NCEA
National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) is New Zealand’s main qualification for secondary school students. NCEA qualifications are organised by the New Zealand Qualification Authority (NZQA).
There are three levels of NCEA and generally you’ll work through Levels 1 to 3 in Years 11 to 13.
In each subject, your skills and knowledge are assessed against a range of standards. These are the building blocks of national certificates, including NCEA. Each standard describes what you need to know, or what you need to be able to do, in order to meet it. When you gain a standard, you are awarded credits.
There are two types of standards - unit standards and achievement standards. They both count toward your qualifications.
Internal standards are assessed by your Te Kura teacher.
If you are studying NCEA courses and wish to register for externally assessed standards, you will need to submit an online registration.
We will send you some instructions when our NCEA Registration facility opens in June.
Externally assessed standards registered for via our NCEA Registration facility include:
If you are enrolled at a face-to-face secondary school as well as Te Kura, they will register the externally assessed standards for your Te Kura courses. They will also report your Te Kura internal results to NZQA.
NZQA works in partnership with schools to manage assessments for national qualifications. These are separated into internally and externally assessed standards.
Internally assessed standards are marked by your Te Kura teachers during the year. Results from your internal assessments are regularly reported to NZQA and will be updated in your Record of Achievement the following January.
Externally assessed standards include NCEA and NZ Scholarship end of year exams, Level 1 Digital Submissions, Level 1 Te Ao Haka Common Assessment Activities, Level 2 and 3 Digital Technologies Common Assessment Tasks (DCAT), portfolio or report submissions for Design and Visual Communication, Technology, Visual Arts, NZ Scholarship Music, NZ Scholarship Physical Education, Te Kura overseas exams for eligible ākonga, and the new Literacy and Numeracy co-requisite Common Assessment Activities.
If you’re still confused, NZQA provides detailed information about how NCEA works.
Check your NCEA result
Log in to NZQA to check your latest results.
To register for this service you’ll need to enter your National Student Number and date of birth to confirm your identity.
Contact your learning advisor if you don’t know your National Student Number.