How NCEA works

The National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) is the main national qualification for secondary school students in New Zealand. NCEA is recognised by employers and used for selection by universities and polytechnics, both in New Zealand and overseas. Watch the following video that explains how NCEA works.

NCEA levels and certificates

There are three levels of NCEA certificate, depending on the difficulty of the standards achieved. At each level, students must achieve a certain number of credits to gain an NCEA certificate. Credits can be gained over more than one year.

Year 11

Click here for information about Te Punga - Year 11 Certificate

NCEA level Requirements

Level 2

60 credits at level 2 or above from any level. The Level 1 literacy and numeracy requirements must also be met.

Level 3

60 credits at level 3 or above. The Level 1 literacy and numeracy requirements must also be met.

Endorsements

Certificate endorsement

For an NCEA certificate to be endorsed with Excellence, a student must gain 50 credits at Excellence at the level of the certificate or above. So, if students have 50 Level 2 credits at Excellence, they may have their Level 2 certificate endorsed with Excellence. Likewise, if a student gains 50 credits at Merit (or Merit and Excellence) at Level 2, their NCEA  Level 2 certificate may be endorsed with Merit. Endorsement awards show on the Record of Achievement.

Certificate endorsement is calculated in January each year on the release of external results. Only the highest level certificate awarded can be endorsed unless students:

• Achieve more than one level of NCEA certificate in a single year. For example, a Year 12 student doing multi-level study may achieve both a Level 2 and a Level 3 certificate in one year and have them endorsed.
• In addition to meeting the requirements of a higher-level certificate endorsement, they have achieved sufficient credits from a lower level to endorse the lower-level certificate. For example, a student may be working at both Levels 2 and 3 and achieve enough Level 2 Excellence credits to upgrade their Level 2 Merit endorsement to Excellence. The student will need to contact NZQA to have the lower-level certificate upgraded.

Course endorsement

Course endorsement recognises a student who has performed exceptionally well in an individual course. 

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

• 14 or more credits at Merit or Excellence, and
• at least 3 credits from externally assessed standards and 3 credits from internally assessed standards. Note that this does not apply to Physical Education, Religious Studies and level 3 Visual Arts.

A course endorsement is not a qualification.

A course endorsement can be awarded even if a qualification for that level still needs to be achieved. For example, a student may achieve a Merit endorsement for their Level 2 Mathematics course regardless of whether they achieve NCEA Level 2. Scenarios may assist with further understanding.

If you would like more information about how course endorsement works, you can see the Course Endorsement Guide.

Click HERE for practical information about NCEA for parents and carers.