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Schooling is compulsory for students aged 6 to 16 in New Zealand. Most children start school at age five. Secondary education runs from Year 9 (around 12-14 years old) up to Year 13 (around 17-18 years old).

Overview of the school leaving qualification:

The National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 3. NCEA is the main national qualification for secondary school students in New Zealand. The three levels of NCEA correlate to the New Zealand Qualifications Framework levels. In general, students work through NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3 in Years 11, 12 and 13. Year 13 is the final year of secondary school. 

NCEA is designed to acknowledge achievement across the learning areas of the New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa (the Māori-medium curriculum) and to provide a foundation for further study and employment.

NCEA is a flexible qualification catering for all students planning to go to university or other tertiary study, into an apprenticeship programme, a practical training programme or work.

There are three levels of NCEA certificate, depending on the difficulty of the standards achieved. At each level, students must achieve a certain number of credits to gain an NCEA certificate. Credits can be gained over more than one year.

Schools can offer multilevel study so students can study a mix of standards at different levels. Typically, NCEA Level 1 is undertaken at Year 11, Level 2 in Year 12, and Level 3 in Year 13. NCEA Level 3 is undertaken by an annual cohort of around 45,000 students.

There are no compulsory subjects for NCEA although most Year 11 students study programmes in English, Mathematics and Science. Students are typically required to study between five and six subjects for each NCEA level. Each subject is assessed against a number of standards. When a student achieves a standard, they gain a number of credits.

A year’s work in a typical school subject is assessed by approximately 18 to 24 credits and generally requires 180 to 240 guided learning hours (based on the notional learning time expected for students to meet the outcomes in the standards that make up the subject). One credit represents 10 hours of learning, practice, and assessment time.

NCEA Level 3 is gained by acquiring a minimum of 80 credits, 60 of which must have been achieved at Level 3 or above, and the remaining 20 at Level 2 or above; and literacy and numeracy requirements. 

Temporary changes to NCEA in response to COVID-19

Temporary changes were made to NCEA and the University Entrance Award to give students a fair opportunity to achieve qualifications and awards despite the disruption to teaching, learning and assessment from COVID-19. These changes are applicable for both 2020, 2021 and 2022. 

Subjects:

In each NCEA subject, skills and knowledge are assessed against a number of standards.

Schools can also create courses made up of standards from more than one subject.

Grading system:

New Zealand secondary qualifications apply two types of assessment standards: achievement standards and unit standards. 

Achievement standards assess the subject achievement objectives in the New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa and may be internally or externally assessed.

The grades that a student can earn depend on the type of standard being assessed.

For achievement standards, there are four grades:

• Achieved (A) for a satisfactory performance
• Merit (M) for very good performance
• Excellence (E) for outstanding performance
• Not achieved (N) if students do not meet the criteria of the standard

Unit standards generally relate to industry training and other non-curriculum-based learning areas. All unit standards are internally assessed.

For unit standards all grades may be available, but usually there are just two grades:

• Achieved (A) for meeting the criteria of the standard
• Not achieved (N) if a student does not meet the criteria of the standard.

Link: www.nzqa.govt.nz/how-ncea-works

NCEA certificate endorsement and course endorsement

High achievement is recognised through certificate and course endorsement.

From 2007, NCEA certificates have been issued with Merit and Excellence endorsements to recognise high level performance.

Candidates who gain 50 credits with Excellence at or above the NZQF level of the certificate, gain a certificate endorsed with Excellence. Those who gain 50 credits with Merit or Excellence at or above the level of the certificate, gain a certificate endorsed with Merit.

Course endorsement was introduced across all three NCEA levels in 2011. NCEA course endorsement enables students to gain Excellence and Merit endorsement in individual courses (subjects).

Assessment

NCEA achievement standards are standards-based with some standards internally assessed and some externally assessed. Credits are awarded for each successful result in a standard, which contribute towards qualifications.

NZQA has a formal quality assurance process to ensure that assessment of each standard is valid and consistent nationally. This includes internal moderation, external moderation and assessment system checks

Internal moderation supports the credibility of assessment by ensuring that internal assessment is valid and grade judgements are verified. Quality assurance systems operate in every school to ensure internal assessment results reported are accurate and consistent with the listed standard.

National external assessment provides assurance that assessment decisions are consistent nationally. External assessment occurs under a national examinations system, managed by NZQA. 

In most subjects students have to option of sitting an examination at the end of the school year, which covers the externally assessed standards. For some subjects, such as Technology or Visual Arts, students submit a portfolio of their work at the end of the year.

End of year examinations take place over three to four weeks commencing in early November.

Contribution of assessment components to overall grade 

Achievement of NCEA at each level is based on the results obtained in all external and internal assessment during the school year.

NCEA Timeline:

2002 - 2004: NCEA was introduced as New Zealand’s main secondary school qualification. NCEA replaced School Certificate, Sixth Form Certificate, University Bursary qualifications and Higher School Certificate.

• 2002 - NCEA Level 1 introduced (replacing School certificate). School Certificate discontinued.
• 2003 - NCEA Level 2 introduced (replacing Sixth Form Certificate).
• 2004 - NCEA level 3 introduced (replacing University Bursary). Sixth Form Certificate discontinued, University Bursary discontinued, Higher School Certificate discontinued
• 2004 - New Zealand Scholarship Award. Scholarship discontinued.
• 2007 - NCEA certificate endorsement introduced to recognise student achievement at Merit or Excellence level across all learning areas.
• 2008 - The Record of Learning renamed Record of Achievement, to better reflect its purpose.
• 2011 - Course endorsement for NCEA began, enabling students with strong performances in individual courses to gain Excellence or Merit endorsements in those courses.  
• 2016 - Electronic form of the Record of Achievement introduced and renamed New Zealand Record of Achievement.
• 2020 - National arrangements during COVID-19 pandemic. To recognise school closures and the disruption to teaching, learning and assessment as a result of COVID-19, temporary changes were made in June to the NCEA qualifications and the University Entrance Award to give students a fair opportunity to achieve qualifications and awards. These changes only apply for students with 2020 NCEA results. The temporary changes to University Entrance were agreed with New Zealand universities. Due to the re-emergence of COVID-19 in August, further temporary changes were made for students whose schools were closed since early August.

Joint Communication from the European Students’ Union and Lisbon Recognition Convention Committee Bureau on 7 July 2020 invites all ENIC-NARIC network centres and higher education institutions in Lisbon Convention signatory states to recognise COVID-19 changes to national qualifications such as these changes to NCEA.

NCEA results are expected to be released in late January 2021.

Kura Kaupapa Māori

New Zealand offers a parallel education system that recognises Māori world views and knowledge. Wharekura (Māori immersion secondary schools) are for students in Years 9 to 13. Learning is delivered through te reo Māori (the Māori language) for at least 51% of the time and education is based on tikanga Māori (Māori values and principles).

Most Māori students attend the majority of New Zealand secondary schools that teach in the English language. Some New Zealand mainstream secondary schools also include Māori immersion classes which follow similar programmes as wharekura.