We run external assessments for National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Levels 1, 2 and 3 and New Zealand Scholarship.
Most NCEA and Scholarship exams happen in November and December. A 3-hour exam session can assess up to 3 external achievement standards in a single subject.
For some NCEA subjects, students need to submit a portfolio of work that is assessed at the end of the school year.
Portfolios for external assessment
Moving from paper-based to digital exams
Assessment is traditionally paper-based, but we're moving towards digital assessments that students sit on a computer.
New Zealand schools increasingly use digital teaching and learning methods. Digital assessment reflects this.
On this page
Exam and assessment timetables
You can find dates for end-of-year exams and other external assessments on the timetable pages:
How external assessment works
Rules for external assessment
In term 4, students will get a copy of the rules and instructions for candidates, which they must agree to follow.
The rules make sure that assessment is fair for all students, and that their work is original and authentic.
Rules for students taking assessments
What happens if you break the rules
We investigate potential breaches of the exam and assessment rules:
Support for students doing assessments
Resources for students doing assessments
Find information for students who are preparing for assessments
Go to the Student assessment hub
When a student can't sit an assessment
Candidates might be able to apply for a derived grade
Find out about derived grades
Help for students during an assessment
Students with known difficulties or disabilities can apply for Special Assessment Conditions
Find out about Special Assessment Conditions
Preparing for digital assessment
Information and resources to help students prepare for digital assessment
Doing digital assessments
What students can do after an assessment
Getting assessment materials back
Students can get some assessment materials back after the assessment
Find out what assessment material is returned
Accessing marked digital and scanned paper exams online
Students can login to MyNZQA to access their marked assessments
Find out how to access marked assessments
NCEA reviews and reconsiderations
Students can apply for a review or a reconsideration of an assessment result
NCEA reviews and reconsiderations
Scholarship reviews and reconsiderations
Students can apply for a review or a reconsideration of an assessment result
Scholarship reviews and reconsiderations