What is NCEA

NATIONAL CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT

The National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) is the national qualification for secondary school students.

• Each subject is divided into Achievement Standards.
• Some of the Achievement Standards will be assessed externally. This means there will be NZQA national examinations at the end of the year.
• Internal assessments are used for things that cannot be tested in exams e.g. speeches, research projects, performances. These will be assessed during the year.

CERTIFICATES

All successful students are awarded NCEA at the end of each year’s study (level 1, level 2, and level 3). These results show that a student has achieved the required number of credits at a particular level (including specified literacy and numeracy requirements at level 1). Each standard carries a specific number of credits which count towards the qualification.

To encourage students to do their best, those who gain sufficient credits at Merit (50 credits at Merit or above) or Excellence (50 credits at Excellence level) will have this recognised on their qualification, for example a student can receive NCEA Level 1 certificate with Merit or NCEA Level 1 certificate with Excellence.

NCEA Level 1

• To achieve a Level 1 NCEA Certificate you will require a total of 80 credits including 10 Numeracy and 10 Literacy credits from any level.
• For a certificate to be endorsed with Merit, 50 credits at Merit or Excellence will be required at Level 1 or above.
• For a certificate to be endorsed with Excellence, 50 credits at Excellence will be required at Level 1 or above.
• You will get Credits for each Unit or Achievement Standard that you achieve.

NCEA Level 2

• To achieve a Level 2 NCEA Certificate you will require a total of 80 credits. You will also need 10 Numeracy and 10 Literacy credits from any level.
• 60 of these credits must be at Level 2 or above.
• For a certificate to be endorsed with Merit, 50 credits at Merit or Excellence will be required at Level 2 or above.
• For a certificate to be endorsed with Excellence, 50 credits at Excellence will be required at Level 2 or above.

NCEA Level 3

• To achieve a Level 3 NCEA Certificate you will require a total of 80 credits. You will also need 10 Numeracy and 10 Literacy credits from any level.
• 60 of these credits must be at Level 3 or above plus 20 credits at Level 2 or above
• For a certificate to be endorsed with Merit, 50 credits at Merit or Excellence will be required at Level 3 or above
• For a certificate to be endorsed with Excellence, 50 credits at Excellence will be required at Level 3 or above.

Internally Assessed Achievement Standards

These Achievement Standards are assessed as part of the learning programme e.g. research assignments, portfolios, practical work, tests.

Externally Assessed Achievement Standards

These Achievement Standards assess knowledge and skills through a national external examination at the end of the year.

There are four different levels of Achievement for Achievement Standards:

Not Achieved (N or NA): Students have not met the required standard.
Achieved (A): Students have met the required standard.
Merit (M): Students have achieved the standard with Merit.
Excellence (E): Students have achieved the standard with Excellence.

Course Endorsement

Students will gain an endorsement for a course where they achieve:

1. 14 or more credits at Merit or Excellence at the lower level that supports the endorsement
2. At least 3 credits from externally assessed standards and 3 credits from internally assessed standards
3. These credits must be gained in a single school year.

Unit Standards

These are internally assessed standards that are assessed at school during the year as learning takes place and can also contribute credits to the NCEA.

There are two different levels of Achievement for Unit Standards:

Not Achieved (N or NA): Students have not met the required standard.
Achieved (A): Students have met the required standard

Your credits can go towards other National Certificates as well as NCEA