The New Zealand Education and Scholarship Trust was founded in 1991 to preserve the Scholarship Examination and in so doing provide an academic benchmark for senior secondary schools and talented students throughout the country.
2003 is the final year that NZEST will run the Scholarship Examinations.
The Trust is pleased to announce that over its 12 years it will have given scholarship funding of $1million to successful students. For those who like statistics, 1992- 2002 has seen 20,089 students sit 55,260 scholarship subjects! I think it is fair to say that NZEST has admirably completed its mission and it was always the intention of the Trust to hand the Scholarship Examination back to the Government. When the Ministry of Education and NZQA announced that they would reinstate the Scholarship Examination as part of their assessment programme, NZEST welcomed this initiative.
NCEA Scholarship Reference Group
Four representatives from NZEST have been part of the Scholarship Reference Group working to define the new NCEA Scholarship Examination. It should be noted also that NZEST has given permission to NZQA to freely use NZEST questions from past examination papers as exemplars. NZEST encouraged its examiners, moderators and members of marking panels to join the scholarship subject panels to pass on the benefits of their experience. However John Taylor, John Graham (Trustees), Philip Coombe and Annette Sharp (Academic Committee) who represented NZEST on the Scholarship Reference Group, feel that NZEST was able to contribute little to the final product that is the NCEA Scholarship Examination For example, one of the key issues to NZEST is how scholarship standards will be marked and reported on to students. If the marking follows the NCEA standards-based procedure, it is the opinion of NZEST that true scholarship will not be assessed in a manner which recognises and preserves the essentially competitive nature of our national scholarship tradition. Furthermore, NZEST believes that students should receive detailed feedback about their performance, including marks, grades, ranking, medians and entitlements for awards. Simply categorising students into "not achieved scholarship", "achieved scholarship" and "scholarship with distinction" does not give genuine feedback to students who have made the commitment to test themselves at the highest level. In November last year, NZEST advised the Ministry of Education and NZQA that it could no longer support the concept of the NCEA Scholarship examination that had been decided by the Scholarship Reference Group. NZEST is grateful to the Ministry and NZQA for including our representatives in the consultation process, but unfortunately the proposed NCEA Scholarship Examination does not, in the opinion of NZEST, uphold the long tradition of a nationally competitive scholarship examination.
The Past
NZEST has worked extremely hard all through the years to have its scholarship examinations recognised as an entry qualification for tertiary study. It has made application to the Ministry of Education, to NZQA, to the Vice-ChancellorsÑV Committee, to the Committee of University Academic Programmes and to individual universities and polytechnics. Whilst all these organisations have recognised the validity of the NZEST examinations, and NZEST has proved through research that a 40% pass in its scholarship examinations represents 65-70% in NZQA Bursary examinations, NZEST could not gain ratification from NZQA for its examinations. Schools have requested that NZEST carry on running the scholarship examinations, but unfortunately there is no a future if the examination cannot offer students a tertiary entry qualification. NZEST is sad to see the fragmentation occurring in the secondary system with many traditionally strong academic schools choosing to opt out of the NCEA programme and offer the Cambridge International examinations or the International Baccalaureate. It is obvious that these schools will not be entering the NCEA Scholarship Examination. NZEST has always believed in the importance of offering different pathways with the Scholarship Examination being one of those pathways. It is tragic that NCEA was not introduced alongside the bursary programme to allow for diversity of pathways of study and assessment, particularly at senior level.
The Future
The Academic Committee will be submitting recommendations to the Trustees who will meet in June to decide on the future role of NZEST. There are currently two options under consideration.
- Scholarship funding
It is certain that NZEST will continue to provide tertiary scholarships for top academic achievement, but the selection process is under consideration.
- Research
One of the aims of NZEST has been to provide academic challenge for our most able students. Concern is being expressed from schools about the effect of the NCEA model of assessment on the country's top academic students. One of the original aims of the Trust was the provision of educational research and NZEST will consider the possibility of commissioning an independent research organisation to examine how the various levels of NCEA are providing for the most able students who will seek scholarship standards at Year 12 and Year 13.
- Input from schools
NZEST would welcome recommendations from schools regarding its future direction, particularly with regard to research options - does your school see a need for research as outlined above?
Please fax or email your views to:
fax 09 3737934
or email s.taylor@nzest.ac.nz
by the end of Term 1, April 11 2003.
- Financial implications
NZEST is very aware that research can be very expensive and would like to assure schools that scholarship funding will remain its priority. If research were to go ahead, the Trustees would look for further sponsorship funding.
Recognition of King's College
For the past 11 years, King's College in Otahuhu has provided free office space for NZEST. The Trustees would like to record their appreciation and acknowledge King's College as a significant benefactor.
The University of Auckland is now providing office space and NZEST would also like to thank the University for its generosity.
Sponsors
The Trust Fund of over $1million has been provided by the generosity of the business community and other generous, supportive trusts. It is the preservation of the Trust Fund, to enable NZEST to be able to recognise outstanding scholarship, which will be goal of the Trustees. There is no money to be made in running scholarship examinations and the Trust has always carried the annual loss because it believed in the importance of top academic achievement.
Academic Committee
The Trustees would like to acknowledge the great contribution that has been made by the Academic Committee since NZEST was founded in December 1991. The Committee comprising university personnel and senior secondary teachers provides the academic overview of the examinations and makes recommendations to the Trustees. There are several long serving members, but special recognition is due to:
Rory Barrett who was the pioneer of the original Scholarship Examinations in four subjects in 1990/1991. Rory was Academic Convenor until 1998 when he was appointed as a Trustee - his contribution has been special.
Philip Coombe, Academic Convenor 2000-2003, and Annette Sharp, both of whom have represented NZEST on the Scholarship Reference Group have worked hard and effectively for the Trust.
Fellow Trustees
NZEST has been well served by its Trustees who have given generously of their time. Of the five founding Trustees, three remain, Professor Alastair MacCormick Chairman from 1992- 96, John Taylor and John Graham. Our other Trustees have been the late Sir Robin Irvine (1992-1996), Dame Dawn Lamb (1992-2002), Douglas Myers (1992-2002). The other current Trustees are Dr Judith Medlicott of Dunedin, Dr Jan Gregor of Christchurch, Ian McKinnon of Wellington and Rory Barrett of Auckland.
Chief Executive
All involved with the work of NZEST recognise the outstanding contribution made by Sarah Taylor. Her enthusiasm and efficiency, her special relationship with schools, examiners, teachers and scholars and her understanding of the work and purpose of the Trust have been one of the notable features of the past 12 years.
The Trustees would like to thank those 200 schools who have been the solid core of support for its independent scholarship examination over the past 12 years. Without the support of schools supplying examination venues, and without the generosity of senior teachers organising student entries and sometimes extra tuition for its scholarship students, the NZEST could not have functioned so well. My thanks go to all involved with the New Zealand Education and Scholarship Trust over the past twelve years.
D J Graham, Chairman |
