Assessment at Cromwell College

National Qualifications

The courses and assessments at Cromwell College contribute credits towards the National Certificate in Educational Achievement (NCEA).  

Generally speaking students in Year 11 will be studying towards Level One, students in Year 12 will be studying towards Level Two and students in Year 13 will be studying towards Level Three.  Students may take longer than one year to gain a national certificate.  There is no specified time limit for completing any qualification.  

There are two categories of assessments in NCEA - Unit Standards & Achievement Standards.

Unit Standards 

Generally ‘vocation’ focussed.  Are always given as school-based or internal assessments, there are no end-of-year examinations.  Grades are Achieved or Not Achieved. 

Achievement Standards 

Most traditional school subjects.  Can be school-based assessments or they may be assessed through an end-of-year national examination.  

There are four results available Not Achieved, Achieved, Merit, Excellence.  

Level 1 National Certificate in Educational Achievement (NCEA)

To gain this qualification you need:

• a total of 80 credits

• at least 10 credits in Literacy and at least 10 credits in Numeracy

Be aware that achieving 80 credits at Level 1 (with literacy and numeracy) does not provide automatic entry to all Level 2 courses as entry criteria may include subject specific credits.

Level 2 National Certificate in Educational Achievement (NCEA)

To gain this qualification you need:

• a total of 80 credits (must include Level 1 literacy and numeracy)

• at least 60 of these credits from Level 2 or above

Level 3 National Certificate in Educational Achievement (NCEA)

To gain this qualification you need:

• a total of 80 credits

• at least 60 of these credits from Level 3

• Level 1 literacy and numeracy

Endorsement

At each NCEA Level students can gain a Certificate Endorsement with Merit or Excellence.  

• 50 or more excellence credits is an Excellence endorsement

• 50 or more merit (or above) credits is a Merit endorsement

We expect many of our students to aim for these endorsements.

Course (subject) endorsements  

Recognises students may have a strength in an individual subject. 

• 14 or more Excellence credits in a subject is an excellence subject endorsement 

• 14 or more Merit / Excellence credits in a subject is a merit subject endorsement

• at least three of the 14 credits must come from externally assessed standards (the exceptions are Physical Education and Outdoor Leadership where they can be all internal).

• The counting credits must be gained in a single school year.

University Entrance 

You will be qualified for entrance to a university in New Zealand if you have obtained:

• NCEA Level 3

• At least 14 credits in each of three Level 3 University approved subjects (these subjects are marked UE in the course table on page 10)

• Literacy - 10 credits at Level 2 or higher, 5 credits in reading and 5 credits in writing.  The same standard can’t be used twice (ie both reading and writing)

• Numeracy - 10 numeracy credits at Level 1 or higher from specific achievement standards or three specific unit standards.

However, just gaining University Entrance is no guarantee of being accepted into a University course because of limited places.  Students need to ensure that their Yr 12 marks and Yr 13 marks are the best they can do – this would mean noticeable numbers of merits and excellences. You should check the relevant Polytechnic and University prospectuses for the academic requirements for any course you are thinking about.

New Zealand Scholarship 

An extra examination designed to extend the best secondary students. 

The content assessed for Scholarship is the same as that covered for Level 3 Achievement Standards. The aim is to assess a student's ability to synthesise and integrate concepts. 

Scholarships can be awarded in each subject.   It is an award of excellence and has monetary value.  It does not generate NCEA credits.  

If you are interested in attempting scholarship talk to your subject teacher.

Credit accumulation

For all NCEA certificates credits can be accumulated over more than one year.  

RECORD OF ACHIEVEMENT

All credits you gain, whether from school, work place training or polytechnic will go on your Record of Achievement.  You can access your Record of Achievement at nzqa.govt.nz (once registered) with your NSN number.  It will show the qualifications you have so far gained.  It will also have your Vocational Profile that shows how the credits being gained in NCEA are working towards vocational pathway awards.

LEVEL 2 VOCATIONAL PATHWAYS AWARD

Vocational Pathways are about improving the transition from school to work.  They create clear pathways from school to work and study.

Achievement and Unit Standards have been identified that will prepare students for employment and ongoing education in one of six key ‘industries’

• Construction and Infrastructure

• Creative Industries

• Manufacturing and Technology

• Primary Industries

• Service Industries

• Social and Community Services 

Using the vocational pathways approach you can 

• find out the standards, skills and competencies that are valued by employers in particular sectors

• find out the job or career options that are available in each sector

• identify current and future programmes of study that support your career pathways

• demonstrate a vocational profile to employers and tertiary providers.

To receive a Vocational Pathways Award, students must; 

gain NCEA Level 2 - 60 credits from Level 2 and 20 credits from any other level; 80 credits in total. 10 of these credits must satisfy the literacy requirements, and 10 of these credits must satisfy the numeracy requirements. 

and a minimum of 20 of the Level 2 credits must be from Sector-Related standards, Sector related standards are more specific to the skills and experiences needed in the particular industry setting.  They are usually unit standards

The remaining credits come from Recommended standards to make up 60 pathway credits in total.  Recommended standards represent useful foundation learning for each pathway.  Many standards assist toward more than one pathway. They are generally achievement standards. A subject’s contribution to these standards are shown in the graphs on the subject pages.  

More information can be found at   www.youthguarantee.net.nz 

Career Pathways Sectors

Construction and Infrastructure

You’ll be part of a well-run team that’s committed to getting the job done safely and well, to meet the client’s specifications.  You’ll work indoors and outdoors. You’ll move around from site to site, working with lots of different tradespeople, contractors and clients.  You’ll have a variety of different tasks, and you’ll use a lot of different tools and machinery.  Work hours will vary.  The work is physical and active and you will learn by doing.

Types of jobs for this Vocational Pathway include:

Builder, Civil Engineer, Earthworks, Forklift Operator, Interior Designer, Project Manager, Surveyor, Welder….and more.

Creative Industries

You may be part of a team or work independently to apply your skills and imagination to help people see the world differently.  You’ll come up with new ideas or variations on existing ones.  It can call for big picture thinking as well as attention to detail.  You will have to be flexible, adaptable, resilient.  Work hours will vary.  You can be part of making a real contribution to the community.

Types of jobs for this Vocational Pathway include:

Artist, Graphic Designer, Screen Printer, Actor, Art Director, Technical Manager, Stage/Set Designer, Creative Director  …. and more

Primary Industries

You may be part of a team or work individually.  You may work indoors or outdoors.  There is a huge range of jobs in this sector.  You could work on the land, be in a processing plant turning primary produce into value added goods or far from the farm organising shipping or developing new products or markets.  You’ll be contributing to an important and sustainable sector of New Zealand’s economy.

Types of jobs for this Vocational Pathway include:

Orchardist, Biochemist, Farm Worker, Fishery Office, Hunter/Trapper, Production Manager, Vet, Winemaker, Dairy Factory Worker, Food Technologist  …. and more

Service Industries

Most jobs in this sector involve working with others.  Good communication and presentation skills are important.  For some jobs work hours can vary hugely.  You’ll get satisfaction from giving good service to clients.  Skills from this sector assist you to work and travel the world.  In many of these jobs you are the brand, dealing directly with people.

Types of jobs for this Vocational Pathway include:

Accountant, Army Soldier, Chef, Events Manager, Flight Attendant, Hairdresser, Journalist, Sales Rep, Ski Instructor and more.

Social and Community Services

You’ll be part of a wider team caring for people and keeping them safe.  It can be exciting, personally rewarding, physically and emotionally demanding.  You will be dealing with people from all ages and walks of life and there will be times where you’ll find yourself in fast changing challenging situations.  This sector is a big employer.  Your skills can be highly transferable in New Zealand and overseas.

Types of jobs for this Vocational Pathway include:

Health Services Manager, Ambulance Officer, Firefighter, Lab Technician, Midwife, Police Officer, Teacher… and more.