NCEA Changes

The Announcement

Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced that the changes for NCEA levels 2 and 3 will be pushed back two years, to 2028 and 2029. This means 2026's year 9s will be the first to go through the new levels 2 and 3. 

Changes in NCEA 

• Level 1 students will focus on obtaining a Foundational Skills Award, focusing on literacy and numeracy. The foundational award can be studied during any year between year 9-13, but most students will study the material in year 11. 

• Level 2 will need to attain the New Zealand Certificate of Education (NZCE). 

• Level 3 students will need to attain New Zealand Advanced Certificate of Education (NZACE). 

• Schools will use new standards when they develop courses for the new NCEA, NCEA level 2 and a revised NCEA level 1 will be in place in 2028 and NCEA level 3 by 2029. 

• The grading system will change from achieved, merit, and excellence to an out of 100 system alongside A to E letter grades. 

• There will still be exams at the end of the year, but you might also complete external assessments during the year, for example, submitting reports, portfolios or kete manarua, or attempting CAAs. 

• More external assessments will be assessed online or uploaded to NZQA through their website.

• Literacy, numeracy, te reo matatini and pāngarau assessments may be offered from year nine onwards.

• There is discussion of raising the school leaving age from 16 to 17 but the decision has not been confirmed. 

What is staying the same?

• Any credits you have already earned can be used towards the new NCEA.

• You can still use unit standards and achievement standards towards NCEA.

• Course and certificate endorsement requirements remain the same.

• You can still study at different levels of NCEA in the same year. 

• If you met the literacy and numeracy requirements in 2023 or earlier, you do not need to attempt them again.

• There is still no time limit on completing NCEA. If you have part of a qualification, you can return to study at any time

Level One Resources

If you have any resources for the new level one standards (or anything, really), such as practice papers, websites, etc., send them to Thanvi at 21226tt@kuranuicollege.school.nz. 

We're trying to share as many resources with students as we can. The more resources we can share, the more we'll know about the new standards.