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NCEA

NCEA Introduction

NCEA is New Zealand's national qualification, standing for National Certificate of Educational Achievement, and is officially recognised both in New Zealand and internationally. NCEA started to be introduced in 2002, replacing School Certificate. By 2004 all 3 NCEA levels had been fully introduced.

Assessment of NCEA is composed of standards in each subject. There are two types of standard, namely Achievement Standards and Unit Standards.

• Achievement Standards allow students to gain different grades depending on their performance: Not Achieved (N), Achieved (A), Merit (M), and Excellence (E). Achievement Standards can either be assessed internally (at school during the year) or externally (in exams at the end of the year)
• Unit Standards only have one level of achievement - you either pass or you fail - and are assessed internally

Each standard has a credit weighting, or a set number of credits. These credits contribute towards students' National Certificate if the achieve in that standard (the level of achievement does not affect the number of credits gained).

NCEA Qualifications

The following NCEA Qualifications are available at Ellesmere College:

NCEA Level 1 Certificate

To obtain a Level 1 certificate a student must get at least 80 credits from their subjects, from either internally assessed or externally assessed Achievement or Unit Standards. Within the 80 credits a student must have 8 credits for literacy and 8 credits for numberacy

NCEA Level 2 Certificate

To obtain a Level 2 certificate a student must get at least 80 credits at Level 2, although up to 20 of these credits can be carried over from Level 1 or Level 3 Achievement or Unit Standards. Within this a student must have 4 credits from a Level 2 reading and 4 credits from a Level 2 writing

NCEA Level 3 Certificate

To obtain a Level 3 certificate a student must get a least 80 credits at Level 3, although up to 20 of these credits can be carried over from Level 2.

Scholarship

This is gained by sitting a specific examination at the end of the year in each subject. The curriculum covers the content covered in the Level 3 course. Students choosing a scholarship exam must also be enrolled in the Level 3 course as well.

University Entrance

To gain university entrance a student must have at least 14 credits in 2 subjects, and 14 credits in a combination of no more than two other subjects (a total of 42 credits minimum at Level 3). Students must also have 8 credits in English (4 for reading and 4 for writing) as well as 14 credits in numberacy at Level 1 or higher. However, meeting these criteria does not guarantee acceptance, only eligibility to apply for entrance
For more information talk to your teachers or visit the NCEA website

Assessment Procedures

Ellesmere College has strict guidelines for everything to do with assessments including;
deadlines, compassionate consideration, fair assessment, breaching of rules, reassessment, grading, appeals, assistance, and extensions.
You can find out more about these guidelines by downloading the Ellesmere Student Guide to Assessment Procedures.