The National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) is the official secondary-school qualification in New Zealand. Phased in between 2002 and 2004, it replaced three older secondary-school qualifications. The New Zealand Qualifications Authority administers NCEA.
In early August 2025, the Sixth National Government confirmed plans to scrap NCEA and replace it with new school certificates.
History
NCEA Level 1 replaced School Certificate in 2002, Level 2 replaced Sixth Form Certificate in 2003 and Level 3 replaced Bursary in 2004. A transitional Sixth Form Certificate was offered by schools in 2003 and 2004.
Unlike the previous subjects-based school certificates which ranked students based on their marks, NCEA measures academic performance against set standards. Each of these standards is worth a certain number of credits. NCEA work is assessed both externally through annual national exam at the end of the school year or internally assessed through tests throughout the school year, which are marked by schools. Internal assessment marking is checked by independent moderators from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) to ensure that schools are assessing work according to a national standard.
- Creating a New Zealand Certificate of Education (NZCE) for Year 12 students.
In late August 2025, 89 secondary school principals issued an open letter to Education Minister Stanford and Acting Secretary for Education Ellen MacGregor-Reid, calling for the Government to halt plans to replace the NCEA school qualification. They said that the Government's replacement plan lacked a clear rationale and posed a risk to disadvantaged teenagers particularly Māori and Pasifika New Zealanders. The principals expressed concern that the replacement system was designed for university-bound students over non-academic students.
On 26 March 2026, Stanford confirmed that the New Zealand Government would proceed with plans to phase out NCEA between 2028 and 2030. In addition, Year 11 students would be required to study English and mathematics from 2028. The Government also intends to introduce subjects-based assessments for Years 12 and 13 students, phasing out the current practice of accumulating credits across various subjects. The Government plans to create one pathway for academic and vocational learning, with industry-led subjects within the curriculum. In response, Post Primary Teachers' Association President Chris Abercrombie criticised the lack of detail in the Government's March announcement while the PPTA's Secondary School Council chair Steve McCracken expressed concern about the narrow focus on literacy and numeracy in the foundation qualifications for Year 11 students. Luxon confirmed that the Government would abolish fully internally-assessed subjects while Willis said that the new system would avoid "credit crunching" but focus on "progressing students through a curriculum that sets you up for life." Each level is generally studied in each of the three final years of secondary schooling,
To pass each level, students must gain a certain number of credits at that level or above. Credits are awarded through students passing unit standards or achievement standards. Each school subject is made up of multiple standards – for example, Mathematics at Level 1 is made up of 13 achievement standards, including separate standards for number, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, statistics and probability.
Unit and achievement standards represent the two kinds of standards used in NCEA. Both use criterion-based marking, which means students need to meet the specified criteria for each grade level to achieve at that level. However, unit standards are 'competency based' whereas achievement standards derive from the New Zealand Curriculum. Most unit standards use a simple Achieved/Not Achieved system, whereas achievement standards use a four-grade scale: Not Achieved (N), Achieved (A), Merit (M) and Excellence (E). while Standard 91587 (Apply systems of simultaneous equations in solving problems) is worth 3 credits.
Assessment of individuals is administered both internally and externally.) by examinations held at the end of the school year in November and December.
Achievement and endorsements
The number of credits required to pass each level is as follows. Credits can be reused for multiple certificates:
- NCEA Level 1 – 80 credits at Level One or higher, of which 10 must be in literacy and 10 must be in numeracy.
- NCEA Level 2 – 80 credits total, of which 60 credits must be at Level Two or higher. Students must also have achieved 10 literacy and 10 numeracy credits at Level One or higher.
- NCEA Level 3 – 80 credits total, of which 60 credits must be at Level Three or higher and 20 credits must be at Level Two or higher. Students must also have achieved 10 literacy and 10 numeracy credits at Level One or higher.
Candidates who achieve a large number of Merit and Excellence standards can have certificates endorsed with Merit or Excellence.
In 2011, course endorsements were introduced. To gain a Merit course endorsement a candidate must achieve 14 credits at Merit or Excellence within a given year. Additionally, 3 credits must be internally assessed and 3 externally assessed. 3 exceptions exist for Physical Education, Religious Studies and Level Three Visual Arts, as all standards in these subjects are either entirely internally or externally assessed. An Excellence endorsement requires all 14 credits to be achieved with Excellence.
Exam process and marking
Grade Score Marking (GSM) was also introduced in 2011, along with the realigned Level One standards. Like the realignment, GSM was phased in so that only Level One externals were marked with GSM in 2011. Under GSM each question earns up to 8 marks, with two marks per each of the grades (NAME). N0 also exists for "no response, no evidence". The Grade Score Marks for each question are totalled and the overall mark for the standard is determined from that total, based on NZQA determined cut-scores. However, candidates would still ultimately receive one of four marks (NAME) whether or not the standard was out of 8 (such as 91098) or 32 (for example, 90948). The rationale behind the change was threefold: it would clarify marks for candidates, motivate them to improve and improve consistency in marking.
According to NZQA, NCEA is the only secondary school qualification worldwide where marked examination papers are returned to students. After the examination papers have been returned, a student can apply for certain papers to be reviewed if a marking or clerical error has occurred (e.g. the paper has not been fully marked, the marks have been added up incorrectly, the examination paper shows a different result from their results notice), or they can apply for certain papers to be remarked ("reconsidered") if they feel they have not been assessed correctly.
Extensive online resources for standards can be found on NZQA's website.
University entrance
For NCEA candidates the prerequisites for the University Entrance award were changed in 2014 for the university year beginning 2015. Candidates have since been required to:
- Achieve NCEA Level 3
- Gain 14 credits in each of three Approved Subjects
- Meet the Literacy and Numeracy standards based on Level Two and Level One credits across a multitude of standards and subjects.
Not all subjects are approved for university admission and, as such, NZQA publishes a list of approved subjects and standards. Credits not gained in approved subjects cannot count towards University Entrance.
Individual universities set their own entrance standards for specific degree programmes, but NCEA students must still meet the University Entrance standard set by NCEA. The only exception to this applies to a discretionary entrance, which is subject to its own requirements. Non-NCEA pupils are admitted by universities based on their qualifications.
NCEA is also accepted internationally, but overseas institutes and countries set their own requirements and NZQA may convert NCEA into comparable measures of performance on a case-by-case basis.
The University Entrance award has been criticised on the grounds that it is 'convoluted', insufficient for admission to New Zealand's universities and seen as inadequate by universities domestic and foreign.
Subjects
University approved
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!NZ Curriculum Subject Area
!Level 1
!Level 2
!Level 3
|-
|English
|English
|English
|English
|-
|Arts
|Dance
Design (Practical Art)
Drama
History of Art
Music Studies
Painting (Practical Art)
Photography (Practical Art)
Printmaking (Practical Art)
Sculpture (Practical Art)
|Dance
Design (Practical Art)
Drama
History of Art
Music Studies
Painting (Practical Art)
Photography (Practical Art)
Printmaking (Practical Art)
Sculpture (Practical Art)
|Dance
Design (Practical Art)
Drama
History of Art
Music Studies
Painting (Practical Art)
Photography (Practical Art)
Printmaking (Practical Art)
Sculpture (Practical Art)
|-
|Health and Physical Education
|Health Education
Home Economics
Physical Education
|Health Education
Home Economics
Physical Education
|Health Education
Home Economics
Physical Education
|-
|Languages
|Chinese
Cook Islands Maori
French
German
Indonesian
Japanese
Korean
Latin
New Zealand Sign Language
Samoan
Spanish
Tongan
|Chinese
Cook Islands Maori
French
German
Indonesian
Japanese
Korean
Latin
New Zealand Sign Language
Samoan
Spanish
Tongan
|Chinese
Cook Islands Maori
French
German
Indonesian
Japanese
Korean
Latin
New Zealand Sign Language
Samoan
Spanish
Tongan
|-
|Mathematics and Statistics
|Mathematics
|Mathematics
|Calculus
Mathematics
Statistics
|-
|Science
|Agriculture and Horticultural Science
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Science
|Agriculture and Horticultural Science
Biology
Chemistry
Earth and Space Science
Physics
Science
|Agriculture and Horticultural Science
Biology
Chemistry
Earth and Space Science
Physics
|-
|Social Sciences
|Accounting
Business Studies
Classical Studies
Economics
Geography
History
Media Studies
Psychology
Social Studies
|Accounting
Business Studies
Classical Studies
Economics
Geography
History
Media Studies
Psychology
Social Studies
|Accounting
Business Studies
Classical Studies
Economics
Geography
History
Media Studies
Psychology
Social Studies
|-
|Technology
|Construction and Mechanical Technologies
Design and Visual Communication
Digital Technologies
Processing Technologies
Technology
|Construction and Mechanical Technologies
Design and Visual Communication
Digital Technologies
Processing Technologies
Technology
|Construction and Mechanical Technologies
Design and Visual Communication
Digital Technologies
Processing Technologies
Technology
|-
|Other
|Religious Studies
Te Reo Māori
Te Reo Rangatira
|Education for Sustainability
Religious Studies
Te Reo Māori
Te Reo Rangatira
|Education for Sustainability
Religious Studies
Te Reo Māori
Te Reo Rangatira
|}
Controversy and media
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Data breach
In January 2013, hundreds of students were able to access their grades a day before they were due to be released, after they were accidentally posted online.
Uneven assessment standards
In June 2014 NZQA released a press statement saying that nearly 25% of the 2013 internal assessments were incorrectly marked. Students were nevertheless able to use the wrongly awarded credits to gain NCEA. Each year NZQA takes a random sample of internal assessment for close checking. In some schools, nearly all the credits gained are from internal assessments. Additionally, lower decile schools tend to both use internal assessment more and have larger gaps between internal and external achievement rates when compared to higher decile schools. NZQA said there were more mistakes than usual as new standards had been introduced during the ongoing realignment and teachers had not yet adjusted their marking.
In September 2016, the Level One MCAT (Maths Common Assessment Test) was criticised for being set at a level that was "far too difficult", although Education Minister Hekia Parata commented that 'overall achievement in the assessment was "in line with expectations and higher than 2015"'.
Alleged grade inflation
In July 2015, James Cote and Michael Johnston suggested that grade inflation was behind the increases in NCEA student pass rates. This suggestion was further expressed in an Newsroom article published in April 2017.
Platform failures
Between 30 October and 10 November 2023, the online platform used to administer NCEA exams had several failures. In May 2024, an independent review stated that NZQA was "too relaxed" about its relationship with the company providing the online platform.
See also
- Cambridge International Education
- International Baccalaureate
References
Further reading
External links
- NCEA website