NCEA

NCEA (National Certificate of Educational Achievement) is the national qualification for senior secondary school students in New Zealand. Since the introduction of NCEA in 2002, the College has been very pleased with the performance of our girls at all three NCEA Levels; their results have consistently placed Baradene College as one of the top performing Catholic girls schools in the country. NCEA is the main qualification pathway that our girls follow. 

Understanding NCEA?
At each Level of the qualification (Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3), students are assessed on the learning attained in their selection of subjects.

Achievement Standards
Individual NCEA subjects are subdivided into Achievement Standards, some of which are assessed internally (and moderated externally) during the course of the academic year and some externally through the NZQA (New Zealand Qualifications Authority) national examinations at the end of the year. Each successful assessment earns credits that contribute to a certificate at Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3. Most subjects offer between 18-20 credits.

How many credits do I need?

There are four different levels of assessed results for Achievement Standards:

Not Achieved (N or NA) - The student has not met the required standard.
Achieved (A) - The student has met the required standard.
Merit (M) - The student has achieved the standard with Merit.
Excellence (E) - The student has achieved the standard with Excellence.

Endorsement of Certificates
Students who have been successful receive NCEA certificates at the end of each year of study (Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3). These certificates show that a student has achieved the required number of credits at a particular level.  To encourage students to do their best, those who gain sufficient credits at Merit (50 credits at Merit or above) or Excellence (50 credits at Excellence level) will have this recognised on their certificates.

Endorsement of Courses
From 2011 onwards, a similar endorsement for courses will provide more detail of a student’s overall performance and provide recognition for students who perform exceptionally well in a

course. To attain a course endorsement, a student will need to achieve:

• 14 or more credits at Merit and Excellence

• At least 3 credits from externally accessed standards and 3 credit from internally accessed standards

• Sufficient credits in a single school year

Please click on the NZQA icon to visit the NZQA website