1. Parent Information about NCEA – 2018
Samuel Marsden Whitby
Parent Information about NCEA – 2018

2. Contents Subjects – how many Achievement Standards and credits
NCEA - what it is and requirements
Assessments
Internal Achievement Standards
External Achievement Standards
Policy and procedures - meeting deadlines, illness, authenticity
Special Assessment Conditions (SAC)
Examinations
School examinations
NCEA examinations
Exam clashes
Derived grades
Checking assessments and entries
Ultranet
NZQA
students NSN numbers

3. Subject choices
Maths and Science - compulsory until the end of Year 11
English - compulsory until the end of Year 12
Students also do RE, SHAPE and have study periods.
In Year 11 – choose 3 options (6 subjects)
In Year 12 – choose 5 options (6 subjects)
In Year 13 - choose 5 options (5 subjects)

4. Subjects - standards and credits
Every subject is made up of internal and external Achievement Standards (PE is the exception)
Most subjects consist of 2-3 internal Achievement Standards and 2-3 external Achievement Standards
A subject may have a total of between 16 and 24 credits available (specific information has been shared with your child through Google Classroom)
A Level 1, 2 and 3 course of study will have plenty of credits available to meet the minimum requirements
In Year 10 students have the opportunity to complete some internal Achievement Standards so that they can become familiar with the process; credits gained are a bonus.

5. Achievement Standards and Credits
Achievement Standards are an assessment (test/assignment) which covers a topic
The Achievement Standards are all or nothing
Each Achievement Standard is worth a certain number of credits (often 3 or 4)
All qualifications are based on how many credits are gained from the Achievement standards entered into
Credits can be assigned as Achieved, Merit, Excellence or Not Achieved

6. NCEA Level 1- usually Year 11 Need 80 Level 1 credits
and of these 10 need to be in literacy and 10 need to be numeracy credits
Level 2 – usually Year 12
20 credits from Level 1
60 credits at Level 2
Level 3 – usually Year 13
20 credits from Level 2
60 credits at Level 3

7. University Entrance
To gain University Entrance you need to have the following:
NCEA Level 3
Three subjects at Level 3, made up of 14 credits each, in three approved subjects (all our courses are)
Literacy – 10 credits at level 2 or above, made up of 5 credits in reading and 5 credits in writing
Numeracy - 10 credits at level 1 or above.

8. Scholarship – Year 13
Sat as a separate examination in November with the other NCEA examinations
Provides recognition and monetary reward to top students in their last year of schooling
These exams enable candidates to be assessed against challenging standards, and are demanding for the most able candidates in each subject
Candidates are expected to demonstrate high-level critical thinking, abstraction and generalisation, and to integrate, synthesise and apply knowledge, skills, understanding and ideas to complex situations

9. Scholarship (continued)
Approximately 3 per cent of Year 13 students studying each subject at level 3 are awarded Scholarship, if they reach the standard that has been set
Students usually choose to sit up to three Scholarship subjects (3 extra examinations)
More information can be found on the NZQA website
Discuss entering into the Scholarship examinations with your class teacher
Tutorial time outside of school hours to prepare for these examinations

10. Endorsement HOWEVER Level 1, 2 or 3 Certificate Endorsement
50 credits at either Merit or Excellence Level
Individual Subject Endorsement
14 Credits at Merit or Excellence with at least 3 internal credits and 3 external credits at that level
HOWEVER
PE is the exception to the internal/external rule; PE is fully internally assessed

11. Assessments Internal Achievement Standards:
Completed during the year, set by class teachers, marked by class teachers
Moderated internally and externally
May be offered the chance to resubmit
A few subjects have an opportunity to do a reassessment for an Achievement Standard
The grade gained at school is the final grade awarded
Reported to parents in the school reports

12. External Achievement Standards:
Content taught at school
Followed by a class test
Examined in the school examinations – Monday August
The final grade is determined by the NCEA examinations which start 7 November. These are conducted and marked by NZQA
Class tests or school examination grades are reported to parents in school reports. These are indicative only and have an ‘*’ next to them
If a student is unable to sit a NCEA examination, or their performance is impaired when sitting the NCEA examinations, an application for a derived grade is made. Class tests and school examination results are used to determine this grade

13. Assessment Policy and Procedures:
Year – handbook to be kept at home
Signed and returned a sheet to say you have read and understood these – students and parents/caregivers
Copy on pages 17 – 20 in Yr student planners
On Ultranet – Academic - NCEA page
Main Points to Note:
Due dates – must be adhered to
Illness/family distress/school trip – the student will complete the assessment immediately on return to school
Electronic mishaps – not a legitimate excuse
Authenticity – work must be the student’s own, in their own words, not copied. If work is proven to not be their own, a NOT ACHIEVED grade will be awarded

14. Special Assessment Conditions
Entries made by the school by the end of Term 1
Entitlement confirmed June/July and students and parents formally notified of this by letter
Students choose what conditions they wish to use for which subjects for the school and NCEA examinations
Eg: If a student is entitled to use a reader/writer or computer use, they may choose to have a reader/writer for their English examination and use a computer for their Science examination.
Any other queries regarding SAC entitlements need to go to Mrs Briony Bradley

15. School Examinations Level 1, 2 and 3
Held under NCEA examination conditions from August
Level 1 English examination held in Karori; all other examinations at Whitby
Either 2 or 3 hours in duration – students can not leave if they finish early
Students on study leave over this time, coming to school for their examinations only (or to study)
Results sent in Interim Report at the end of Term 3 and in school reports early Term 4
Examination timetable and rules of conduct given to students, and ed home, 2-3 weeks beforehand

16. NCEA Examinations Level 1, 2, 3 and Scholarship
Start 7 November – students on study leave from Friday 2 Nov
Examination timetable available online
All of them held at Samuel Marsden Karori
All examinations 3 hours – students can leave if they finish early
Conducted by NZQA by external supervisors and marked by NZQA markers
Results available mid-January online

17. A few anomalies
MCAT – Level mathematics external Achievement Standard worth 4 credits.
It is a one hour examination sat at school on 20 September.
Marked by teachers at school under the guidance of NZQA
Results not available until January along with other external standard grades

18. Digital Technology reports
Level credits; Level 2 and credits
Work completed in class and at home
14 page report produced
All reports sent to external markers end October
Results available mid-January

19. Art folios Work completed in class and at home Folio board produced
Level 1 and 2; worth 12 credits
Work completed in class and at home
Folio board produced
Marked at school by Karori and Whitby Art teachers
Sample sent for moderation
Results available mid-January
Level 3; worth 14 credits
All folio boards sent for external moderation

20. Level 1 Achievement Standards completed in year 10
These will be added to a student’s Record of Learning when they are in Year 11.
Physical education
Mathematics
Business Studies
English

21. Problems: Examination clashes
School examinations – another time over the examination week will be arranged prior to the examinations starting
NCEA examinations
2 way clash – rare, sit one examination in the morning and the other examination in the afternoon, supervised over lunch break
3 way clash – very rare, may have to be supervised over night!
Any clashes will be identified early in Term 2 and how they will be managed discussed and formally notified to you by the end of Term 3

22. Derived grades Emergency grades
Situations that qualify for a derived grade are clearly outlined on the NZQA website. They cannot be planned for!
Results from in-class tests and school examinations are used for this
Emergency grades
Earthquakes, floods etc. Notification of what to do will be on the NZQA website. They cannot be planned for!

23. Lastly…. Ultranet – Whitby Google Classroom NZQA website
Here you can find NCEA information
Google Classroom
Teachers share class information, resources, homework etc with students using this. Here you can find assessment planners and course outlines – ask your child to show you.
NZQA website
- use the parent information area and search key terms to find out what you want to know

24. Continued….
NSN numbers and logins
Year 12 and 13 students will have these and be using them to check results
Year 11 students will get these at the end of Term 2. They can then set up their login and password
Important to keep a record of login and password for future use
Checking entries are correct – from July students will be able to check their entries online and the results they have so far
Results mid-January – using their NSN login students will check their results for the NCEA examinations (no results are sent in the mail)
Record of Learning – one free copy of this can be ordered using their NSN login (not automatically sent in the mail)

25. Fees for NCEA
- search fees for information on this These are disbursed to your account in August/September Any other queries to