The Panel with Madison Burgess-Smith and Mike Williams Part 1
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RNZ News
18 minutes ago
- RNZ News
NCEA isn't perfect but NZ shouldn't forget why it was introduced in the first place
First published on Photo: 123RF Education Minister Erica Stanford has called time on "credit counting", announcing plans to scrap the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) . Under the proposed changes, from 2028 NCEA Level 1 will be replaced by foundational literacy and numeracy tests, dramatically reducing the amount of assessment in Year 11. Levels 2 and 3 will be replaced by a New Zealand Certificate of Education and an Advanced Certificate. The current achieved, not achieved, merit and excellence grades will give way to marks out of 100 and traditional letter grades: A, B, C, D and E. Students in Years 12 and 13 will be required to study at least five complete subjects and pass four of them in order to gain each certificate. The reforms are meant to address long-standing concerns over how students accumulate credits to complete their qualifications. With NCEA, students can opt out of assessments, including final exams, once they have accumulated enough credits. But as the government seeks to address the "gaming" of the system , it shouldn't lose sight of why NCEA was introduced in the first place - and who it was designed to help. While the system has its flaws, a return to an exam-based model may not make the grade either. Education Minister Erica Stanford says there's been too much "gaming" of the system. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER NCEA was introduced between 2002 and 2004 to replace the School Certificate, Sixth Form Certificate and Bursary qualifications. Its aim was to broaden educational success, recognising diverse forms of learning as legitimate. The previous qualifications primarily valued traditional academic subjects because those were, in large part, the only ones available for assessment. NCEA represented a shift away from viewing vocational learning - for example, in trades or creative subjects - as less valuable and not a viable path to formal qualifications. It also marked a departure from "norms" based assessment, which scaled student results to fit predetermined pass and fail rates. In contrast, NCEA was "standards" based: if a student could demonstrate the required skills or knowledge, they received the credits. But since the early days of NCEA, there have been concerns students could achieve the qualifications without really having gained an adequate education. The flexibility of NCEA - allowing schools, teachers and students to tailor learning pathways - is both its greatest strength and its greatest weakness. It has been criticised for being confusing, inconsistent and lacking credibility. Last year, Mike Grimshaw, an associate professor of sociology at Canterbury University, raised concerns that students were entering university "functionally illiterate". He said New Zealand was "under-educating but over qualifying". Concerns such as this over NCEA have fuelled repeated calls for reform. Photo: Unsplash/ Greg Rosenke While few dispute changes are needed, the scale and pace of the government's proposals are another matter. Schools have already contended with numerous policy shifts under this government, including rapid curriculum changes and new assessments in primary and secondary schools. Now they are being told the entire NCEA framework will be replaced. The sheer volume and speed of these changes puts significant pressure teachers. This is not the only concern. Under NCEA, a Year 12 student who worries they might fail the calculus "standard" can still do maths, knowing they have the option not to sit the calculus exam. Under the new system, this sort of flexibility disappears. Students will either take Year 12 mathematics - or they will not. This inflexibility raises the stakes. It may deter students from taking certain subjects altogether for fear of failure. The renewed emphasis on exams is also problematic. Research has shown exam outcomes can be influenced by gender, anxiety and even personal circumstances on exam day. In other words, exams are not necessarily the "credible" measure of learning they are made out to be. There are also important questions that the government's policy consultation proposal does not answer. What are the options for a student who fails the certificate on their first attempt? Will schools still be able to tailor internal assessments to suit their students? There are, however, reasons for cautious optimism. The government has promised to retain the NCEA standards-based approach. Preserving the integrity of whole subjects means students are more likely to learn topics, such as algebra, that keep academic options open but are often left out in NCEA. But this will come at a cost. The stakes will feel higher and students will face greater pressure to succeed. NCEA delivered on the promise that we shouldn't automatically assume half of our population will fail. Over the past two decades, more young people have left school with qualifications. But did they learn more? That remains an open question. The new system will likely bring consistency and arguably credibility to high school qualifications. But some students will pay the price of this higher-stakes approach to education. * David Pomeroy is Senior Lecturer in Mathematics Education, at the University of Canterbury. This article first appeared in The Conversation .
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Stronger conditions for farmers may be helping regional property markets
Photo: RNZ Stronger conditions for farmers may be helping regional property markets. Stronger conditions for farmers may be helping regional property markets - and could pique property investors' interest, Cotality, formerly Corelogic, says. It has released its latest data, which shows, nationwide, values were down 0.2 percent in the month of July, 0.6 percent down in the quarter and 0.2 percent down year-on-year. Auckland remains 21.7 percent below its peak, Wellington 24.7 percent and Christchurch 4.7 percent. But there was a bit more resilience for values in provincial areas, which chief economist Kelvin Davidson said could reflect the two-speed nature of the New Zealand economy at present. Primary industries are generally faring better than the rest of the country. Gisborne experienced a drop in prices in July but Hastings, Whangarei and New Plymouth all rose by at least 0.5 percent. "It's early days and any perceived rural-urban divide in the property market at present should not be overplayed. After all, housing conditions are still fairly subdued almost everywhere. But a potential export-led recovery over the next year or two may well be a factor to watch in terms of boosting regional house prices relative to urban areas." Davidson said proportionally more of the regional markets had seen growth in values compared to the main centres. "Nowhere is booming so it's a relative story but if you look at the so-called regional markets, the provincial centres, there's probably a slightly more common story around a bit more growth." He said the export-led recovery could mean "cash coming off farms" and going into service towns and cities. "The longer the export-led recovery continues, the greater the chance you see outperformance in the regional markets." He said property investors might notice the trend and decide to look at areas such as Invercargill and New Plymouth. "If there's a bit more capital growth it might be a place to think about investing … I'm not making investment recommendations and keep in mind there's always risk on the other side. If you're looking at a high-level measure like gross rental yield or the possibility the markets deliver a bit more value growth, it doesn't tell the full story. There are other costs associated and things to weigh up on both sides." Infometrics chief forecaster Gareth Kiernan said the South Island's property market was generally stronger than the North Island's. "Parts of the South Island in particular seem to be performing better in terms of sales levels and stock numbers, it's not quite as over-supplied but Auckland and Wellington are struggling." He said the country was facing an "old-fashioned" economic recovery, driven by the export sector rather than migration and housing radiating out of Auckland. "I'm not sure whether the regional housing markets get dragged along with that agricultural upturn." He said some centres did not seem to have had the population growth to justify the number of houses built at the peak of the building boom. That might put investors off. "An oversupply issue in some regions persists … I'm positive about Christchurch and Queenstown and I guess some of those smaller regional centres have the benefit of being tied into the dairy sector, the rental yields are bit better than you get in Auckland. "If there's a better rental yield and potentially better expectation of capital gains that might be preferable [to main centres]. But it does depend on people's expectation of what prices will do and there's still a lot of uncertainty around it. Consenting numbers are still relatively high compared to population growth." Davidson said the second half of August was usually when there was an increase in the number of listings on the market. "Sales volumes have been gradually growing to the point where the level of sales is back to about normal and we are starting to see hints that the total stock of listings is starting to come down, although it's coming off a multi-year high … it will be interesting to see how it plays out in spring." Some properties were being removed from the market because owners had decided not to sell , he said. Davidson said he was cautious about what might be ahead through the rest of the year. "This is market that's going sideways. Sales are rising but it's not flowing through to prices. There are restraining forces on the other side - abundant listings, a weak economy and labour market. "Both buyers and sellers seemingly remain in a measured mood. First home buyers and 'Mum and Dad' investors are active groups on the purchaser side of the equation at present, but it's also worth noting that many vendors aren't rushed at present either - those who are confident about their employment security may well be happy to wait for the price they want." He said while it had previously been expected that house prices might lift 5 percent this year, it now seemed the lift would be smaller than that. "In fact, on recent form, the market may struggle to generate much more than a 1 percent or 2 percent rise in 2025." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Businesses' unpaid tax bill - 'there's potential for a lot of collateral damage'
Commentators say it is a sign of the stress many parts of the economy is under. (File photo) Photo: 123RF New Zealand businesses owe more than $1.4 billion in unpaid GST and PAYE from the 2025 tax year, in what commentators say is a sign of the stress many parts of the economy are still under. Inland Revenue has provided a breakdown of PAYE and GST still unpaid for the tax years 2018 through to 2025. There is still almost $48 million unpaid from 2018 - and $1.471 billion from the most recent year. Of 2025's number, $432.9m relates to employer activities and $1.047b to GST. Just over $66m of the debt was from businesses or individuals who were bankrupt or in liquidation. Businesses collect GST on their sales and then send it to Inland Revenue when they file their GST returns. Deloitte partner Allan Bullot had earlier warned that GST debt could be [ creating a wave of zombie companies. Construction had the largest share of unpaid PAYE and GST, with a total of almost $1b over the tax years from 2018 through 2025. Rental, hiring and real estate services was next with $533.5m. On a measure of debt per thousand enterprises, electricity, gas, water and waste companies had the largest unpaid amount in the most recent tax year. Robyn Walker, a tax partner at Deloitte, said Inland Revenue had been given a clear message to collect more of the money it was owed. The number of businesses being liquidated by Inland Revenue has jumped in recent years . Walker said the data could indicate that other creditors to those businesses were in a precarious position. If a business failed, Inland Revenue would be the first to be paid, which could reduce a business' s ability to pay anyone else it owed. "People could be choosing to pay other business suppliers first - but they maybe aren't paying anybody... there's potential for a lot of collateral damage if Inland Revenue is allowing tax debt to accumulate." She said people who were not able to pay GST and PAYE should contact their accountant top make sure they still had a viable business. If a business had hired staff on the expectation it could pay them a certain amount before tax, and it turned out that they could not afford the PAYE component, there was probably a bigger issue at play, she said. "The business may not be viable or may need help in a more substantive way." SImplicity chief economist Shamubeel Eaqub said the data highlighted the distress many businesses were facing. "Some businesses - not many - think it's okay not to meet their responsibilities. "PAYE and GST are only collected on behalf of New Zealanders, it's not your revenue.... there's a risk to other creditors." He said businesses with tax debt were quite often not viable and owners could be breaching their directors' duties. "It can mean big problems, that's why the IRD has been so active... it's the right thing to do." The data showed Inland Revenue had written off $110.3 million of unpaid PAYE and GST in 2018, $109.1m in 2019, $85.5 m in 2020, $94.8m in 2021, in 2022, $99.3m in 2023, $56m in 2024 and $7.6m from the last tax year. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
