The National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) is the main national qualification for secondary school students in New Zealand. It is recognised by employers, and used for selection by universities and polytechnics, both in New Zealand and overseas.

There are three levels of NCEA certificate. In general, students work through Levels 1 to 3 in Years 11 to 13 at school.

In each subject, skills and knowledge are assessed against standards.  When a student achieves a standard, they gain a number of credits. Students must achieve a certain number of credits to gain an NCEA certificate.

Students that perform particularly well in a subject course or overall may have that subject course or NCEA certificate endorsed with Merit or Excellence.  Further information on Endorsements can be found here.

The short video below is produced by NZQA and gives a brief overview on how NCEA works.