NCEA works to provide school leavers with the knowledge and skills to succeed in international settings. It is highly-regarded worldwide for challenging all students, including the most able and highly motivated. NCEA standards are derived from the New Zealand Curriculum.

From our perspective, NCEA remains a strong and respected qualification. It has enabled our students to gain entry into universities worldwide, with high-achieving students securing top grade point averages that open doors to scholarships and prestigious opportunities.

NCEA At A Glance (for Dio)

• NCEA results are recognised at universities all over the world.
• At Dio (and many New Zealand schools) students enter NCEA Level 2 in Year 12 (with students beginning some NCEA standards in Year 11).
• At Dio NCEA is taught over two years. Students are internally assessed during the year and sit end-of-year exams each year.
• 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.
• 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.

Curriculum Context

Year 11 students take six subjects: the three core subjects of English, Mathematics and Science as well as any three other subjects in preparation for NCEA Level 2 in Year 12.

Year 12 (Level 2)  students take English as a compulsory subject and pick four or five other subjects, with Mathematics being strongly recommended.

Year 13 (Level 3) students choose any five subjects.

How NCEA Works

In each NCEA subject, a course is made up of a selection of standards – some are internally assessed, and some are externally assessed through examinations.

Assessment standards describe what students have to achieve to gain credits. Credits are awarded for each standard achieved per subject.

How NCEA is Assessed

Separate standards are used to assess different areas of knowledge and skills so students get a separate result for each aspect of each subject. Their results describe their strengths and weaknesses in detail.

There are two types of standards – unit standards and achievement standards.

Achievement standards are assessed in two ways. Internal assessments are tested in school and cover individual standards, while external assessments may come as an examination that covers a set of standards. Generally subjects will use a combination of these two approaches.

Grades for achievement standards are: Achieved (A) for a satisfactory performance, Merit (M) for a very good performance, Excellence (E) for excellent performance or Not Achieved (N) if the standard requirements are not met.

Unit standards are internally assessed and students can either achieve the required standard of performance (A) or not achieve it (N). Unit standards are offered for a limited number of subjects at Diocesan.

Gaining NCEA Certificate

To gain an NCEA certificate at any Level a student must achieve Literacy and Numeracy standards which are assessed in Year 11.

Endorsements

NCEA endorsements reflect high achievement. There are two types of endorsement: certificate endorsement and course endorsement.

Certificate endorsements are gained when more than 50 credits are achieved with Merit or Excellence within a level.  A Year 12 Level 2 student gaining more than 50 Excellence credits (regardless of the year they are gained) would gain Level 2 NCEA with Excellence.

Multi-levelling

At Diocesan, able students can take higher level standards and subjects. Selected students take some NCEA Level 2 standards in Year 11, with some taking entire subjects. This continues through Year 12 and 13, with students taking higher level standards and subjects where they are capable. In Year 13 some students complete university papers alongside their NCEA standards.

Multi-levelling is flexible and caters to students’ strengths. A student who is very good at Mathematics but not so good at English could be in courses that offer Level 3 credits in Mathematics and Level 2 credits in English.

Current debate around NCEA Level 1

There is current discussion about whether New Zealand schools need NCEA Level 1.  Many schools around New Zealand have dropped Level 1 so that students can better focus on Levels 2 and 3.  We have also dropped the new Level 1 standards because they were not academically challenging.  In Year 11 our students complete an academic programme designed for them to step into Levels 2 and 3, or into the IB Diploma Programme.

NCEA Results for Dio Students

We are proud that Dio students are going well under the NCEA framework. Here is a summary of NCEA results in 2024 which show that Dio students are performing well – especially relative to the lower national rates you may have heard about in the media.

Need more information?

If you would like more information about NCEA – contact [email protected].  Simon Walker has oversight of course design and moderation – an evaluation process to ensure that our teachers are marking consistently compared to all other teachers across New Zealand.

Our Careers Development Centre helps guide and advise students on their course selections.  Grace Birdsall is the Director of Careers Development – [email protected].