An NCEA qualification is made up of a number of assessment standards. While the national curriculum documents (Te Marautanga o Aotearoa and New Zealand Curriculum) set the breadth of knowledge, skills and concepts for each of the curriculum levels in each of the learning areas (subjects), assessment standards ONLY assess a small portion of the breadth of knowledge that is expected to be covered in any learning area.
Internal assessment standards (i.e. completed and marked in-house) and
External assessments standards (i.e. exams, portfolios, performances which are marked externally by NZQA).
For any given NCEA qualification, you must collect a certain amount of credits. Below is a detailed breakdown of the credit requirements for each of the NCEA qualifications:
Level 1:
80 LEVEL 1 credits in total.
10 of the credits need to be in literacy-based standards (Te Reo Rangatira, English or even literacy rich subjects like Media Studies), and 10 in numeracy-based standards (Mathematics or even numeracy rich standards like Accounting and some Sciences).
Level 2:
80 credits in total: 60 at LEVEL 2 + 20 from any level.
10 of the credits need to be LEVEL 1 literacy-based standards (Te Reo Rangatira, English or even literacy rich subjects like Media Studies), and 10 LEVEL 1 numeracy-based standards (Mathematics or even numeracy rich standards like Accounting and some Sciences).
Level 3:
80 credits in total: 60 at LEVEL 3 + 20 from level 2 or above.
10 of the credits need to be LEVEL 2 literacy-based standards (Te Reo Rangatira, English or even literacy rich subjects like Media Studies), and 10 LEVEL 1 numeracy-based standards (Mathematics or even numeracy rich subjects like Accounting and some Sciences).
University Entrance:
NCEA Level 3 by:
Gaining 14 credits each in 3 approved subjects
10 literacy credits at Level 2 (5 in reading, 5 in writing)
10 numeracy credits
You do not have to complete each of the qualifications in sequential order
You do not need to complete all three qualifications
You do not need to complete an NCEA qualification based on your age or year of enrolment in a school i.e. Level 2 = Year 12