NZQA Assessment Rules for Schools, TEOs assessing against Achievement Standards and NCEA Co-requisite Standards, and Candidates 2024

2. Definitions

1. In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires:

Academic year is the time from the start of a school year until the Published final date for reporting results for that year. 

Achievement Standard means a standard on the Directory that is derived from the achievement objectives of the New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa and developed by the Ministry of Education.

Act means the Education and Training Act 2020.

Administrative Guidelines refers to the Published administrative processes for the matters specified in rule 10.

Adverse event means an uncontrollable event that has:

1. a significant prolonged disruption to teaching, learning and assessment of Candidates at a school; and
2. been accepted by NZQA as an event to which the process for Unspecified credits should apply.

Affected Candidate means a Candidate enrolled in an NCEA qualification who:

1. for the purposes of Unspecified credits for Adverse events:
   1. is a School leaver;
   2. has experienced between 20-29 (inclusive) days of disruption by one or more Adverse events; and
   3. is up to 5 credits short of achieving NCEA:
2. for the purposes of Unspecified credits for an Exam booklet mix up:
   1. is a School leaver;
   2. was awarded either or both of NCEA or University Entrance prior to Results release;
   3. has their Results downgraded after Results release following discovery of the Exam booklet mix-up, and has had the award of either or both of NCEA or University Entrance withdrawn; and
   4. is up to 6 credits or fewer short of achieving either or both of the withdrawn NCEA and University Entrance.

Applicable credits means:

1. Credits recorded on a Candidate's Record of Achievement:
2. Candidate learning recognition credits:
3. Credit equivalents gained through Credit Inclusion;
4. Unspecified credits.

Assessment Opportunity refers to an instance where a Candidate is given an opportunity to be assessed against a Standard.

Assessment Requirements include the Assessment Standard, the Assessment Specifications, the Conditions of Assessment, and the Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMRs) available on the NZQA website.

Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMRs)

Assessment Specifications are the assessment parameters for each externally assessed Standard, which are Published in December annually and updated by 31 March the following year, where necessary.

Assessment Standard means a Standard listed on the Directory that is not a skill Standard.

Standards

Authenticity or authentic is the assurance that the evidence submitted for assessment by a learner is their own, with the evidence being free of plagiarism, and any inclusion of work from another source acknowledged and appropriately referenced.

Candidate means a student entered for assessment against Standards on the Directory and/or New Zealand Scholarship performance standards.

Candidate Breaches of External Assessment are described in sub-clause 3.1 of Schedule 5.

Candidate learning recognition credits means, in relation to a Candidate enrolled in a School in 2020 – 2022, credits that were awarded to that Candidate for the purposes of recognising the disruption to teaching, learning and assessment due to staff and student absences resulting from the impact of Covid-19 and other winter illnesses.

Conditions of Assessment are the assessment parameters Published for each internally assessed standard by the Ministry of Education.

Resources for Internally Assessed Achievement Standards (external link) - TKI website

Consent to Assess is the consent granted to an institution under section 449 of the Act.

Consent to Assess Rules means rules made under section 452 of the Act for the purposes of Consent to Assess.

Credit in the context of the credit value of a qualification, micro-credential or Standard, represents 10 notional learning hours for one credit.

Credit equivalents gained through Credit inclusion are described in sub-clause 9.4 of Schedule 1.

Derived Grade is a quality assured external assessment result provided by a School or TEO for an approved Candidate, the process for which is set out in Schedule 2.

Directory means the Directory of Assessment and Skill Standards provided for in section 437 of the Act.

Entry refers to the information that Schools and TEOs send to NZQA indicating the Standards that a Candidate is enrolled in and is being assessed against.

Exam booklet mix up means a situation where, due to a system or human error, a Candidate’s exam booklet or marked examination grade is attributed to another Candidate.

External Assessment refers to an assessment activity developed and assessed by NZQA, including Examination, Common Assessment Activity and Submission (including portfolio submission), either over time, or at a Published point in time.

External Moderation refers to the process whereby NZQA moderators check a sample of each Provider’s assessments annually for the level of consistency of assessor decisions, understanding of the standard assessed and whether assessment materials are suitable for use.

Internal Assessment refers to the assessment or evaluation of Candidates’ knowledge and skills by their teachers in their School or TEO.

Moderation is the process by which NZQA quality assures the assessment judgements of school and TEO assessment of internal standards to ensure that they are consistent nationally.

NCEA means the qualification known as the National Certificate of Educational Achievement at Levels 1, 2 or 3.

NCEA co-requisite means the Published 20 credit co-requisite requirement for NCEA made up of 10 literacy or te reo matatini credits and 10 numeracy or te pāngarau credits.

Nominee means a staff member nominated by a School Principal, or nominated and appointed by a TEO, under rule 3.

NZQA means the New Zealand Qualifications Authority as continued under section 430 of the Act.

NZQCF means the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework provided for in section 436 of the Act.

Plagiarism is where a Candidate has copied or paraphrased another person's work and has presented it as the Candidate’s own work without full acknowledgement.

Principal’s Nominee is a staff member nominated by the Principal of a School under rule 3.

Publish or Published means to make or made available on the NZQA website.

Qualification means a qualification listed on the NZQCF.

Record of Achievement means an individual student’s transcript of standards credited to the student, the credit value of the standards, and National or New Zealand Qualifications and Awards completed by the student, maintained by NZQA.

Result is the outcome of assessment of a student against a Standard as reported on a Candidate’s Record of Achievement.

Results release is described in sub-clause 9.1 of Schedule 1.

school means any relevant school (as defined in section 10(1) of the Act).

School means any relevant school (as defined in section 10(1) of the Act) with Consent to Assess.

School leaver, for the purposes of the definition of an Affected Candidate, means a Candidate who is in their final year at a school.

Special Assessment Conditions (SAC) are NZQA approved assessment entitlements, or assessment entitlements notified to NZQA by Schools or TEOs, which are provided to Candidates for recognised learning, behavioural or medical needs, the process for which is set out in Schedule 3.

Standard means:

a.  for Schools, any standard listed on the Directory, or a New Zealand Scholarship performance standard:

b.  for TEOs, any Achievement or NCEA Co-requisite Standard listed on the Directory.

TEO or Tertiary Education Organisation means an institution within the meaning of that term in section 10(1) and (5) of the Act.

University Entrance or UE means the common educational standard established under section 434 of the Act (or its predecessor section) as a prerequisite for entrance to university for people who have not attained the age of 20 years.

Unspecified credits for Adverse events means up to 5 credits added to an Affected Candidate’s NCEA credits through the process set out in the Administrative Guidelines, so the Candidate is able to achieve NCEA.

Administrative Guidelines

Unspecified credits for an Exam booklet mix up means up to 6 credits added to an Affected Candidate’s NCEA or University Entrance credits through the process set out in the Administrative Guidelines, so the Candidate is able to achieve either or both of NCEA or University Entrance.

Administrative Guidelines

Vocational Pathway is a certification recognising a student’s achievement in specific ‘sector-related’ Standards.

4. Candidate Eligibility for Assessment

1. A Candidate is eligible to be assessed against a Standard if the Candidate:
   1. has an Entry from a School forwarded to NZQA;
   2. is enrolled at a TEO and has had their Entry from the TEO and the relevant fees for the Standards concerned forwarded to NZQA;
   3. is assessed by a School, TEO, or (for external assessment) NZQA;
   4. meets any eligibility criteria specified in the Standard concerned; and
   5. has not been disqualified by NZQA from being assessed against the Standard.
2. NZQA may allow a person to be entered for assessment against a Standard despite the person not meeting the eligibility criteria above if the situation justifies it and the person agrees to the content of paragraph a. of rule 5.
3. A Candidate is not eligible for assessment against a Standard if prevented from doing so under the Candidate Breaches of External Assessment (see Schedule 5).

6. Assessment Requirements

1. Schools and TEOs must assess Candidates in accordance with the Assessment Requirements.

8. Extended Opportunities for Internally Assessed Standards

1. Schools and TEOs may offer Candidates a maximum of one further Assessment Opportunity for the Candidate to improve their grade against an internally assessed Standard within an academic year:
   1. where manageable;
   2. after further learning has taken place; and
   3. using a different assessment.
2. Schools and TEOs may, under the following circumstances, offer Candidates one resubmission per Assessment Opportunity where the Candidate did not achieve the standard:
   1. the assessor judges the Candidate has made a minor error or omission limited to specific aspects of the assessment that the Candidate can discover and correct on their own; and
   2. the result of the resubmission is limited to an Achieved grade.

10. Application of Administrative Guidelines

NZQA will use its Administrative Guidelines for the following administrative processes:

• Change of examination centre
• Examination centre
• Examination clashes
• External assessment
• Internal and external assessment of home-schooled students
• School-based external assessment
• Processes for conferring Unspecified Credits
• Reviews and reconsiderations
• Translation of examination papers or answers.

Schedule 1: Qualifications and Endorsements for NCEA, and achievement of University Entrance, Vocational Pathways, and New Zealand Scholarship

NZQA is the awarding body for:

• NCEA qualifications and for associated endorsements for secondary learners:
• University Entrance:
• Vocational Pathways:
• New Zealand Scholarships.

This Schedule details the requirements associated with the awarding processes.

1. National Certificate of Educational Achievement Level 1

1. The award of the Level 1 NCEA Qualification (80 credit minimum) to a Candidate is based on the Candidate achieving at least:
   
   1. 60 Applicable credits at Level 1 or higher; and
   2. 10 literacy or te reo matatini credits from one of the following sub-paragraphs:
      1. NCEA co-requisite standards 32403 and 32405 for literacy; or
      2. NCEA co-requisite standards 32413 and 32415 for te reo matatini; or
      3. additional standards Published for the NCEA co-requisite for literacy or te reo matatini for 2024-2025;
   3. 10 numeracy or te pāngarau credits either from:
      1. NCEA co-requisite standard 32406 (for numeracy) or 32412 (for te pāngarau); or
      2. additional standards Published for the NCEA co-requisite for numeracy | te pāngarau for 2024-2025.
2. Where credits from sub-paragraphs a.ii.C or a.iii.B of this clause 1 are used towards the NCEA co-requisite, they cannot also be used towards the 60 Applicable credits required for paragraph a. i of this clause 1.
3. Where more than 10 credits are achieved through the additional standards referred to in sub-paragraphs a.ii.C or a.iii.B of this clause 1, the surplus credits can be used towards the 60 credit requirement of paragraph a. i of this clause 1 at the level of the credits. 
4. Where standards are used to meet the NCEA co-requisite, the associated credits will still be used in calculations for Course Endorsement and Certificate Endorsement.
5. Reading literacy credits and writing literacy credits must both be derived from either sub-paragraph a.ii.A or a.ii.C of this clause 1 (i.e, reading literacy and writing literacy cannot be a mix of credits from sub-paragraphs a.ii.A and a.ii.C of this clause 1).
6. Candidates who achieved the NCEA literacy or te reo matatini and/or numeracy | te pāngarau requirements set by NZQA for the 2023 academic year will be considered to have met the relevant NCEA co-requisite standards described in sub-clause 1.a. above when they are awarded NCEA in respect of academic years 2024-2026.

Find out more about Literacy and Numeracy standards:

Literacy and Numeracy

2. National Certificate of Educational Achievement Level 2

1. The award of the Level 2 NCEA Qualification (80 credit minimum) to a Candidate is based on the Candidate achieving at least:
   1. 60 Applicable Credits at Level 2 or higher; and
   2. the 10 literacy | te reo matatini credits and the 10 numeracy | te pāngarau credits set out in paragraphs a.ii and a.iii of clause 1 of this Schedule.  
2. Candidates who achieve the level 1 NCEA literacy or te reo matatini and/or numeracy / te pāngarau requirements set by NZQA for the 2023 academic year, will be considered to have met the relevant NCEA co-requisite standards set out in sub-paragraphs a.ii.A, a.ii.B and a.iii.A of clause 1 of this Schedule when awarding NCEA in academic years 2024-2026.

3.  National Certificate of Educational Achievement Level 3

1. The award of the Level 3 NCEA Qualification (80 credit minimum) to a Candidate is based on the Candidate achieving at least:
   1. 60 Applicable Credits at Level 3 or higher; and
   2. the 10 literacy or  te reo matatini credits and the 10 numeracy | te pāngarau credits set out in paragraphs a.ii and a.iii of clause 1 of this Schedule.  
2. Candidates who achieve the level 1 NCEA literacy or te reo matatini and/or numeracy | te pāngarau requirements set by NZQA for the 2023 academic year, will be considered to have met the relevant NCEA co-requisite standards set out in sub-paragraphs a.ii.A, a.ii.B and a.iii.A of clause 1 of this Schedule when awarding NCEA in academic years 2024-2026.

4. NCEA Certificate and Course Endorsements

4.1. NCEA Certificate Endorsement

1. Endorsement of NCEA certificates is based on Credits on a Candidate’s Record of Achievement.
2. Where a Candidate qualifies for Excellence or Merit endorsement only the highest eligible NCEA Certificate endorsement from the following list will be recognised on the Certificate awarding the NCEA Qualification:
   • NCEA Level 3 Excellence
   • NCEA Level 3 Merit
   • NCEA Level 2 Excellence
   • NCEA Level 2 Merit
   • NCEA Level 1 Excellence
   • NCEA Level 1 Merit.
3. An Excellence endorsement of an NCEA certificate is issued to Candidates who have achieved 50 or more Credits from Standards with a grade of Excellence at the same or higher Level as the NCEA Certificate being endorsed.
4. A Merit endorsement of an NCEA certificate is issued to Candidates who have achieved 50 or more Credits from Standards with a grade of either Merit or Excellence at the same or higher Level as the NCEA Certificate being endorsed.
5. Where a Candidate qualifies for a NCEA Certificate at more than one Level in January of a year, each of those Certificates will be checked for endorsement.
6. A Candidate may apply for NCEA Certificate endorsement in a year after the year the Candidate received an NCEA Certificate, where the Candidate achieves the required 50 or more Credits at either Excellence or Merit at the Level of that NCEA Certificate.

4.2. NCEA Course Endorsement

1. A Course eligible for Course endorsement at Excellence or Merit or Achieved is a programme of assessment for a Candidate at Levels 1, 2 or 3 undertaken within one academic year which:
   1. consists of Assessment Standards;
   2. follows NZQA guidelines and is notified to NZQA; and
      Course Endorsement Guide (external link)
   3. meets the assessment requirements in paragraph 4.2 b. below.
2. Subject to the exemptions in paragraph 4.2.d below, for the purposes of subparagraph 4.2.a.iii above, the approved programme of assessment must contain a minimum of 14 Credits from Assessment Standards, with:
   1. a minimum of three of those Credits from internally assessed standards; and
   2. a minimum of three of those Credits from externally assessed standards.
3. The Course endorsement is gained at the Level of the lowest standard making up the eligible 14 Credits. Subject to the exemptions in paragraph 4.2.d. below, NZQA will grant a Candidate a Course endorsement of:
   1. Excellence where a Candidate achieves 14 or more Credits from standards within the Course with a grade of Excellence, including at least three of those Credits from internal standards and three of those Credits from external standards:
   2. Merit where a Candidate achieves 14 or more Credits from the assessment within the Course at Merit or Excellence, including at least three of those Credits from internal standards and three of those Credits from external standards:
   3. Achieved where a Candidate achieves 14 or more Credits from the assessment within the Course at Achieved, Merit or Excellence, including at least three of those Credits from internal standards and three of those Credits from external standards.
4. The following exemptions from the internal and external credit requirements for Course endorsement are applicable:
   1. there is no requirement for 3 Credits from:
      1. externally assessed standards for Courses where all the standards are from any of the following subject areas:
         • Levels 2 and 3 Physical Education:
         • Levels 2 and 3 Religious Studies:
         • Levels 2 and 3 New Zealand Sign Language.
      2. Levels 2 and 3 externally assessed standards where there are no external standards within a domain of Te Marautanga o Aoteoroa curriculum:
      3. internally assessed standards where all the standards are at level 3 and from the subject area of Visual Arts where the Candidate has achieved a single 14 Credit externally assessed standard within the Course:
      4. externally assessed standards where the Candidate has achieved 14 Credits from internally assessed standards from the subject area of Visual Arts within the Course.
5. The Credits recorded on a Candidate’s Record of Achievement for a particular standard are eligible to be used only once towards a single Course endorsement for the year in which the credits were gained.
6. A Candidate is eligible for only one endorsement for each Course.
7. A Course endorsement is recognised on the Candidate’s Record of Achievement.

5. University Entrance

5.1. New Zealand University Entrance Minimum Requirements

1. A Candidate will have met the minimum requirements for entrance to a university in New Zealand if the Candidate has obtained at least:
   1. NCEA Level 3; and
   2. 14 Credits in three of the Approved subjects published on the NZQA website: and
   3. a minimum of 10 literacy Credits at Level 2 or above from the list of Literacy requirements for University Entrance (published on the NZQA website) made up of 5 Credits in reading and 5 Credits in writing: and
   4. a minimum of 10 numeracy Credits at Level 1 or above from either:
      1. the co-requisite Level 1 numeracy unit standard 32406 or te Pāngarau unit standard 32412; or
      2. the Published list of additional numeracy achievement standards.
2. Candidates who achieve the 2023 UE numeracy requirements set by NZQA for the 2023 academic year, will be considered to have met the relevant UE numeracy credit requirement when awarding UE in academic years 2024 and 2025.

More information on our website:

Approved subjects for University Entrance

Literacy requirements for University Entrance

Literacy and Numeracy standards

Standards exclusion list

5.2. University Entrance Recognition

1. A Candidate who meets the minimum requirements set out in paragraph 5.1.a above will have University Entrance recognised on the Candidate’s Record of Achievement.

6. Vocational Pathways

1. NZQA will recognise a Candidate's achievement of a Vocational Pathway based on Applicable Credits.
2. Vocational Pathways are recognised on the Candidate's New Zealand Record of Achievement.

7. Credit exclusions when determining qualification or award eligibility

1. Where different Standards assess the same learning outcome, those Standards are specified in the Published Exclusions list.
   Standards exclusion list
2. Standards on the Exclusions List are mutually exclusive for the purposes of determining the award of NCEA Certificates, NCEA Certificate endorsements, Course endorsements, other school qualifications, University Entrance and Vocational Pathways.
3. Standards recorded multiple times on a Candidate's New Zealand Record of Achievement are mutually exclusive for the purposes of determining the award of NCEA Certificates, NCEA Certificate endorsements, Course endorsements, University Entrance and Vocational Pathways.
4. From the mutually exclusive Standards, the Standard with the best outcome for the student for each circumstance will be used for determining the award of NCEA Certificates, NCEA Certificate endorsement, Course endorsement, University Entrance and Vocational Pathways.

8. New Zealand Scholarship

8.1. Publication and inapplicability to University Entrance

1. NZQA publishes the list of New Zealand Scholarship subjects annually.
2. New Zealand Scholarship results do not contribute towards the University Entrance.

8.2. Monetary Awards

a. The New Zealand Scholarship Monetary Awards are available to eligible Candidates with an entry from a school forwarded to NZQA, and comprise:

Premier Award:

• For the very top 7 to 12 Candidates. The minimum eligibility required to be considered for this award is achievement of at least three Scholarships at “Outstanding” level in the same year. The number of recipients for this award is restricted and achieving the minimum requirement will not guarantee an award.
• $10,000 each year for up to three years for as long as the recipient maintains at least a ‘B’ grade average each year of their tertiary study.

Outstanding Scholar Award:

• For the next 40-60 top Candidates. The minimum eligibility requirement to be considered for this award is achievement of three Scholarships including at least two at “Outstanding” level in the same year, or more than three Scholarships including at least one at “Outstanding” level in the same year. The number of recipients for this award is restricted and achieving the minimum requirement will not guarantee an award.
• $5,000 each year for up to three years for as long as the recipient maintains at least a ‘B’ grade average each year of their tertiary study.

Scholarship Award:

• For Candidates who achieve New Zealand Scholarship in three or more subjects in the same year and for Candidates who achieve two Scholarships at “Outstanding” level in the same year.
• $2,000 each year for up to three years for as long as the recipient maintains at least a ‘B’ grade average each year of their tertiary.

Top Subject Scholar Award:

• For the top Candidate in each one of the New Zealand Scholarship subjects.
• $2,000 each year for up to three years for as long as the recipient maintains at least a ‘B’ grade average each year of their tertiary study.

Single Subject Award:

• For Candidates who achieve New Zealand Scholarship in one or more subjects.
• A ‘one-off’ award of $500 per subject, for up to two subjects, (maximum payment $1000).

b. The Prime Minister’s Award for Academic Excellence is awarded to the Candidate with the best results in New Zealand Scholarship. The Candidate will be a Premier Award recipient and for the purposes of assessing the best results consideration will be given to the number of subjects achieved at “Outstanding” level, the number of additional Scholarships achieved, and the ranking of Candidates within individual subjects.

8.3. Payment of monetary award

1. For recipients of all New Zealand Scholarship awards:
   1. the recipient must be enrolled in tertiary study in New Zealand (at least 0.4 Equivalent full-time student (EFTs)) with an institution which holds accreditation under section 441 of the Act to provide one or more approved programmes, and must allow use of their name and school for publicity about their success:
   2. Single Subject Awards are paid only in the first year of tertiary study in New Zealand:
   3. for awards with second or subsequent year payments, recipients must maintain at least a ‘B’ grade average during each year of their tertiary study in New Zealand with an accredited provider to qualify for payment in the following year:
   4. note that Studylink has separate requirements relating to payment of New Zealand Scholarship Awards.
2. Monetary awards for New Zealand Scholarship cannot be accumulated except as specified below.
3. Where a Candidate meets the criteria for more than one monetary award, they will receive only the award of the highest monetary value, except where a Candidate receives a Top Subject Scholar Award and in addition achieves a Single Subject Award in a different subject, in which case they will receive the Top Subject Scholar Award and a maximum of one $500 Single Subject Award.
4. The monetary amounts for the Premier Award, Outstanding Scholar Award and Scholarship Award are available only for results obtained within the year of entry. Results cannot be aggregated over more than one year.
5. Candidates must notify NZQA through their Learner Login of their intention to accept an award by 15 January of the year following the year they receive their result.
6. NZQA must be notified annually of a recipient’s intention to defer a monetary award. Recipients of monetary awards may annually defer receiving the award for up to four consecutive years after they leave school.
7. A Candidate who defers an award because they are still at school and gains:
   1. an award in the same subject in more than one year will only receive one monetary award being the highest value award achieved:
   2. a Single Subject Award in one subject in a year and in a second subject in another year is eligible for two one-off awards of $500 if the student is enrolled in tertiary study as outlined in clause 8.3.a.i of this Schedule up to the maximum payment of $1000 for Single Subject Awards:
   3. a Single Subject Award in one subject in a year, but fails to gain a Single Subject Award in the same subject in another year, will still be eligible to be paid for the award gained:
   4. a Single Subject Award in one or two subjects and the Scholarship Award in three or more subjects in another year is eligible only for the Scholarship Award in the three or more subjects:
   5. a Top Subject Scholar Award in the same subject in two different years will receive payment for one Top Subject Scholar Award only:
   6. a Top Subject Scholar Award in a subject in a year and a Single Subject Award in a second subject in another year, or vice versa, will receive both awards.

9. Release of School results

9.1. Results

1. NZQA will release via the Learner Login in January of the year following assessment:
   1. School Candidate results for Standards assessed:
   2. Credit equivalents gained through Credit inclusion:
   3. Any applicable Unspecified Credits.
2. NZQA will release School Candidate results via the Learner Login for New Zealand Scholarship subjects before 1 March of the year following assessment.
3. NZQA may set alternative dates for the release of results to Candidates in extenuating circumstances.
4. Results release, Records of Achievement, and certificates will be in a form determined by NZQA and approved by the Chief Executive, subject to any fees as set out in the secondary education fees schedule.
   Secondary education fees

9.2. New Zealand Record of Achievement

1. Results for all Assessment Standards achieved in an academic year will be recorded on a Candidate’s Record of Achievement following the release of results in January the following year.
   New Zealand Record of Achievement
2. All Credits on a Candidate’s Record of Achievement are used for NCEA Certificates, NCEA Certificate endorsement, Course endorsements, University Entrance, and Vocational Pathways. NZQA will use only one Standard to give the best outcome for the Candidate where Standards are recorded multiple times on a Candidate’s Record of Achievement.
3. A Candidate’s Record of Achievement is available free of charge in electronic format (PDF) via NZQA’s secure web portal. A PDF authenticity verification service is also available via NZQA’s website.
4. Candidates may order one free hard copy of their Record of Achievement for each year that they undertake study, with a fee as set out in the Fee Schedule applying to further hard copies of their Record of Achievement.

9.3. Production and issue of NCEA Certificates

1. Candidates who apply for one or more different NCEA Certificates are entitled to one free copy of each Certificate applied for, with a fee as set out in the Fee Schedule applying to further copies of NCEA Certificates requested.
   Secondary Education Fees

9.4. Credit Inclusion for NCEA Certificates

1. NCEA has provision for recognition of Credit equivalents from other qualifications or awards that are quality assured and listed in sub-clause 9.5 below.
2. Credit equivalents from Credit inclusion will not appear on the Record of Achievement, may be used only once, and do not contribute to the University Entrance Level 3 requirements.
3. If a School or TEO wishes to access Credit inclusion for any students, it should complete the correct NZQA form and send it to NZQA with the applicable student results.
4. Credit equivalents from awards listed in sub-clause 9.5 below are only recognised if they were gained within two years prior to the year of application for Credit Inclusion.

9.5. Approved List for NCEA Credit Inclusion

The following awards are on the approved list:

• Asdan Youth Awards Scheme (Silver, Gold, and universities/Platinum)
• Certificate in Microsoft Office – Specialist Master
• Cisco Certified Networking Associate
• Young Enterprise Scheme
• Young Enterprise Examination
• Zayed College for Girls’ – Arabic Course

The provisions for credit inclusion will be reviewed following the NCEA Review and the Review of Achievement Standards. No new applications for Credit Inclusion will be considered until then. The Published list of provisions applies until 1 April 2027.

See full list of awards on approved list for NCEA credit inclusion

Notice for students claiming a New Zealand Scholarship monetary award

The Assessment Rules state that you must notify us, via your Learner Login, that you intend to accept an award by 15 January of the year after you receive your results.

To make it easier for you to claim an award, we will accept notifications up to 1 April.

For more information, please see Schedule 1, Section 8.3.