NCEA
National Certificate of Educational Achievement
From 2002, Year 11 students have worked towards a new qualification called the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). The NCEA phased in for Year 12 students in 2003 and Year 13 in 2004. It is the main qualification for senior secondary students.
NCEA has been designed to recognise a broad range of achievement and record that achievement in a way that is more informative to learners, parents and employers. It will provide a comprehensive record of what students achieve while they are at school and a launching pad for ongoing learning.
To complete an NCEA students must earn credits which are gained by meeting standards in each subject area. The achievement standards, developed by expert panels in consultation with NZ teachers show what students need to know and do to be credited with meeting the standard. External assessment will be used to designate "credit", "merit", and "excellance" grades, to show the level of competence at which a student achieved the standard.
NCEA results provide students with marks and grades reflecting their performance in each part of a subject and in the subject as a whole. The results show whether they have reached a standard and, through the percentile ranking, compares their performance with that of other students.
NCEA allows students to gain credit for skills ad knowledge that are not suited to exams and to work towards a national qualification at the pace that suits them best. They are able to gain NCEA credits from standards developed by industry. Schools are able to offer a wider range of subjects.
The NCEA is structured like a university degree. The NCEA can be awarded at levels 1, 2 or 3. Each standard is worth a number of credits. To gain an NCEA level 1, Year 11 students need to earn at least 80 credits. These can come from:
- external assessment (including Year 11 exams) against achievement standards for school subjects
- internal assessment against achievement standards for school subjects
- internal assessment against unit standards developed by industry
School leavers are able to complete or build on their NCEA at polytechnics, universities, wananga, colleges of education and accredited private training establishments. NCEA is also used for entrance and selection purposes for tertiary courses.
For further information visit:Ministry of Education
