The National Certificate of Educational Achievement programme (NCEA)

The National Certificate of Educational Achievement programme (NCEA) is New Zealand’s main national qualification for secondary students in Years 11 – 13.  NCEA Level 1 is offered in Year 11, Level 2 in Year 12 and Level 3 in Year 13.

NCEA creates a pathway from secondary education to New Zealand tertiary education.  All New Zealand secondary schools offer NCEA and all levels are recognised by New Zealand’s tertiary education providers and employers. 

As a national qualification, NCEA is automatically recognised by offshore governments and international universities.

NCEA Assessment and Standards

NCEA is an assessment system that recognises and reports on actual achievement.  There is a balance between:

1.    external assessment (usually examinations) marked by NZQA, and
2.    internal assessment marked by schools.

Assessments measure how well students meet standards – the skills or knowledge they are expected to achieve in a subject.  

NCEA works like a university paper credit system.  Each standard achieved gives a certain number of credits towards the certificate.

There are two types of standards – ‘unit standards’ and ‘achievement standards’, both of which are used to assess programmes taught at school.

For achievement standards students are graded ‘achieved‘, ‘merit‘ or ‘excellence’. Achievement standards can be either internally or externally assessed.

Unit standards have just one level of achievement – ‘achieved’.  Unit standards are internally assessed.

This system allows teachers to assess skills not suited to exams – such as making a speech in English, having a conversation in languages, doing an experiment in Science.  It also acknowledges the difficulty that some students had with traditional examination based assessment.  Students can view their progress and collect credits throughout the study year rather than just at the end.

NZQA has recently introduced a new rule concerning internal assessments. Under previous guidelines, students were able to re-sit assessments that they had failed. Under the new rule, further assessment of a standard is limited to once a year, and only if additional teaching and learning has taken place. In addition, the reassessment opportunity must be offered to all students, though it is not compulsory.

NCEA recognises the idea of a ‘subject’ as not being fixed for all students at all schools.  Schools can now better meet the needs of students by designing courses to meet their needs, rather than a unified, single syllabus – eg most schools offer a range of differing courses in Maths and English with a different mix of Achievement and Unit Standards, and a different mix of assessment types.

The result is that NCEA provides a large amount of Assessment information, giving a clear picture of what a student can achieve and what they know.  By dividing subjects into parts (standards) and reporting on each of the standards, there is a clearer picture of what a student can do.

Another advantage of NCEA is that students can study at more than 1 level at a time, depending on their ability.  This is called multi-level study.  For example, some students may obtain a small amount of NCEA Level 1 credits prior to Year 11; a Year 12 student study at mainly NCEA Level 2 but also do a new subject at Level 1 and some advanced study at Level 3.  

NCEA enables students to undertake multilevel study to attain credits, perhaps at different levels in any one year, towards an NCEA qualification.  Students can attain credits through internal and external assessment, and they can accumulate these credits both within and across years.  Educational and job prospects will be limited for those who leave school without Level 2 NCEA.

Full completion of NCEA Level 1 – 3 Qualifications

NCEA Level 1 is gained by achieving 80 Credits, of which 10 must be in English (Reading and Writing) and 10 must be in Mathematics.  NCEA Level 1 is gained by achieving 80 Level 1 Credits, of which 8 must be in English (4 in Reading and 4 in Writing) 8 must be in Mathematics.  NCEA Level 1 is broadly equivalent to the English General Certificate of Education (GCE).

NCEA Level 2 is gained by achieving 80 Credits of which 60 must be Level 2 credits

NCEA Level 3 is gained by achieving 80 Credits of which 60 must be Level 3 credits.  NCEA Level 3 is equivalent to English A Levels and Australia's Higher School Certificate (HSC).

[The English and Mathematics credit requirements for NCEA Level 1 have just changed.  Prior to 2011, they were 8 each.  This will be fully in force by 2012; 2011 is a transition year.]    

Credits can come from either Achievement Standards or Unit Standards

High achievement is recognised by students gaining NCEA with Merit or Excellence.  For example, if a student gains 50 or credits at the Excellence level, they will earn an NCEA with Excellence.

Sample NCEA Report

The following sample report – A National Qualifications Framework Annual Results Notice - shows a student who has been assessed on a number of subjects, most at level 3.  It shows the level achieved, the number of credits obtained and for Achievement Standards, a grading of ‘achieved’, ‘merit’ or ‘excellence’. 

Sample Report 

When students leave school they will receive a School Results Summary (SRS), listing all the standards they have attempted and the results listed by subject and level (including Not Achieved results).  It also includes a credit summary.

Sample of a School Results Summary

They can also request a copy of their Record of Achievement (ROA) from NZQA or access it online.  This is a life-long record of their achievement and will grow as the student gains new standards through tertiary study and industry training. 

Employers and tertiary education providers easily understand these documents.

Sample Record of Achievement

Choosing NCEA subjects

In Year 11, students are encouraged to take a broad range of NCEA Level 1 courses that will lead to more specialised areas.  

However, for Years 12 and 13 (NCEA Levels 2 and 3), students should be thinking about areas they need to focus on for their future study or career.  It is important for students to check what standards they will need for tertiary programmes.

Some examples are:

3.    Students wishing to study medicine at University will need to complete NCEA Level 3.  Useful subjects include chemistry and physics, as well as statistics, calculus, biology and English.

4.    Useful subjects for journalism include English and Media studies.

5.    For students wishing to study architecture, the New Zealand Institute of Architects recommends a number of school subjects – art/design, graphics, computer studies, environmental studies, history, geography, physics, mathematics and communications.  

6.    Whilst some apprenticeship programmes don’t have NCEA requirements, many Industry Training Organisations recommend studying maths and English to at least Level 1 and 2.

An excellent website to support students choosing secondary subjects to support further study or careers is http://www2.careers.govt.nz/get_job_info 

Other Options – Cambridge Exams and International Baccalaureate

Some New Zealand secondary schools offer Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) as an option, in addition to the national qualification NCEA, to give students a choice of qualification. 

  CIE exams are available from 8,000 schools in 150 countries around the world.

The qualifications cover the 14 – 19 year old age bracket and include A & O Levels.  CIE originates from Cambridge, so exams are marked in the United Kingdom.

The Association of Cambridge Schools in New Zealand (Inc) is made up of schools registered to offer the University of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE). These schools offer IGCSE (the International General Certificate of Secondary Education) and/or AS and A Level qualifications.

For further information on CIE, refer to www.cie.org.uk

To obtain a list of New Zealand schools offering CIE exams, go to www.acsnz.org.nz

More than 50 schools offer Cambridge International examinations.

About 16 New Zealand schools (a mix of primary and secondary schools) offer International Baccalaureate (IB) exams as an option and 51 secondary schools offer Cambridge. 

 
The IB Diploma programme is available at about 2,700 schools in nearly 138 countries.  It is administered by a head office in Geneva and the Curriculum and Examinations Centre in Cardiff.

For more information or a list of New Zealand schools offering IB exams, go to www.ibo.org

NCEA as entrance to university degree programme

Whilst entry level requirements for programmes with tertiary providers will vary (depending on the type and level of study chosen), successful completion of study at NCEA Levels 1 – 3 is essential for students wishing to continue with university education.  Entrance to degree study at New Zealand tertiary education institutions is achieved by:

•    gaining a minimum of 42 credits at NCEA level 3 or higher, including a minimum of 14 credits in each of the two subjects from the ‘approved subjects’ list plus a further 14 credits from not more than two additional domains on the National Qualifications Framework or ‘approved subjects’

AND

•    also gaining 8 Literacy credits (English or Maori) at NCEA Level 2 or above (4 in reading and 4 in writing)

AND
•    and gaining 14 Numeracy credits (Mathematics or Statistics and Probability) at NCEA Level 1 or above. 

University Entrance, as a qualification, is specifically noted on a student’s NCEA Record of Achievement. 

Please note that whilst University Entrance requires a minimum of 42 credits at Level 3, a full NCEA Level 3 Certificate requires 80 credits with 60 at Level 3.  However, this is currently being reviewed and a full NCEA Level 3 Certificate may soon become a requirement for University Entrance.  In practise, most students who currently achieve at Level 3 do complete at least 60 credits at this level. 
 

 Source:  NZQA website

International qualifications considered equivalent are accepted.  
     
NCEA is administered by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority.  Students are given a unique National Student Number (NSN) which can be used to look at information NZQA holds on each student about their NCEA results and Record of Achievement.  

For more information about NCEA, please visit www.nzqa.govt.nz

A list of University Entrance Provision approved subjects is available at http://nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/for-students/ue/ue-approved-subjects