NCEA endorsements are used to recognise higher levels of achievement. Certificate endorsement recognise higher overall performance in gaining an NCEA certificate while subject endorsement recognises higher achievement in individual subjects.

Certificate Endorsement

An NCEA certificate can be endorsed to indicate that you have have achieved the certificate with a higher level of performance. Certificates may be endorsed with excellence or endorsed with merit.

A merit endorsement requires 50 credits at Merit or Excellence at the same (or higher) level as the certificate being awarded.

An excellence endorsement requires 50 credits at Excellence at the same (or higher) level as the certificate.

Credits may be accumulated over more than one year for the purposes of certificate endorsement.

Limits on the Issue of Endorsements

• Only one endorsed certificate will be awarded in a year unless a candidate has achieved two or three NCEA qualifications in a single year.

• If a new certificate is awarded, a check for the highest endorsement will be made. Endorsements will be awarded in the order of excellence and then merit.

• Only if the new higher level certificate cannot be endorsed will a check be made to see if a lower level certificate can have an upgraded endorsement awarded.

• A candidate may apply to have an endorsed certificate upgraded if in subsequent years they achieve the required credits at the level of the certificate to be endorsed.

Course Endorsements

NEW: from 2021 courses can be endorsed at achieved level (as well as at merit or excellence).

Students may get endorsements (achieved, merit or excellence) in individual courses at all levels.

Course endorsement provides recognition for students who perform exceptionally well in individual courses. Students are able to have their strengths in individual courses recognised with a course endorsement at Merit or Excellence. The key objective of course endorsement is to motivate students to achieve their potential in one or more courses.

Students will gain an endorsement for a course where they achieve:

• 14 or more credits in a course in a single school year

• at least 3 credits from externally assessed standards and 3 credits from internally assessed standards except for:

  • Courses that contain only assessments from the domain Physical Education (can be all internal)

  • level 3 Visual Arts which can have all standards externally assessed.

• for an Excellence endorsement the 14 credits must be at Excellence

• for a Merit endorsement the 14 credits can be at Excellence or Merit level

• for an achieved endorsement the 14 credits.

• only credits from achievement standards count towards endorsement - unit standard credits are not counted,

For courses that contain standards at multiple levels the endorsement will be at the lower level that supports the endorsement. That is, the lowest level of the credits that make up the 14 credits that count towards the endorsement.

The same credits can only count towards one course for course endorsement.

Example 1: In a single course I get 10 Excellence credits from internal achievement standards and 5 merit credits from an external standard. I will get a Merit endorsement.

Example 2: In a single course I get 10 Excellence credits from internal achievement standards and 5 achieved credits from an external standard. I will get an Achieved endorsement.

Example 3: In a single course I get 14 Excellence credits from internal achievement standards. I do not have any external credits so I will not get a course endorsement unless the course contains only standards from Physical Education or Level 3 Visual Arts.

Courses

Courses are determined by the school. We notify NZQA of the standards used to assess each course. The school also supplies the course name (within NZQA guidelines).