Digital external assessment

Information about how NZQA is delivering digital external assessments and links to our research

Moving towards digital assessments

New and revised achievement standards are digital, first and foremost. Digital submissions and digital examinations will eventually account for the majority of externally assessed standards.

A digital-first approach means external assessments can be modified, leading to an enhanced student experience and more equitable access

As these new standards are rolled out, digital assessment will become the norm for most students. To this point, digital examinations have mirrored paper-based exams as closely as possible.

You can see which subjects have digital exams or digital portfolio submission in the exam timetable:

National secondary examinations timetable

More information

About digital external assessment

Our vision and research

Digital assessment vision: A design principles approach

Learn more about NZQA's vision for digital assessment and the principles behind it

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Research, innovation and enhancements

What we're doing to meet the increase in digitally enabled teaching and learning

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Evaluating digital external assessment

How we evaluated digital assessment and findings from our trials and pilots

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