1. National Certificate of Educational Achievement
NCEA Assessments
Assessments are called Unit Standards or Achievement Standards.
If you pass these, you will gain credits. Each standard can be worth 2 credits for a small assignment, or up to 15 credits for a large assignment.

2. NCEA Assessments
External assessments : These are exams of 2-3 hours in November.
These exams are not marked by your teachers.
Internal assessments : These are Unit Standards or Achievement Standards completed in class through the year. These are marked by your teachers.
For example: essays, speeches, reading logs, a research assignment, a report.

3. National Certificate of Educational Achievement Level 1
NCEA Level 1 = 80 credits
Students must gain at least 80 Level 1 credits.
These 80 credits must include 10 literacy credits (English) and 10 numeracy credits (Mathematics) at Level 1.

4. National Certificate of Educational Achievement Level 2
NCEA Level 2 = 80 credits At least 60 credits must be at Level 2. The other 20 credits can be from Level 1 or 2. These 80 credits must include 10 literacy credits and 10 numeracy credits. These can be from Level 1 OR Level 2.

5. National Certificate of Educational Achievement Level 3
NCEA Level 3 = 80 credits
At least 60 credits must be from Level 3. The other 20 credits can be from Level 2 or 3.
The 80 credits must include 10 literacy credits and 10 numeracy credits. These are from
subjects which have a high content of English, or mathematics provide literacy credits.

6. Achieving University Entrance in New Zealand universities
Students need N.C.E.A Level 3 for university entrance
The 80 credits for NCEA Level 3 must include :
42 credits in three approved subjects
10 Level 2 literacy credits (5 in Reading and 5 in Writing)
14 numeracy credits (from Level 1 or above)

7. Approved subjects for University Entrance in New Zealand
Accounting, Biology, Calculus, Chemistry, Design, Digital Technology, Drama, English, French, Geography, Graphics, History, History of Art, Health Education, Home Economics, Languages, Media Studies, Music Studies, Physics, Physical Education, Photography, Print Making, Science, Statistics, Technology, Te Reo Maori.

8. What happens if I miss an assessment?
If you missed a lot of the preparation work while overseas, you cannot sit the assessment.
If you were sick for the final assessment and you can provide a note, you will probably be able to sit the assessment.
You need to fill in a ‘Missed assessment opportunity’ form..

9. How much help can I have to complete my assessments?
You cannot use an electronic translator for most assessments. You cannot take assessment tasks home to work on. You must sign an authenticity declaration to say the work will be yours. You cannot copy work from other students, texts or the internet. However sometimes you can use texts and the internet to help gather information for assessments.

10. How are my results recorded?
Your results are recorded by your teachers online, and show up on you NZQA page when you log on. After each assessment, you will sign a page to show that you understand and accept your result.

11. How do I find my NCEA results online?
Go to
Go to register now
Go to create a password
After you have created a password, go to login
Write your password down or store it on your phone.