Statistics on the website

Additional information is now provided on the NZQA website to help users make sense of the secondary schools statistics.

The new information is a response to the feedback received, especially from schools, who were seeking more support materials. The information focuses on helping users access the statistics, use the tools provided, and to interpret the statistics correctly.

Many users of the website are not familiar with statistics, but need statistical material. But the sheer volume of data can be intimidating to inexperienced users, and put them off finding or using important information. These new support services will save busy users time, and make the information easier to find and to understand.

Support services include definitions of both NCEA and statistical terminology, information on how to use the site tools to search for relevant information, and explanations about what the statistical tables show. Another tool provided is help in conducting a statistical analysis, which could assist in writing a report or even just drawing basic conclusions.

"Many teachers in schools were confused about what was being presented to them," says web coordinator Bryan Mulligan.

"They need to see data so they can understand how their students are performing. Our challenge was to make the data as accessible and meaningful as possible to all users."

Bryan stresses that getting at the data, the type of data, and how to configure the searches has not changed. "What's new is explanatory information, for those wanting a little more help in using this resource."

See the new information.