NCEA

NCEA - National Certificate of Educational Achievement

Note: the following information is adapted from Secondary Schools Qualifications: A Guide for Students published by NZQA

HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS

The skills and knowledge you gain when you study subject areas like English, Science, and Mathematics are made up of component ‘Standards’. Qualifications are gained by building up credits, awarded for each Standard you achieve.

Standards-based assessment measures your performance against pre-set standards. You are not judged against the achievements of other students. Your subject teachers will tell you what is required to achieve each Standard.

Standards are organised into ‘levels’ of increasing difficulty. Some are assessed internally, by your teachers, and some externally in end-of-year examinations.

Standards

There are two types of Standards: Achievement Standards and Unit Standards. Achievement Standards are predominantly taught at Columba College with Unit Standards offered in some courses.

For Achievement Standards, may be graded at: Not Achieved, Achieved, Achieved with Merit or Achieved with Excellence. For Unit Standards, you either receive an Achieved (pass) or a Not Achieved (fail).

The Standards assessed are at Levels 1, 2 and 3. Most students will start at Level 1 in Year 11, though students often study at a mix of levels depending on their ability in particular subject areas. For example, in Year 11 you can attempt studies at Level 2 and/or 3 if you have strengths in these areas.

CREDITS

Each Standard is worth a certain number of credits. When you achieve a Standard, these credits count towards your NCEA level and may also contribute towards other national certificates, such as the National Certificate in Computing.

Note: No NCEA course at Columba College will offer less than 18 credits or more than 25 unless there are special circumstances put forward by the Head of the Department and approved by the Principal and the NCEA Co-ordinator.

HOW is the NCEA qualification achieved?

NCEA LEVEL 1

When you have achieved 80 credits at Level 1 or higher, you have gained NCEA Level 1. Ten of these credits must be from Numeracy Standards and ten other credits must be from Literacy Standards. These skills can be assessed in English or in te reo Maori.

NCEA LEVEL 2

NCEA Level 2 requires a minimum of 60 credits from Level 2 or above, plus 20 credits from any other level. Credits can be used for more than one qualification, so some of your NCEA Level 1 credits can count towards NCEA Level 2.  

NCEA LEVEL 3

For NCEA Level 3 you will need to achieve 80 credits, of which 60 must be from Level 3 or above, and 20 from Level 2 or above. The Level 1 literacy and numeracy requirements must also be met.