Plan to replace NCEA school qualification announced
The government is proposing replacing all levels of NCEA, the main qualification for secondary school students in New Zealand.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Education Minister Erica Stanford made the announcement in Auckland this morning.
Under the proposal, level 1 of NCEA (National Certificate of Educational Achievement) would be replaced with foundation literacy and numeracy tests.
Levels 2 and 3 would be replaced with a New Zealand Certificate of Education and an Advanced Certificate.
Students would be required to take five subjects and pass at least four to get each certificate.
Marking would be out of 100 and grades would and range from A to E.
The changes would be phased in from next year, with the new certificates in place for year 12 from 2029 and year 13 the following year.
Luxon said evidence showed NCEA was inconsistent and did always deliver what students needed.
'"This is about making sure our national qualification opens doors for every young person, whether they're heading into a trade, university, or straight into work," Stanford said.
Consultation on the proposal begins next month.
The proposal includes:
• Removing NCEA Level 1, requiring students to take English and Mathematics at Year 11, and sit a foundation award (test) in numeracy and literacy
• Replacing NCEA Levels 2 and 3 with two new qualifications (The New Zealand Certificate of Education at Year 12 and the New Zealand Advanced Certificate of Education at Year 13)
• Requiring students to take five subjects and pass at least four to attain each certificate
• Marking clearly out of 100 with grades that make sense to parents like A, B, C, D, E
• Working with industry to develop better vocational pathways so students are getting the skills relevant to certain career pathways
• The new qualification will be underpinned by a new national curriculum for Years 9-13 that will clearly outline what students need to learn in each subject and when, providing more consistency.
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