NCEA Updates and NZQA External Exam Schedule (bottom of page)

Changes to NCEA:

The Government is proposing to replace NCEA with new national qualifications that ensure young people have the knowledge and skills they need to succeed.

The proposal includes:

• Removing NCEA Level 1, requiring students to take English and Mathematics at Year 11, and sit a foundation award (test) in numeracy and literacy.
• Replacing NCEA Levels 2 and 3 with two new qualifications (The New Zealand Certificate of Education at Year 12 and the New Zealand Advanced Certificate of Education at Year 13).
• Requiring students to take five subjects and pass at least four to attain each certificate.
• Marking clearly out of 100 with grades that make sense to parents like A, B, C, D, E.
• Working with industry to develop better vocational pathways so students are getting the skills relevant to certain career pathways.

The new qualification will be underpinned by a new national curriculum for Years 9-13 that will clearly outline what students need to learn in each subject and when, providing more consistency.

To find out more, download the Parent Guide using the NCEA Proposed Changes button below.

NZQA external exam timetable:

The NZQA external exam timetable can be downloaded by using the button below.  

Literacy and Numeracy in NCEA

All students need to achieve a 20-credit co-requisite specific to literacy and numeracy skills to be awarded any level of NCEA. The co-requisite is a one-off requirement. 

The requirements are formally separated out from the NCEA certificate at Levels 1-3 and the 20-credit co-requisite is mandatory. 

Use the link below to download a short guide which outlines:

• What are literacy and numeracy?
• How literacy and numeracy are assessed in NCEA; and
• What can students and whānau do to support NCEA literacy and numeracy?

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