NCEA Level 2 is achieved by gaining 80 credits, at Level 2 or above. This is including a minimum of 10 literacy credits and 10 numeracy credits.
NCEA Level 3 is achieved by gaining 60 credits at Level 3 or above. 20 credits will be taken from Level 2 to make up the 80 credit count.
Assessments can be achieved at three different levels:
achieved (A),
achieved with merit (M),
and achieved with excellence (E).
The better the student performs in an assessment, the higher the grade they'll receive, with E being the highest.
If a student passes the assessment they will receive all credits at the level that they were graded.
For example, for a four-credit assessment achieved at merit level, the student will receive four merit credits. Students are not able to gain some of the credits for completing part of the work - it's all or nothing. If a student fails, they'll be given a not achieved (N), which means they won't receive any of the credits for that assessment.
Please note, all subjects offer a resubmission or a reassessment opportunity. If a student is doing a resubmission of an internal, the highest grade that can be awarded is Achieved. If a student is doing a reassessment of an internal eg. different topic, the highest grade that can be awards is Excellence.