Key dates and information
Please refer to the online version of the Key dates to ensure you have access to the most up-to-date information.
Key dates for secondary assessment
| 6 May | Exam Centre Manager nominations open online |
| 20-31 May | Literacy and Numeracy assessment event 1 |
| 30 May | Ngā Mahi a te Rēhia 92063 and Toi Ataata 92085 (assessment event 1) |
| 31 May | Toi Puoro 92090 (assessment event 1) |
| 1 June | Data file submission due |
| 4 June |
Online applications for NZQA external markers open Te Ao Haka 91982, 91983 and Hauora 92059 (assessment event 1) |
| 6 June | Te Ao Haka 91987 (assessment event 1) |
| 10-21 June | Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau assessment event 1 |
On this page
General adminstration and data
Memorandum of Agreement
The Memorandum sets out how your school and NZQA work together to ensure timely and accurate management of candidate data, collection and submission of international fee-paying candidate fees and the smooth conduct of examinations for the benefit of the candidates.
It also agrees the Administration Payment paid by NZQA to schools.
Please remember to read and digitally sign this memorandum for 2024 by Friday 14 June.
From 1 April it can be found under High Security > School’s Administration > Memorandum of Agreement through your Provider Login.
Managing data for ākonga/students leaving your kura/school
You may have ākonga/students leaving secondary education or transferring kura/school. Please refer here for information for managing this process.
1 May and June data file submission
When you are reviewing your processed data file submissions, please check any error messages and make the necessary amendments to your system before generating and submitting a new file.
For guidance on how to resolve errors, refer to the SMS User Guide found through your Provider login, under Data File Submission.
Web Entry schools should refer to the User Guide under Web Entries through the new portal.
Secondary School Statistics
The finalised 2023 Statistics, Principal and STEM reports are now available via your Provider Login. They have been updated to reflect the final data cut of 3 April 2024.
Consolidated files including NCEA, University Entrance Qualification Attainment, Level 1 Literacy and Numeracy, Standard and Scholarship Attainment are available on:
Support for kaiako/teachers
Assessor Practice Tool
NZQA has recently launched the Assessor Practice Tool (APT), a free online resource to support assessors with the assessment of NCEA internal Achievement Standards.
Assessors can practise making assessor judgements on full samples of student work, after which they can view a NZQA moderation panel grade and the reasons for that grade being awarded.
The APT is accessible using Education Sector Logon on Pūtake, NZQA’s online learning management system:
Te Marautanga o Aotearoa | NZC kaupapa ako Māori |Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau
Inputting tohutō in Assessment Master for Chromebook users
If your ākonga use a Chromebook to complete TAPā, they may experience issues with adding tohutō while using Assessment Master. As an interim solution, to add a tohutō to any vowel, use the following shortcut key:
Alt/Shift/3 + any vowel
View more information about language keyboards and responding in te reo Māori (external link)
Te Marautanga o Aotearoa (TMoA)
To prepare for the upcoming TAPā assessments, sample TAPā assessments for the following wāhanga ako are now available:
Visit the wāhanga ako TAPā page for instructions on how to access these. You can navigate to these pages by visiting the Te Marautanga o Aotearoa landing page.
Go to the Te Marautanga o Aotearoa landing page
Te Ao Haka - NZC kaupapa ako Māori
Te Ao Haka TAPā 1 (Assessment Event 1) will be held from 04 – 06 June 2024. Sample TAPā assessments for Te Ao Haka Level 1, 2, and 3 are now available.
Visit the Te Ao Haka TAPā page to access these as well as the assessments specifications and important information for preparing for TAPā assessments.
Go to the Te Ao Haka TAPā page
Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau – Co-requisite
Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau TAPā 1 (Assessment Event 1) will be held 10 – 21 June 2024.
The following assessment material and resources are available on the Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau subject page:
- Ngā Rā Aromatawai - assessment dates
- Paerewa Paetae - links to the new/reviewed Achievement Standards for 2024)
- Tautuhinga Aromatawai – TAPā (Assessment Specifications)
- Ngā Ara Tohu booklets – information to support teaching and learning.
Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau subject page
Ko ngā Tauira Aromatawai o ngā Tūmahi Aromatawai Pātahi (TAPā) - Sample TAPā assessments
Sample TAPā assessments have been released on the Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau TAPā page on 13 May. Ākonga can access these up until 5pm the day prior to the live TAPā assessment.
We encourage you to complete these Sample Assessments to ensure your ākonga are confident with navigating Assessment Master.
Go to the TAPā page for Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau
If you have any questions regarding Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau in 2024, please email us:
Ringa Toi Student Exhibition – Registrations of interest now open
Registrations of interest are now open for this year’s Ringa Toi Student Exhibition.
If you are interested in submitting student work to be considered for this year’s exhibition, please complete and submit the registration of interest form by Friday 05 July 2024.
For more information, please visit our website:
Any pātai/kōrero can be sent to ringatoi@nzqa.govt.nz
Exam centre planning
No External Entries for 2024?
If your school will not be making any external entries for end of year exams 2024, please email this information by Friday 14 June 2024 to:
examcentremanagement@nzqa.govt.nz
Nominating and appointing an Exam Centre Manager (ECM)
Schools and kura that are exam centres can nominate their Exam Centre Manager (ECM) from 6 May through their Provider login. Please refer to:
This covers how to recruit and select an ECM and how to renominate a previous ECM or nominate a new one.
This needs to be completed by 17 June.
If you have any questions, including how to become an exam centre if you aren’t already, please email:
examcentremanagement@nzqa.govt.nz
Exam Centre Memorandum of Understanding
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is required between a school/kura (Kura Tēina) that is not an exam centre and a school/kura (Kura Tuākana) where the candidates will sit external exams.
Schools/Kura that are not currently exam centres will have been emailed by their School Relationship Manager to either complete an MoU or apply to be an exam centre by 31 May.
Exam Timetable Clashes
Student examination clash information has been generated by your school’s datafile submission and can be viewed in your Key Indicators.
Now is a good time to discuss clashes with candidates to see what clashes could be removed or minimised.
After the 1 September Datafile submission, your School Relationship Manager will contact you to confirm arrangements for 3-way (or 4-way) clashes.
After this date, you should check late entries so that further clashes are managed.
Level 1 submitted external assessments and Kete Manarua
For the 2024 Level 1 standards which are assessed through Submission or Kete Manarua, please follow this link for specific standard numbers and instructions:
L1 Submitted External Assessment Guidelines
Before the assessment
Schools and teaching staff must check the Assessment Specifications for specific assessment instructions for each standard.
These may include guidance on whether and how resources may be provided, equipment, supervision, and further assessment conditions etc.
NZQA assessment tasks will be provided to schools digitally. They will be available for download in the School Portal from Term 3 Week 1.
Instructions on how to download non-end of year assessment PDFs [PDF, 229 KB]
During the assessment
Submitted external assessments are externally marked by NZQA, teachers must not provide templates, scaffolding for answers or feedback during the assessment period.
After the assessment
Candidates submit their completed assessment files through the NZQA learner portal as soon as they have completed each assessment.
The portal will open for submission from Week 1 of Term 3.
Schools should not wait until the Submission Deadline of 30 October before work is submitted.
Business Continuity Plan for Literacy/Numeracy
Prior to the external examination period at the end of each year, we send PNs and Principals a test text to ensure that we can contact schools in the event of an emergency.
On Wednesday 15 May, you should have received a test message in preparation for the first opportunity window for Literacy and Numeracy (20-31 May) and Te Reo Matatini me Te Pangarau (10-21 June).
If you did not receive the message, please let your School Relationship know or email:
PN checklist - Ngā māhi
Also refer to:
Action items for Principal's Nominee by calendar month
| Contacts | Update school contact details as required including Principal’s Nominee, Data Manager, SENCO and Principal |
| Memorandum of Agreement | Read and sign the Memorandum for 2024 (through School’s Administration) |
| Literacy/Numeracy |
Ensure students have created an account for MyNZQA and have logged on Check assessment opportunity and entries |
| Exam centre management | Nominate your Examination Centre Manager |