by Katrina Ferguson

Focus Numeracy

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As part of the NCEA Change Program, in 2022 and 2023 Ellesmere College has been involved in piloting the Numeracy and Literacy co-requisites for NZQA.

From 2024 the new Literacy & Numeracy co-requisite is set to become a mandatory part of the new NCEAs.

The Numeracy co-requisite is assessed through a Common Assessment Activity, an online assessment that takes students approximately one hour to work through. If successful, students gain the ten Numeracy credits required for NCEA Level One, Two and Three. The Common Assessment Activity is set at approximately Level Four and Five of the New Zealand Mathematics Curriculum and involves multi-choice, short answer and long answer questions. Students need to get all types of questions correct.

In 2022 we had Year Ten students complete the Numeracy pilot. Ellesmere College has taken a slightly different approach for Numeracy compared to other pilot schools. We would only like to enter students when they are ready. During 2022 we used a sample of Year Ten students and worked with the Learning Progressions Framework to determine readiness, we also entered several students that were interested in taking part. Of the students that completed the Numeracy Pilot, 95% of students gained the ten credits - we were very proud of this and the fact that students had a positive experience of often their first national online assessment.

In 2023 the Year Ten Ako team are again taking a sample of Year Ten students to run the Numeracy Common Assessment Activity with. As part of their preparation they will be using an Ellesmere College developed website that steps students through

  • What mathematical content is covered in the Numeracy Common Assessment Activity

  • Self assessment and revision of mathematical content

  • Styles of questions

  • Familiarity with NZQA’s online portal and assessment

  • Making sure their device is capable of running the Numeracy Common Assessment Activity.


In 2023 the pilot is running in Term Two and Four, and it is anticipated it will be run several times a year from 2024. If a student is not successful they may attempt the Numeracy Common Assessment Activity as many times as they would like.

If you have any queries about the Numeracy co-requisite or Numeracy Common Assessment Activity please feel free to contact Karla Morton, HELA Mathematics, mortonk@ellesmere.school.nz