New Zealand's national qualification for secondary school students.
The National Certificate of Educational Achievement or NCEA, is our national qualification for secondary school students.
NCEA offers a broad and flexible framework that is highly regarded worldwide for challenging all students, including the most able and highly motivated. Dio NCEA students consistently perform well above national averages at our end of year results.
NCEA Standards focuses on learning by inquiry, critical thinking, problem solving and processing information. Rote learning has become insufficient in a system that aims to provide school leavers with knowledge and skills that are transferable in international settings.
This complements our teaching and learning philosophy at Diocesan, which encourages learners who are open to challenge, willing to develop their abilities and achieve their personal best, take risks and accept mistakes, make ethical decisions and enjoy learning.
NCEA at a glance
- NCEA results are recognised at universities all over the world
- Students enter NCEA Level 1 in Year 11 (with students beginning some NCEA standards in Year 10).
- NCEA is taught over three years. Students are internally assessed during the year and sit end-of-year exams each year.
- Subjects are broken up into standards, which assess different areas of knowledge and skill.
- Students can gain one of four grades for each standard: Not Achieved, Achieved, Merit or Excellence.
- NCEA students cover Religious Education, the core subjects of English, Mathematics, Science and three other subjects in Year 11.
- In Year 12 students study Philosophy, Religion and Ethics as a subject as well as English (Mathematics strongly recommended).
- Students then choose four or five other subjects. In Year 13, students can choose any five subjects in addition to Philosophy, Religion and Ethics.
- Students can also sit NZQA Scholarship exams in Years 12 and 13.
To learn more about the NCEA curriculum and how it is assessed:
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