Whangaparaoa College
NCEA Information
NCEA (National Certificate of Educational Achievement) is the assessment program run at Years 11-13. Learners are expected to gain at least 20 credits at NCEA L1 including Numeracy and Literacy. Y11 learners will only gain numeracy and literacy credits. Opportunities for exam experience will be provided. Most learners will sit two school practice examinations at end of Term 3, and one NCEA external exam in Nov/Dec. In special circumstances, Y11 learners may do L2 or 3 assessments where positive outcomes are assured – ie they are highly likely to achieve Excellence and/or the standard would be very good for their intended pathway – eg an apprenticeship in a trade.
Learners must gain 80 credits to attain the NCEA certificate at Levels 2 and 3, including 20 credits in Literacy and Numeracy from Level 1. Credits may be gained through a combination of internal assessments and external examinations. Each course offers approximately 18 credits.
University Entrance, learners must gain their NCEA Level 3, including 14 credits in each of three university approved subjects, as well as U.E. Literacy (5 reading; 5 writing at Level 2 or above) and Level 1 Numeracy (10 credits).
Note that resubmissions can only occur to take a learner from Not Achieved to Achieved, not to gain Merit or Excellence. The teacher makes a judgement as to whether a resubmission may occur, and only if there is minor change/amendment/addition needed.
A slideshow with more detail that was presented on a Facebook Live session by Mr Steve McCracken, Principal, and Mr Richard Gempton, Principal’s Nominee is here. More detail on NCEA can be found at www.nzqa.govt.nz. Queries regarding assessment at Whangaparāoa College should be directed to Lisa White, Deputy Principal - [email protected].
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 a student has 50 Level 1 credits at Excellence they may have their Level 1 certificate endorsed with Excellence. Likewise, if a student gains 50 credits at Merit (or Merit and Excellence) at Level 1 their NCEA Level 1 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 NCEA certificate in a single year e.g. a Year 11 student doing multi-level study may achieve both a Level 1 and a Level 2 certificate in the 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 be able to endorse the lower level certificate e.g. 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 provides recognition for 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 of these credits from externally assessed standards and 3 credits from internally assessed standards. Note, 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 is not 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.
For more information on how course endorsement works, see the Course Endorsement Guide.
