NCEA for Dummies 2025 version
Back in the day the National Certificate of Education Achievement (NCEA) replaced School Certificate, Sixth Form Certificate and University Bursary. University Entrance remained but the form it takes has altered.
Promises made were that standardized assessment would allow higher achievement (as opposed to set limits of how many could pass). At first you could only pass/fail but later Merits and Excellences were added. Life-long learning was to be encouraged as you could/can add to your “record of learning” anytime.
Throughout the levels you study within Achievement Standards or Unit Standards. Achievement Standards have always been seen as more academic (and change was made so you could Achieve or with Merit or Excellence). Some Achievement Standards have been mainly internally assessed – others mainly examined. Unit standards have been a lower hurdle, trade directed and always internally assessed. As well as plain old L1, L2, or L3 NCEA – there has been a proliferation in all sorts of “certificates” (e.g. in Computing). A student could decorate walls with these as pony club kids do.
When you pass an Achievement or Unit Standard at a particular level you get “credits”. A credit from either type is the same value (whether Physics or changing a bike tyre).
A subject – e.g. Mathematics could be made up of five/six Achievement Standards (effectively units of work that cover approx. 6 weeks) that describe what will be taught/learned and mode of assessment. Roughly this could b-e Achievement Standards for Number, Geometry, Statistics, Algebra, Measurement, Research. Quite quickly it reached the stage that there were a limited number of Achievement Standards but MANY unit standards (a dog’s breakfast). It also has fractured having complete courses.
To Achieve L1 NCEA
Students need to accumulate 60 Credits from any Level (1, 2 or 3) courses.
Plus – Students must achieve the NCEA “co-requisite”: This is a 20 credit requirement that students must meet to earn any level of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). The co-requisite is made up of 10 credits in literacy and 10 credits in numeracy.
How do students meet the co-requisite?
Students can meet the co-requisite by passing external Common Assessment Activities (CAAs)
Students can also meet the co-requisite by using approved literacy and numeracy-rich standards
Students only need to pass the co-requisite once and this can be done from the years leading up to their Level 1 study … of afterwards.
To Achieve L2 NCEA
Students need to accumulate 60 Credits from L2 or L3 courses (plus 20 from any Level) and have met the L1 Numeracy and Literacy Requirements.
To Achieve L3 NCEA
Students need to accumulate 60 Credits from L3 courses (plus 20 from any Level) and have met the L1 Numeracy and Literacy Requirements.
To Achieve University Entrance
Students need NCEA Level 3 including 14 credits in each of three “approved subjects” at Level 3. There are approximately 60 of these and yet many schools fail to have their Y13 students doing even three of them – therefore they cannot get UE. They also need UE Literacy – 10 credits at Level 2 or above, made up of: – 5 credits in reading – 5 credits in writing. They also need UE Numeracy – 10 credits at Level 1 or above (the same as the requirement for NCEA numeracy – a very low bar. Universities will also have points requirements to get into certain courses.
If you want to really blow your mind with how broad the selection is – go here for the “approved subjects” list.
It is a very good idea for parents to ensure that their child is doing 4 subjects in the accredited stream from Year 11.
Have them reach for the sky.
Alwyn Poole
alwyn.poole@gmail.com
