What is the Numeracy Co-Requisite?

The new co-requisite is a set of three digital exams that all New Zealand students must pass in order to obtain NCEA credits. 

The new co-requisite has been designed to assess the literacy and numeracy of students required for NCEA and beyond. The idea is that all three co-requisites must be achieved in order for a student to obtain an NCEA certificate in the future. 

The co-requisites are aimed at level 4 (end) / 5 (beginning) of the curriculum and can be attempted when students are deemed to be ready. At Elim, we aim for our students to sit the Common Assessment Activities (CAA) midway through year 10. 

Students who need extra support can delay or resit the CAAs in late October / November. Students who do not achieve the co-requisite may progress to year 11, but will have to resit the exams the following year.

In total there are three CAAs which students need to achieve. Please note that a student can only receive an Achieved grade for these assessments. No Merit or Excellence grades will be awarded.

• the literacy standard has two parts: a reading assessment activity, and a writing assessment activity and  

• the numeracy standard has one part. 

It is important to note that these exams are digital and have no time constraints. However, most students are expected to complete them within an hour. 

A piece of software called, ‘Assessment Master’ is used for the assessments. Students use their NZQA Learner Login to access the platform (their school email address is their username). 

These assessments include a range of question types: multiple choice, short answer, and extended answer.