Latest news with #VaughanCouillault
Scoop
03-06-2025
- General
- Scoop
Louise Ānaru Takes The Helm At Secondary Principals Association
Kaitāia College Principal and Member of New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZN), Louise Ānaru, now leads the Secondary Principal's Association of New Zealand (SPANZ). Louise is of Ngāpuhi and Te Rarawa descent and is the principal of Kaitāia College. Ānaru has been on the SPANZ executive board for the last six years and takes over from outgoing President, Vaughan Couillault. Ānaru brings a wealth of experience to the role. She began her career in education as a youth tutor at Te Whānau o Waipareira and Poutama in West Auckland before going on to teach at Waitākere College. This was succeeded by roles as deputy principal at Taipā Area School, in the Far North, for five and a half years before moving to Hawke's Bay. From Flaxmere College, where she was principal for nine years, Ānaru took up the helm at Kaitāia College. Ānaru said of her appointment: 'It is a real privilege to be of service to education. I am delighted to be leading the Secondary Principals Association. Collectively, we can make a positive difference to the lives of our young people and their communities and it starts with looking after our principals. I look forward to continuing the great work of Vaughan Couillault in this capacity.' Recognised as an MNZM in 2021, for her then 21 years of service to education, Ānaru has been credited with turning around low student achievement and attendance, resulting in a Supreme Award at the 2018 Prime Minister's Education Excellence Awards. Ānaru is a member of the NCEA Professional Advisory Group and the Ministry of Education's Curriculum and Assessment Reference Group and judged the 2019 and 2021 Prime Minister's Educational Excellence Awards. She is actively involved in the National Aspiring Principals Programme and First Time Principals Programme and is an Expert Advisor to the Education Review Office. Ānaru has been a teacher for 26 years and has served 16 years as a principal.
NZ Herald
19-05-2025
- NZ Herald
AI-linked breaches contribute to NCEA exam misconduct rise
Authenticity was the most common type of breach in 2024, with 209 reported cases. Use of AI was identified as a breach type by NZQA for the first time. There were 59 investigations relating to AI. Secondary Principals' Association president Vaughan Couillault believes some of the authenticity cases likely involved AI. 'We're becoming increasingly aware of [AI] and when you've got a student who produces a miraculously different piece of work to anything they've been able to produce in class, that stands out quite a lot,' he said. 'But it is quite challenging when you've got potentially a talented student who also attempts to use other means to produce some work.' NZQA's deputy chief executive of assessment Jann Marshall said the bigger focus on AI reflects the growing use of ChatGPT and other tools for assessments. 'What we need to make sure is that students use them appropriately - to brainstorm information, not replicate or simply transfer the information into an assessment,' she said. 'We continue to provide quite a bit of guidance, and we're working with our colleagues at the Ministry of Education to regularly review and update that as the technology changes.' Couillault said he's disappointed at the number of students breaching assessment rules - but there has been a significant increase in the number of assessments since Covid-19. 'So we now have three significant external events throughout the year as opposed to historically only one,' he said. 'That's all that literacy and numeracy stuff - so a fair chunk of the increase is attributed to those new digital assessments.' Marshall said 418 of the 876 breaches investigated resulted in action taken. She said there are times when warning letters are sent to students and they still receive the results. 'So for example, if a student takes notes into the assessment, but the notes wouldn't help them in the assessment, then that's often a warning letter. 'However, if the notes are found to have advantaged them, then the result is withheld and they will not receive a result at all.' Couillault said this is the best approach, as no one wants to see an entire qualification binned because of a 'five-minute indiscretion'. 'So I'm happy to trust [NZQA's] judgement in that case, however, we are all acutely aware of the challenges AI brings to authenticity and assessment.'
