The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) has released finalised NCEA and University Entrance attainment data from 2024.
NCEA Level 2 and 3 attainment
Attainment of NCEA Level 2 by Year 12 students increased by 0.4 percentage points from 2023; while attainment of Level 3 in Year 13 increased by 1.7 percentage points from 2023.
“The Literacy and Numeracy | Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau co-requisite had no noticeable impact on 2024 Level 2 and 3 attainment, with the large majority of students in these cohorts having already achieved the previous NCEA literacy and numeracy requirements in 2023 or earlier,” says NZQA Deputy Chief Executive Assessment, Jann Marshall.
University Entrance
The award of University Entrance has continued to be relatively flat, increasing slightly (by 0.9 percentage points) from 2023.
NCEA Level 1 attainment and reporting
NCEA Level 1 was a new qualification in 2024, with strengthened requirements for literacy and numeracy; and fewer, larger achievement standards.
NZQA is now reporting Level 1 data based on the population of Year 11 students participating in a full Level 1 assessment programme of at least 80 credits at Level 1 or above (this includes credits achieved in prior years), rather than all Year 11 students enrolled in secondary schools.
“This recognises that in 2024 a third of Year 11 students were not entered for a full NCEA Level 1 assessment programme,” Jann Marshall says.
Finalised data confirms a 10.4 percentage point decrease in NCEA Level 1 attainment for Year 11 students who participated in NCEA Level 1 in 2024, compared to 2023.
“This reflects the impact of stronger literacy and numeracy requirements and the changing composition of students participating,” Jann Marshall says.
Note: Data for previous years has been recalculated in the graph and table above to allow accurate comparisons with 2024 (based on students participating in a full NCEA Level 1 programme of assessment only).
Equity
Māori and Pacific student attainment has lifted slightly at NCEA Level 2, Level 3 and UE in 2024 compared to 2023.
“While these are positive movements, a significant underlying equity gap between Māori and Pacific students and their European and Asian classmates remains at each level of NCEA, and for University Entrance in particular.” Jann Marshall says.
NZQA anticipates releasing its Annual Report on NCEA, University Entrance and New Zealand Scholarship Data and Statistics in May 2025.