NCEA Subject Resources

The best resource for NCEA students is its website. On the website, you will find many past papers, exemplars from other students, marking guides and other useful information such as resource booklets. Having a look at the past papers, giving them a go and comparing your answers with the marking guide will help you familiarise yourself with the style of questions and help you prepare for examinable material.

How to navigate the NCEA website:

• Use this link to go to the “NCEA Subject Resources” page.
• Once you are on the page, find the subject you are looking for. You will find a page like this (we are using chemistry as an example):

Then, scroll down to the section titled "Resources for externally assessed standards”.

Under “Examination papers and exemplars”, you will find past year exam papers and exemplars from other students. It is key to look at common questions that were asked previously so you know the high-yield content and concepts you should focus your study on.

Under “Assessment schedules”, you will find marking guides from older past exams. These are very helpful to see exactly what the marker is looking for and are key for your exam preparation.

Our View: Utilising past exam papers and marking guides is very useful for NCEA. However, it is still important to not exclusively rely on past exam papers and marking guides as the examiner may examine different material or do so in a different format the year you sit your exam.