Training your Supervisors

Training your Supervisors A guide for Exam Centre Managers Exam Centre Manager Name... Exam Centre Name and Number...

Introduction NZQA requires all supervisors to be trained by their Exam Centre Manager to ensure that they are totally familiar with exam supervision requirements. Many supervisors have performed this role for several years but as exams only occur for a short period of time once a year and because NZQA may change certain processes, it is still essential that experienced supervisors attend. Their experience and knowledge will enhance yours and may be used to assist with the support for new supervisors. This guide is based on the Supervisor Training Booklet. Preparing for your training session Send supervisors a copy of the Supervisor Training Booklet to complete prior to attending the training session. (NZQA provides you with white, postage-paid envelopes for this purpose.) Advise supervisors to read the Instructions for Supervisors to assist them in completing as much of the Supervisor Training Booklet as possible. Ask supervisors to come to training with their copies of Instructions for Supervisors, the Supervisor Training Booklet and questions if they are unsure of anything. Organise a venue for the training meeting. NZQA suggests using a room at the school. Identify evacuation procedures/routes from the meeting venue. Identify evacuation procedures from the exam centre. Organise tea/coffee etc. Arrange the training room so that everyone can see/hear and has a table for writing on. What you need to bring Supervisors personal supervision timetables. Your online planner should be complete, with supervisors allocated to exam rooms, by the time your run your training session. Provide supervisors with their own personal supervision timetables. These are accessible via the Reports page from your Exam Centre Management area on NZQA s website. Your Supervisor Training Booklet. You are to have worked through the Supervisor Training Booklet yourself so that you are aware of what the supervisors have been asked to do. Copies of the Supervisor Training Book Answers for all supervisors. Copies of all other training booklets for your reference. Supervisor details: at least one copy for yourself for supervisors to check and possibly one copy for each supervisor (names and phone numbers only). Contracts for those who have not yet completed these: must be completed at the training and dispatched to NZQA asap. 1

The training session ECM Notes Introductions and other key messages 1. Cover housekeeping matters: toilets and what do to in the event an alarm sounds or there is an earthquake. 2. Introduce yourself to your supervisors. Explain your role, the role of the school s Principal s Nominee (the school s NZQAliaison person) and the role of a supervisor. 3. Ask supervisors to introduce themselves to the group. 4. Pair new supervisors with experienced supervisors. 5. Explain the importance of NCEA and NZ Scholarship examinations to the candidates, their parents, the school and NZQA. You may wish to explain that the eyes of the media are on national exams at this time of year. 6. Emphasise that a professional approach is required at all times and all candidates are to be treated fairly and respectfully. 7. Explain the supervisors NZQA s security requirements for examinations. NZQA s role is to maintain the integrity of all national exams. Whilst some of our processes may appear to some to be pedantic, they are there for a reason and are to be followed. Working through the Supervisor Training Booklet (STB) Explain the supervisors that you are going to work through the Supervisor Training Booklet with them. You may wish to take questions as you go, or at the end of each section. Each section below provides additional information which is to be reinforced with supervisors. Supervisor behaviours: Question 1 in STB The required behaviours in the STB ensure candidates have a quiet, non-distracting environment to work in. Each year NZQA receives complaints from aggrieved candidates who feel they have been disadvantaged because of supervisor behaviour in one form or another. If you have young supervisors, emphasise that dress is to be appropriate (no low necklines, shorts, short skirts, skimpy T- shirts etc.). Supervisors are to dress professionally, not as if they are off for a day on the beach! 2

Quiet footwear is essential. Shoes which make a noise in an exam room do distress some candidates. Please stress that supervision is to be active: supervisors should move around the room, watch from the back particularly, keep their eyes on candidates at all times, not allow themselves to be distracted. Reading, knitting, eating, texting friends are unacceptable and must not occur when supervising. We suggest that before the exam starts, supervisors tell candidates that they will have their mobile phones on silent/vibrate in case there is an emergency. Candidates, however, must have their phones on silent, either in their bags or in their Emergency Packs under their chairs. Explain to supervisors the process for letting you know if they are sick or unable to attend a session they should be supervising. Emphasise the earlier the better! Candidates should be treated with respect and courtesy at all times. Explain what active supervision involves: Being vigilant at all times. Watching from the back of the room. Moving around the room. Not following a particular route each time. Supervisor relief breaks Explain to supervisors how breaks, during supervision, will be managed at your exam centre. Exam room set up: Questions 2 5 in STB There may be mixed groups of candidates in a room/hall. It is important to arrange them so that those likely to stay the full three hours will not be disturbed too much by those leaving early. NZ Scholarship candidates are not provided with separate accommodation, away from other candidates just because they are sitting a Scholarship examination. Each full page of the Attendance Roll lists 25 candidates so, ideally, there is a maximum of 25 candidates in a classroom: one page of the Roll to one room. Supervisors must familiarise themselves with the rooms they will be working in. This includes evacuation procedures for each room and a good storage space for candidate bags/coats. 3

Supervisors are responsible for looking after exam materials in the rooms in which they are working. These materials must be kept away from candidates. A suitcase or some other container which can be closed is ideal. Bringing candidates into an exam room In your explanation/discussion, include the following: A seating plan outside the room, particularly a Hall, helps candidates understand where they will be sitting. Exam notices should be on display outside exam rooms. There should be no posters, student work, on exam room walls. Exam packs should be set out on desks in Attendance Roll order, before candidates come into the room. Explain to candidates where they are to leave their bags. Candidates to enter exam rooms in silence (setting the one). Read out the first five Exam Codes from the Roll. These candidates file into the room. Admission Slips must be checked (both sides) for handwriting. If folded, they must be unfolded and checked. A second check of Admission Slip details against exam pack details is ESSENTIAL, once candidates are seated. Other checks once candidates are seated Emergency Packs (clear, sealed plastic bag) must be under chairs. Coats must be off. No hoods to be up. Pens, pencils etc must be in clear plastic bags on desks. Candidates with long hair, not tied back, should be asked to move this so supervisors can check for ear phones. Water (if allowed) to be in clear plastic bottles with no writing on them. Check these for handwriting. Answer supervisor questions about other situations. 4

Language Exams: Questions 6 7 in STB Explain that NCEA Language exams have two standards. One requires candidates to listen to a CD. Are the candidates at your school entered for the listening standards? Explain that it is essential candidates entered for the listening standard have peace and quiet whilst the CD is playing. Explain that the CD volume should be checked before candidates come into the room and that you will have checked that the CD plays on the equipment (computer or CD player) before it is used in the exam. Once the CD has been played it is to be given back to you, as ECM and then handed to the PN at the school. Late candidates must not be allowed to disrupt the listening of other candidates. They are not allowed to have the CD replayed so they can hear anything they have missed. Use of calculators in exams: Questions 9-12 in STB This year, NZQA has stipulated that calculators may only be used in specific exams. This is indicated on the exam timetable in the Supervisor Instructions. Make sure supervisors of all exams know when calculators may be used and when they must not. If calculators may NOT be used in an exam then either: o they should not be brought to that exam, or o If brought, they must be in the candidate s Emergency Pack, sealed and under their desk. If no Emergency Pack, supervisor to remove the calculator from candidate until end of exam (or allow candidate to put calculator in their bag). Only one calculator allowed on a candidate s desk in permitted exams. Some schools provide additional calculators for candidates to use in the event theirs stops working. Find out whether your school provides this support. If a calculator stops working and there is no back up, or the candidate does not know how to use the calculator there is nothing the supervisor can do. 5

All calculators are to have their memories cleared before an exam starts. This is to be done by people who know how to clear the memories (usually school staff). Do not accept a candidate s word that they have cleared their own calculator. Memory clearing may be done outside the exam room, or, once candidates are seated. Forms used in examinations: Questions 13 20 in STB Accurate completion of forms is essential. Remind supervisors to write clearly, especially when filling in NSNs and candidate names. Explain how the Toilet Roll might be managed in an exam room. Emphasise that if a candidate leaves a room to go to the toilet, they must leave their Admission Slip with the supervisor. This year, there is a new pink Candidate Given Nonbarcoded Booklet(s) form. This pink form is to be filled in by the supervisor and must be checked by the candidate for accurate details, before they sign. This pink form may be used if an entire class (or large numbers) have been entered for the same standard(s) and require non-barcoded booklets. In this situation, only the first section (Examination and standards) is to be completed. A school-provided roll must, however, be stapled to the pink form so NZQA knows which candidates received booklets. Emphasise the importance of writing accurately on the top of non-barcoded booklets. This must be legible. Explain the process for managing candidates who turn up late to exams. Emphasise that this situation must be controlled and no candidate should come in to a room and sit down without being escorted by a supervisor and having their Admission Slip checked against a pack of booklets. Emphasise that under no circumstances (unless agreed to directly by NZQA) may a candidate enter an exam room after the first 30 minutes of an exam have elapsed. 6

Attendance Roll: Question 21 in STB Explain how you manage the Attendance Roll process at your exam centre. The Attendance Roll is a critical document for NZQA. It must be filled in accurately and with no errors. Go through the answers to question 21 in the Supervisor Training Booklet and ensure everyone understands why the Roll has been marked in this way for each candidate. No row on a Roll should be entirely blank. There must be something in at least one of the four boxes on the right hand side. Supervisors must check this at the end of an exam. Special Report/Possible Breach form: Questions 22 30 in STB Any unusual situation must be reported to NZQA, whether this is a possible breach of exam rules or a non-breach situation which is not the norm. NZQA provides two forms for reporting unusual situations: Special Report (blue) and Possible Breach of Exam Rules Incident Report (purple). Supervisors should understand when to use which form. Emphasise to supervisors that they simply report incidents. It is not their role to decide whether or not a possible breach has taken place. If in doubt, fill in a form! It is worth explaining to supervisors that each year, whilst many possible breaches are reported, very few candidates have their results withheld. For most, just going through the breach investigative process is a big deterrent. Explain to supervisors that if they suspect a possible breach, they may need to call for assistance. Explain to them how to do this. The Possible Breach of Exam Rules Incident Report is available in MS-Word format from the list of documents online. NZQA would like this form completing asap and emailing to the address on the form as soon as possible. A hard copy may then be printed and enclosed with any booklets or other materials connected with the possible breach. 7

Other areas to cover (not included in STB) You may wish to discuss the following with supervisors: Management of SAC candidates using computers Dealing with difficult candidates Managing any conflict of interest Packing of plastic bags: NZQA has produced a short video explaining how to pack the clear, yellow, red and blue plastic bags. Supervisors may be shown this at training. It is accessible from the ECM s area of NZQA s website. Supervisor claims when they will be paid. The end of the session Encourage supervisors to ask questions if they are unsure about anything, no matter how small. Ensure you are given all outstanding supervisor contracts and other documentation. Explain to supervisors that if NZQA does not have all documentation their pay will be delayed. Give supervisors your contact details, particularly for use if they are unable to supervise for any reason. Ensure you have their contact details. Provide each supervisor with their schedule of supervising responsibilities. Re-emphasise the importance of letting you know early if they cannot supervisor a session for any reason. Emphasise again, what time supervisors are expected to be at school before a supervision session. After the training session Check with any new supervisors that they feel comfortable about their role and answer any questions they may not have asked during the training. Ensure they are buddied with an experience, reliable person, particularly in their first few days of supervision, if possible. If you are unable to answer any supervisor questions, please contact NZQA for a response to provide to supervisors. 8