Understanding NCEA (National Certificate of Educational Achievement)

From 2024, all Level 1, 2 and 3 courses require a minimum of 60 credits.  Additionally, to achieve Level 1, learners must achieve the 20 credit co-requisite (Literacy/Numeracy).  Some learners achieve this in Year 9/10, some will achieve it in Year 11 or beyond.

Level 1 - All learners must choose an English and a Mathematics course (these must be selected first).  We encourage them to keep their options broad at Level 1 for the rest of their choices.

Further information about each year level can be viewed here:

Level One

Level Two

Level Three

New Zealand University Entrance (UE) requirements

• Minimum of three NCEA UE approved subjects (Achievement Standards not Unit Standards) gaining at least 14 or more credits in each subject 
• Minimum of 60 Level credits overall 
• 10 Literacy credits from Level 2 or above (it is recommended that learners try and achieve these at Level 2, however they can be gained at Level 3).
  • 5 reading and 5 writing credits.  These come from a range of different subjects and are shown as *R or * W or *R/W for each assessment.

Endorsement

• Certificate/Level endorsement requires 50 or more credits at Merit or Excellence level.  
• Students will be required to gain 14 or more credits in a course at Achieved, Merit or Excellence (including at least 3 external and 3 internal credits) to gain a course/subject endorsement.
  
  

Further information about NCEA

• Unit Standards as well as Achievement standards can be used towards the 60-credits NCEA Level 1, 2 and 3 qualifications
• Credits that learners gain outside of school such as in a workplace, first aid or gaining their drivers licence can be used towards NCEA qualifications
• There is no time limit on completing NCEA - a level does not need to be gained in one particular year, equally learners can move up to higher standards beyond their current level if they have shown sufficient achievement
• Scholarship courses/exams on offer in certain subjects at Level 3 - this is the highest secondary school assessment available and is for those learners who excel in a particular subject area.