About NCEA

The National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA) were introduced between 2002-2004. They are our major school leaving qualification. Every year around 120,000 students gain an NCEA.

Read this page in Te Reo Māori.

NCEA was established as a flexible, inclusive model and has become one of the most open and transparent school qualification systems in the world. Instead of passing and failing a set percentage of students every year, any learner who shows that they have met the standard succeeds.

NCEA has three qualification levels - Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3.

While NCEA is traditionally seen as a schooling qualification, many students get NCEA in other settings, like tertiary education organisations, or in work places through industry training.

More about NCEA on the NZQA website.

What we’ve heard - Kua rongo mātou

NCEA is designed to empower students to pursue their passions through relevant learning tailored to their strengths.

Some of the challenges we have heard:

It can be hard to understand NCEA
NCEA could encourage more learning based on the curriculum
Some students do more assessment than they need to
Not every student has the same access to quality learning that responds to their identity and culture
Timetabling and moderation practice can limit innovation
Teachers don’t always have time or resources to tailor courses or learning programmes
All students should have the same opportunities to succeed