NCEA
All Year 10 and Year 11 students have received an updated copy of the 2020 NCEA student handbook.
For Year 12 and 13 students the handbook is available on the PNGHS Student Information google site. This handbook outlines all relevant information about NCEA and helps students to understand their role as a learner covering topics such as authenticity, the process to apply for an extension of due date for an internal assessment, and the appeal of an assessment grade. Students can access an electronic version of the handbook and relevant forms on the google site. The electronic version of the handbook has links to the NZQA website for further clarification and information.
Here is the link to the google site. Students use their school username and password to log in.
The NCEA external examination timetable for 2020 is now available on the NZQA website. Here is the link to view the full timetable.
Understanding NCEA
NCEA stands for National Certificate of Educational Achievement. There are a range of resources on the NZQA website for parents/caregivers and students. Here is a link that may be useful.
How do you gain NCEA?
Schools use a range of internal and external assessments to measure how well students meet these 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.
There are three levels of NCEA certificate, depending on the difficulty of the standards achieved. At each level, students must achieve a certain number of credits to gain an NCEA certificate. Credits can be gained over more than one year.
Level 1
80 credits are required at any level (level 1, 2 or 3) including literacy and numeracy. Students require 10 credits in Numeracy and 10 credits in Literacy.
Level 2
60 credits at level 2 or above + 20 credits from any level
Level 3
60 credits at level 3 or above + 20 credits from level 2 or above
For achievement standards, there are four grades:
Achieved (A) for a satisfactory performance
Merit (M) for very good performance
Excellence (E) for outstanding performance
Not achieved (N) if students do not meet the criteria of the standard
Types of standards
Students can achieve two types of standard - unit standards and achievement standards.
Unit standards are competency based.
Achievement standards are New Zealand curriculum based.
How standards are achieved
As students study new topics, their teachers will explain what will be assessed and how. Teachers ensure that students are prepared for assessment. If students pass the assessment, the standard is achieved.
Assessments measure what a student knows or can do against the registered criteria of a standard in courses they study. If they meet the criteria, they achieve the standard, and gain credits towards a qualification.
Some standards are internally assessed by teachers during the year. Other standards are assessed externally by NZQA at the end of the year e.g. in an exam or by a portfolio of work.
Internal assessment
Internal assessments are used to assess skills and knowledge that cannot be tested in an exam, e.g. speeches, research projects and performances.
External assessment
Most external assessments are by examination at the end of the year. For some subjects, e.g. Technology or Visual Arts, students submit a portfolio of their work at the end of year.
Assessment grades
The grades that a student can earn depend on the type of standard being assessed.
For unit standards all grades may be available, but usually there are just two grades:
- Achieved (A) for meeting the criteria of the standard
- Not achieved (N) if a student does not meet the criteria of the standard