The Education Review Office is recommending NCEA Level 1 be reformed.  

Its review found it's not a fair or reliable measure of knowledge and skills, and around a quarter of schools don't plan on offering it next year.  

Last year, students were almost twice as likely to achieve an excellence on an internal assessment than an external.  

Auckland's Rangitoto College Principal Patrick Gale told Ryan Bridge that within the existing framework, teachers can target standards they perceive to be easier.  

He says with internal assessment they can also offer more time, meaning they may not enter students into all externals, causing further issues as they're not learning the whole curriculum. 

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