Photo: 123rf.com
A secondary school principal says the failure of a server which saw potentially thousands of students have their on-line exam interrupted is cause for concern.
Students sitting their first ever digital NCEA level 1 English paper have reported to Nine to Noon they panicked for up to twenty minutes, while their screens froze, before it was clear to them that they could proceed with the exam on-line.
Others opted to complete the exam on paper. Tony Kane, principal of Kapiti College, one of the schools taking part in the pilot programme testing-out digital exams, says this raises questions about how well prepared the qualifications authority is for its plan to make all exams fully digital in by 2020.
3,631 students were registered to take part in the Level 1 English Pilot exam, across 38 schools. NZQA have reassured students they have robust processes in place to ensure that no student is disadvantaged.
Lynn Freeman speaks with Tony Kane, Kapiti college Year 11 student Hayley Searancke and NZQA's Deputy Chief Executive Digital Assessment Transformation, Andrea Gray.
