Wakatipu High is in defence-mode as it anticipates another below-average ranking in National Cert­ificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) results. 

The decile 10 school’s 2008 pass rates compared unfavourably with other decile 10 schools, which tend to be mostly wealthy private or integrated schools, receiving minimal Govern-ment funding. 

Principal Lyn Cooper expects Wakatipu High’s 2009 results to again be lower than the national average in NCEA league tables out soon. 

However, she says those tables won’t include data from “accelerated” students who sit NCEA subjects above their year level. 

For example, 29 of her Year 10 students sat NCEA Level 1 mathematics, science or accounting – normally taken in Year 11 – and everyone passed. 

Because those accelerated students across Years 10-12 don’t complete full NCEA courses, they’re excluded from league tables. 

Cooper’s published her own results including grades from advanced students in a school newsletter. Her version puts Wakatipu High’s results above the 2009 provisional national decile 10 averages. 

The newsletter shows Wakatipu pass rates at: 72 per cent for Level 1 compared to 71.1 per cent nationally, 73 per cent for Level 2 (68.7 per cent nationally) and 66 per cent for Level 3 (63.1 per cent nationally). 

Wakatipu High is one of a small but growing number of schools to include accelerated students’ stats to bolster pass rates, Cooper says. 

“As long as we’re able to report to our community what our results are, using all our children, I don’t think it’s a problem, as long as it’s explained. I think that provisional data ... illustrates we’re now comparable [with national levels]. 

“That is fantastic in light of the fact that we’re not a private or integrated school, so we can’t be selective of our students, and the fact we allow all our children to sit whatever they wish – and the high proportion of children with English as a second language. 

“With all those variables, we do exceedingly well When you look at that, we are right up there,” she says. 
 

Cooper’s also celebrating last year’s “record” number of “endorsement” grades, in which students who get mostly merit or excellence grades in their levels get a certificate of endorsement. 

A whopping 59 Level 1 students passed with merit last year, 33 got merit in Level 2 and nine in Level 3. For excellence – “which is extremely difficult to get” – there were eight students in Level 1, four in Level 2 and one in Level 3.