Albany Senior High School/Coursebook/NCEAs

The National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA) offer all students the opportunity to achieve to their potential. NCEA is recognised by employers and universities in New Zealand and overseas.

NCEAs are standard-based qualifications. This means that you are assessed against standards that measure what you know and can do. There are two types of standards: achievement standards and unit standards. Teachers will assess unit standards at school (internal assessment). You will either reach the required standard and achieve the standard (achieved) or, if you do not reach the standard, you will get a not achieved. Achievement standards are either assessed by teachers at school (internally assessed) or at the end of the year in national exams (externally assessed). You will get a not achieved grade if you do not meet the standard. If you achieve a satisfactory standard, you will gain an achieved grade. You will get merit for a very good performance or excellence for outstanding performance.

Teachers will gather evidence that shows you have reached standards described in assessment or unit standards. Evidence about your achievement may be collected in a variety of ways: seminars, group tasks, tests, projects, exams. Some standards' skills may be assessed during the year (internally assessed) and others through exams held at the end of the year (externally assessed).

Aim to gain highest grade possible. You may be able to resubmit work if you are at a grade boundary to confirm the grade. This may be in written form or you may be able to verbally explain your answers. You may also be given a reassessment opportunities as time and manageability permit.

Quality Credits and Endorsements

It is important to always try to gain the highest grade possible. If you perform consistently above the 'Achieved' level you can be 'endorsed' to reflect that high achievement.  There are two types of endorsement available either a certificate endorsement or course endorsement.

Certificate Endorsement:

For a merit endorsement you need to achieve 50 credits at Merit or Excellence at the same level, or higher, than the level of the certificate being awarded. For an excellence endorsement you need to achieve 50 credits at Excellence at the same level, or higher, than the level of the certificate being awarded.

Course Endorsement:

Students will gain an endorsement for a course if, in a single school year, they achieve:

• 14 or more credits at Merit or Excellence, where
• at least 3 of these credits from externally assessed standards and 3 credits from internally assessed standards. 

Literacy and Numeracy

Level 1 NCEA requires students to achieve literacy and numeracy standards as part of the qualification. Your tutor will be able to help you identify which achievement standards count towards literacy and numeracy. Some students may gain literacy and numeracy through the new, specially focused unit standards.

Information from the NZQA site is here

Level 1 NCEA

• 80 credits in total.
• Must include 10 literacy credits from various achievement standards. There are lots that count in English and some across other subjects that have a literacy component also.
• You will need 10 numeracy credits from various achievement standards. There are lots that count in maths and some across other subjects that have a numeracy component also. You will also need this for university entrance later if studying for a degree later.

Level 2 NCEA

• 80 credits
• 60 credits from level 2 or above, (the additional 20 can come from any level).
• The Level 1 literacy and numeracy requirements must also be met.

At Level 2 you should start thinking about what areas you need to focus on for your future study or career. Your level 2 results are important – these are sometimes used as part of the selection process by universities, polytechnics and employers. You need to choose your level 3 subjects carefully to ensure that you are exploiting your strengths while meeting course requirements for university, polytechnics and/or future employment.

Level 3 NCEA

• 80 credits
• 60 credits at level 3 or above, (the additional 20 can come from level 2 or above).
• The Level 1 literacy and numeracy requirements must also be met.

University Entrance

University Entrance (UE) is the minimum requirement to go to a New Zealand university. To qualify you will need:

• NCEA Level 3
• Three subjects - at Level 3, made up of:
• 14 credits each, in three approved subjects
• Literacy - 10 credits at Level 2 or above, made up of:
  • 5 credits in reading
  • 5 credits in writing
• Numeracy - 10 credits at Level 1 or above.

Check out this link to University Entry information on the NZQA site.

Some universities/tertiary providers offer restricted courses with special requirements. See the Careers/Transition department for further information.

Scholarship

Scholarship is a monetary award to recognise top students. It is not a qualification and does not contribute credits to NCEA. However, if students gain scholarship passes they will be acknowledged on their record of achievement.