aug	NZQA platform opens to sit digital practice exams
11 Aug	Check accuracy of externally assessed entries in preparation for 1 September data file submission, including international student entries in NCEA and NZ Scholarship. Fees for international students are based on entries in the 1 September file.
1 Sept	Data file submission due. Final date for withdrawals from Externally Assessed standards including NZ Scholarship Final date to confirm digital exam entries without requiring NZQA pre-approval Check timetable clashes and discuss the schedule for these exams with candidates
8 Sept	Visual Arts Levels 1 and 2 – Start entering provisional results
14 Sept	MCAT Level 1, 91027 Assessment Day One
16 Sept	MCAT Level 1, 91027 Assessment Day Two
20 Sept - 1 Oct	DCAT – Term 3 assessment period
1 Oct	Term 3 Ends
1 Oct	Data file submission due Derived grade applications open online SPECIAL ASSESSMENT CONDITIONS (SAC) Applications for Learning Disorder close for 2021 SPECIAL ASSESSMENT CONDITIONS (SAC) 2021. First time applications for entitlement open for 2022 Last day to sit digital practice exams on the NZQA platform
18 Oct	Term 4 Begins Confirm with NZQA three-way exam clash arrangements
18 Oct - 27 Oct	DCAT – Term 4 assessment period

General administration

Standards that meet NCEA Literacy and Numeracy Requirements

Find the list of standards that meet NCEA literacy and numeracy requirements from 1 April 2021 on our website:

Literacy and numeracy assessment standards (external link)

Please note: the new literacy rich standards below are ONLY available for students enrolled in schools and kura involved in the NCEA pilots in 2021 and 2022.

Subject	Level	Standard
Religious Studies	Level 1	91916, 91917, 91918, 91919
Science	Level 1	91920, 91921, 91922, 91923
English	Level 1	91924, 91925, 91926, 91927
Te Ao Haka	Level 1	91976, 91978, 91979
Te Ao Haka	Level 2	91980, 91982, 91983
Te Ao Haka	Level 3	91984, 91987

Internal assessment administration

Candidate NSN Cards

These were dispatched to schools on Wednesday 23 June. Please email Lise.Nansen@nzqa.govt.nz if you have not received the cards for your school. NZQA is aware of an issue with some cards not displaying student names correctly. Replacement cards will be sent for affected students mid-August.

Online Assessor Support for Internally Assessed Standards

These online support materials are available through Pūtake, NZQA’s Learning Management System (Assessment and moderation spotlights). This is accessed through a teacher’s Education Sector Login (ESL). The school’s ESL Delegated Authoriser needs to assign an NZQA LMS Teacher role to the teacher for them to gain access.

Pūtake (external link)

Assessment and moderation spotlights (external link)

For further help contact the education service desk or use their online support:

Catalogue of tools & online services (external link) — applications.education.govt.nz

External exams administration

Submitted Subjects

The 2021 Submission Instructions will be available on the relevant subject pages of the NZQA website at the start of Term 3.

NCEA Subject Resources (external link)

Common Assessment Task (DCAT & MCAT)

Nominate the dates for your DCAT and MCAT assessment through the Key Indicators page of your Provider Login. Details for the DCAT are in the 2021 Digital Technologies Admin Instructions (Summary) available through the Digital Technologies subject resources page.

Digital Technologies subject resources (external link)

Schools are only able to hold the MCAT on one single nominated day to ensure the integrity of the assessment. Details for the MCAT are in this circular.

NCEA Level 1 Mathematics and Statistics 91027 Common Assessment Task in 2021 - A2021/17

Courier bags for Visual Arts Level 1 and 2

If you are a school new to teaching Visual Arts at either Level 1 and/or Level 2, or have lost your blue or red bags to submit your verification samples, please complete and return the Art Bag order form by 1 August.

Couriering Level 3 and NZ Scholarship Visual Arts Portfolios

Schools are reminded that schools are responsible for couriering Level 3 and NZ Scholarship Visual Arts submissions to NZQA. NZQA does not supply bags or courier tickets for Level 3 and NZ Scholarship Visual Arts portfolio submissions.

The submission date for Level 3 and NZ Scholarship Visual Arts is 11 November. Schools must make their own arrangement for couriering Level 3 and NZ Scholarship Visual Arts.

Schools may not use their Level 1 and 2, red and blue bags for sending in Level 3 and NZ Scholarship submissions.

NZQA will courier Level 3 and NZ Scholarship portfolios to individual candidate home addresses at the end of marking. It is important that candidate home addresses are correct, as the courier return of portfolios is signature not required and they will be left at the address if nobody is home to receive them.

Digital Practice Exams

To access digital practice exams on the NZQA platform by Friday 30 July you must:

confirm (if not already done) your involvement by contacting your School Relationship Manager and advising who the school administrator will be and your practice exam schedule.
submit digital external entries in the digital practice exam subjects via datafile as soon as possible
ensure your students have checked or created their learner login.
Login Options page (external link)

We will email all participating schools with detailed information about getting ready for digital practice exams. This will include how to access learning modules through Pūtake (LMS), material located under your Provider login, student familiarisation and support, and marking and accessing practice exam scripts.

Pūtake (LMS) (external link)

Let your students know about the digital practice exams checklist.

Digital practice exam checklist [PDF, 215 KB]

2021 Digital Technologies Common Assessment Tasks (DigCATs) update

The DigiCATs in 2021 will be delivered in the same way as last year.

We have deferred until 2022 the delivery of DigiCATs using NZQA’s digital exam platform, out of consideration for the amount of change currently being experienced by the sector.

Updated Administration Instructions will be sent to you and are also available on our web page:

Digital Technologies subject resources (external link)

External moderation

Physical moderation submissions and addresses

To help manage email notifications containing moderator addresses, set up an email rule for messages from do-not-reply@notifications.nzqa.govt.nz. That way they will not end up in junk email boxes and get missed.

Please give moderators five to ten working days to send the request notification when you make a physical moderation submission.

Special Assessment Conditions (SAC)

2021 Closing dates for SAC applications

Applications made under the Learning category close on 1 October 2021. Applications made under the Sensory, Medical or Physical categories can be made until the end of the exam period.

Applications should be submitted as soon as possible to ensure they can be reviewed by NZQA assessors in good time.

External entries for SAC students

Please ensure that as many external entries as possible for SAC students are submitted in the August datafile. This will facilitate the attachment of entitlements and the planning for personalised papers for these candidates.

Find guidance on the preparation for exams and CATs on our website:

SAC and External Assessment (Exams) (external link)

Students requiring Braille papers

If any of your SAC students require Braille papers for exams, please ensure that their entries for external standards are submitted now (even if this means submitting an additional datafile). SAC needs to be attached to the exam sessions as soon as possible.

Both steps must be completed by 6 August.

No SAC applications for Braille papers will be able to be approved after this date.

There is considerable work and time involved in creating Braille papers.

Attachment of entitlements to external standards

This facility for the 2021 exams is open and available until the end of Term 3 (other than the week in early September where it is closed while we extract data to personalise exam papers). Complete the process as soon as possible.

If the process of attaching entitlements to exam sessions is not completed shortly after your September datafile is submitted, students will receive non-personalised exam papers.

If an error has been made, or if a student requests a change, you can edit the attachments while the facility is open in Term 3.

SAC candidates in digital exams

If your school has plans to enter students for digital exams, you should consider the implications for SAC candidates before they are entered.

If you have any concerns that these students may be disadvantaged by participating in a digital exam, then they should be offered a paper-based alternative that they are used to completing.

Find out more about Guidelines for SAC provision in Digital Exams and CATs (external link)

Information for staff

Contract Vacancies at NZQA

There are a number of contract vacancies available with NZQA, including markers, verifiers, panel leaders and examiner and materials developer roles for several NCEA and NZ Scholarship subjects. These are currently advertised on our website.

Contract Vacancies (external link)