THE CERTIFICATE OF STEINER EDUCATION
Levels 1, 2 and 3
A High School Qualification for Steiner School
Managed and developed by SEDT
Students work towards achieving the CSE in Classes 10, 11 and 12 (Levels 1, 2 and 3) in Steiner/Waldorf schools throughout the world. This enables students to continue with the full Steiner curriculum and approach, even in the final years of their education.
Schools can assess students at the relevant year level across the full range of learning activities – academic, artistic and movement-based subjects. Level 3 with UE provides university entrance.
The CSE is available in New Zealand, Australia, the UK and Europe and is under active development in other countries.
Approved by the NZQA
The New Zealand Certificate of Steiner Education (CSE) is a regulated and fully accredited NZQA secondary qualification in New Zealand, listed on the New Zealand Qualification Framework since 2010.
Under this framework, students can work towards achieving the CSE in Classes 10, 11 and 12 (Levels 1, 2 and 3) in Steiner/Waldorf schools throughout New Zealand, all while meeting the New Zealand Qualification Framework Levels 1, 2 and 3. Schools are able to assess students at the relevant year level across the full range of learning activities – including academic, artistic and movement-based subjects.
These secondary school qualifications are delivered, quality-managed and developed by the Steiner Education Development Trust. SEDT accredits and contracts providers (normally schools) to deliver the certificate. A detailed and rigorous external moderation system to ensure consistency and robustness to this qualification has been established and approved. This moderation system describes the requirements and processes of controlling, managing and assuring the quality of assessment against the New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF) levels, as well as assessment procedures, coherence and consistency between the schools.
University Entrance
Parents can be assured that their child’s Steiner education can lead to a formal qualification that opens the door to the next steps in their learning journey, work and life.
The CSE enables schools to continue with the full Steiner curriculum and approach, even in the final years of secondary education.
The NZCSE Level 3 endorsed with University Entrance provides students with a University Entrance qualification recognised by universities in an ever-increasing number of countries around the world.
We believe that readiness for university (and life) requires an attitude of enquiry, motivation, clear values, and self-directed learning skills, in addition to specific content knowledge.
Note, NZCSE gives a student entry into a university, but acceptance onto specific courses (e.g Medicine) may be dependent on the quality of the student’s results and if they have taken the right subjects during their final years of secondary school. Careers Advisors can point students in the right direction to assist with their applications.
In Steiner schools, students are expected to cover all, or most, subject areas compulsorily until their final years of schooling.
We recognise Steiner education puts a priority on the relationship of the learning material to the human being, and subjects are purposely set in inter-disciplinary contexts wherever possible and taught through phenomenological or experiential methodology –using inductive concepts of observation and personal involvement, rather than deductive.
How it works
The NZCSE qualification is awarded based on the collection of evidence required to support the decision of the teacher against detailed assessment criteria specified for each Learning Outcome.
Learning Outcomes
Each Learning Outcome has been approved as at the “correct” (NZQF) level, and has an individual weighting against the whole qualification, and is described in terms of Assessment Criteria. Assessment decisions are made against requirements within four bands (tolerance ranges): Achieved, Merit, Excellence and Not Achieved.
Important Note: Learning Outcomes are just the (preferably small) assessable part. They are not the course; they are not the content; they should not drive what is taught; ideally units or blocks of learning – if named – should be descriptive of what is taught/learnt, not what is assessed. From what is taught, an appropriate Learning Outcome (or more) is selected.
Assessment
Assessment generally occurs any time during a course, is integrated with learning and, where practicable, with other assessment events.
Assessment events include activities or tasks such as a project, assignment, essays, reports, tests, examinations, product (e.g. art, writing portfolio) or performance (e.g. laboratory experiment, tool or materials handling, music and movement demonstrations).
Examination + Moderation
For all assessment activities, there is a combination of compulsory internal moderation, and an external moderation process which quality controls the school’s assessment decisions.
The Level 3 qualification can include an annual external examination week (externally set, marked and moderated) which covers two selected Learning Outcomes from each of Level 3: English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
Record of Learning
A student’s confirmed achievements are recorded on a database which will create a Record of Learning.
Certificate Levels
- Primarily, but not exclusively, Class 10 (Year 11 NZ) students.
- Have moved through two years of the Steiner high school curriculum
- Wishing to have their achievements in the year’s learning programme certified, which is made up predominantly of compulsory courses.
GRADUATES WILL BE ABLE TO
- Develop a balanced approach in dealing with polarities and the relationships between the inner and outer worlds.
- Apply knowledge, skills and understandings in a defined range of compulsory subjects.
- Transfer learning across a range of situations.
- Solve familiar problems in supervised contexts.
- Apply foundation literacy and numeracy skills in a range of contexts.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
To attain Level 1, students must have achieved:
- a minimum total of 50 points, comprising any of the Learning Outcomes with at least one Learning Outcome from each of the first six Core subject areas:
- English
- Social Sciences
- General Sciences
- Mathematics
- Arts/Crafts/Technology and
- Drama/Music/Movement
- At least five points from the Literacy and five points from the Numeracy foundation requirements.
- Any number of points from NZCSE Level 2 and/or Level 3 Learning Outcomes, or up to five points (eight credits) from approved NZQF standards at Level 1 or above.
For evidence of numeracy to University Entrance standard, the student enrolled for the NZCSE Level 1 can achieve:
- nine points in approved numeracy (UEN) Learning Outcomes at Level 1 or above.
GRADES
The NZCSE Level 1 certificate will be endorsed with the words “Highly Commended” when the student has gained 30 points or more, at the level or higher, at Merit or Excellence.
The NZCSE Level 1 certificate will be endorsed with the words “with Distinction” when the student has gained 30 points or more, at the level or higher, at Excellence.
STUDENTS
- Primarily, but not exclusively, for Class 11 (Year 12 NZ) students
- Have moved through three years of the Steiner high school curriculum
- Wishing to have their achievements in the whole of the year’s learning programme certified, which includes compulsory courses.
GRADUATES WILL BE ABLE TO
- Develop a reflective questioning approach to phenomena and opinion.
- Develop moral, ethical and personal standards for common life situations.
- Apply in-depth knowledge, skills and understandings from a defined range of core and elective subjects and activities.
- Apply numeracy and literacy skills required for tertiary study across a defined range of subjects.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
To attain the NZCSE Level 2, students must have achieved:
- a minimum total of 50 points, comprising a minimum of 18 points in Core Learning Outcomes with at least one LO from each of the six compulsory groups
- English
- Social Sciences
- General Sciences
- Mathematics
- Visual Arts/Crafts]
- and Music/Movement
- And a further minimum of 32 points in any of the LOs which may include up to ten points from NZCSE Level 1 and/or any number of Level 3 Learning Outcomes, or up to five points (eight credits) from approved NZQF standards at Level 2 or above.
For evidence of literacy and numeracy to University Entrance standard, the student enrolled for the NZCSE Level 2 can achieve:
- four points in approved (UELW) literacy (writing) Learning Outcomes at Level 2 (or above)
- four points in approved (UELR) literacy (reading) Learning Outcomes at Level 2 (or above)
- nine points in approved numeracy (UEN) Learning Outcomes at Level 1 or above.
GRADES
The NZCSE Level 2 certificate will be endorsed with the words “Highly Commended” when the student has gained 30 SSC points or more, at the level or higher, at Merit or Excellence.
The NZCSE Level 2 certificate will be endorsed with the words “with Distinction” when the student has gained 30 SSC points or more, at the level or higher, at Excellence.
STUDENTS
- Primarily, but not exclusively, for Class 12 (Year 13 NZ) students
- Have moved through four years of the Steiner high school curriculum
- Wishing to have certified their achievements in the whole of the year’s learning programme, which includes compulsory courses.
GRADUATES WILL BE ABLE TO
- Be independent life-long learners who are able to self-reflect and take initiative when required.
- Apply well-developed moral, ethical and personal standards to a range of life situations.
- Apply knowledge, skills and understandings from a defined range of compulsory core disciplines in a wide range of educational contexts.
- Apply knowledge, skills and understandings from a range of self-chosen elective subjects across a broad range of educational contexts.
- Apply public presentation and display skills in a wide range of contexts.
Research and analyse new and/or abstract data and situations with minimal guidance, using a range of techniques appropriate to a subject area.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
To achieve the NZCSE Level 3, students must have achieved a total of 50 points, comprising:
- A minimum of 18 points against Core Learning Outcomes (with at least one LO from each of the four groups:
- Humanities
- General Sciences
- Class 12 Project
- the Arts
- An a further minimum of 32 points against Elective LOs.
To achieve University Entrance, the student must have achieved:
- The NZCSE Level 3.
- nine points in one approved subject area.
- nine points in a second subject area.
- nine points across a third subject area.
- Minimum four points in approved (UELW) literacy (writing) Learning Outcomes at Level 2 or above.
- Minimum four points in approved (UELR) literacy (reading) Learning Outcomes at Level 2 or above.
- Minimum nine points in approved numeracy (UEN) Learning Outcomes at Level 1 or above.
- Up to five equivalent points (eight credits or approximately 80 notional hours of learning) of this qualification may be attained from other Level 3 (or above) approved NZQF standards.
GRADES
The NZCSE Level 3 will be endorsed with the words “Highly Commended” when the student has gained 35 points or more at Merit or Excellence (maximum of ten points of these from compulsory Learning Outcomes).
The NZCSE Level 3 certificate will be endorsed with the words “with Distinction” when the student has gained 35 SSC points or more at Excellence (maximum of ten points of these from compulsory Learning Outcomes).