However, despite the latest announcements from Education Minister Erica Stanford about this, much detail is missing.
In 18 months’ time the first of the changes are expected with the removal of NCEA level 1 and the introduction of the Foundation Award for year 11 students focusing on literacy and numeracy.
Ms Stanford announced this week that same year science is to become a compulsory subject for year 11 students.
While this may be a welcome move, it is unclear how the system will cope with this when science teachers are already in short supply.
Asked about this, Ms Stanford admitted some schools would struggle but went on to say she had levers to ‘‘make sure I’m surgically putting science teachers into where they need to be’’.
What that means is anybody’s guess.
Critics of the new scheme are concerned less flexibility will affect learners from low socio-economic backgrounds, Māori and Pasifika and those with disabilities.
Indeed, advice to Cabinet said initially attainment rates for these groups was likely to decline.
The first year of the new New Zealand Certificate of Education (NZCE) will come in 2029 for year 12 students.
Students at this level must study five subjects and pass a minimum of three to get the certificate with a combination of coursework assessments and at least one exam, whether the subject is an academic or a more practical one.
A six-point grading scale from A+ to E will apply, with C a pass.
The following year, year 13 students will be able to sit the New Zealand Advanced Certificate of Education (NZACE).
The new qualifications will allow for the inclusion of industry-led subjects which we still know little about other than they will involve construction, engineering, health and community services and are being developed in collaboration with Industry Skills Boards.
How new curriculum subjects civics, politics and philosophy, journalism, media and communications, and advanced mathematics will fit into schools’ programmes and who will teach them is also hazy.
The new senior school curriculum which will go with these changes is still being consulted on and not expected to be finalised until the end of this year.
There has been much controversy about the government’s new curriculum drive for both secondary and primary levels, and whether its focus in some areas will be too narrow and Euro-centric and unsuited to New Zealand learners.
It is going to be a testing time for secondary school teachers in the next few years as they cope with the new curriculum and two quite different systems during the transition phase.
Ms Stanford has had a busy week, also announcing a $131 million spend on a package of initiatives to support reading, writing and maths programmes at primary level.
While the thrust of the extra spending may be appreciated, there are questions about where 38 additional maths intervention teachers are going to come from and whether two extra tests proposed will be the best use of teaching time.
Since the money is coming from a mixture of unexplained ‘‘reprioritised’’ and new money, the details of which Ms Stanford would not reveal before the Budget, there may also be some nervousness about what might be lost in the reprioritisation.
A smart political move from Ms Stanford this week was the appointment of former Labour minister Kelvin Davis, also a former school principal, to her Māori Education Ministerial Advisory Group.
It comes in the wake of wide criticism of her decision to remove the requirement for school boards to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Less impressive was her decision to put forward last-minute amendments to the Education and Training (System Reform) Amendment Bill, avoiding select committee scrutiny of controversial changes to the Teaching Council.
Ms Stanford is nothing if not enthusiastic for major reform of the education system, but at times her determination risks appearing high-handed and autocratic.
