The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) has released finalised data from 2022, showing attainment of NCEA Levels 3 and University Entrance are similar to 2019 pre-COVID levels.
“While attainment at all levels of NCEA and University Entrance (UE) has declined compared to 2021, attainment of NCEA Level 3 and UE remains slightly higher than in 2019 – the last non-COVID affected year,” says NZQA Deputy Chief Executive Assessment, Jann Marshall.
Level 1
Overall attainment of NCEA Level 1 amongst Year 11 students was 65% in 2022, compared to 70% in 2021 and 71% in 2019.
“Attainment of NCEA Level 1 in Year 11 has been decreasing steadily since 2017, except for a slight increase between 2019 and 2020. This reflects a trend of some schools moving away from offering a full NCEA Level 1 programme in Year 11, focussing instead on achieving NCEA Level 2 in Year 12,” Jann Marshall says.
Levels 2 and 3
Attainment of NCEA Level 2 amongst Year 12 students decreased by 3 percentage points from 2021 (a decrease of 2.6 percentage points compared to 2019); while attainment of Level 3 in Year 13 declined by 2.3 percentage points from 2021 (an increase of 0.9 percentage points compared to 2019).
University Entrance
The change in awards of University Entrance has approximately followed the change in NCEA Level 3, decreasing by 1.6 percentage points from 2021 but increasing 1 percentage point from 2019.
“Students and schools again worked hard to address the disruption from COVID-19 in 2022, supported by Learning Recognition Credits and adjustments to UE and endorsement thresholds,” Jann Marshall says.
“The decrease in attainment compared to 2021 is likely to reflect a range of factors, including the compounding of lost teaching and learning time due to COVID-19 over the last 3 years,” Jann Marshall says.
Equity
“There continues to be a significant and concerning differential in attainment between Māori and Pacific students and their European or Asian peers, and work needs to continue across the education sector to address this gap,” Jann Marshall says.
While Māori student attainment has lifted slightly at NCEA Level 3 and UE in 2022 compared to 2019, Pacific attainment has declined at each level compared to 2019, and the underlying equity gap remains.
“Addressing barriers to equitable attainment continues to be a priority for NZQA and, alongside the Ministry of Education, we are working across the education sector and with communities to improve outcomes for Māori and Pacific students, those from low socio-economic backgrounds, and students with disabilities or special learning needs,” Jann Marshall says.
NZQA continues to analyse data from 2022 and anticipates releasing its Annual Report on NCEA, University Entrance and New Zealand Scholarship Data and Statistics in May 2023.