NZQA is moving towards offering all external assessments as digital.
Currently we run digital external assessments for:
- some end-of-year exams
- Common Assessment Tasks or Activities
- Literacy and Numeracy assessments.
Find timetables for digital external assessments
Key dates for secondary assessment
We use an online platform for digital external assessments
Our teams and Call Centre support schools and students before and during assessments, then support schools and markers to use it afterwards.
On this page
Information for students
Your school will tell you if an external assessment is digital or not, or if you have a choice between a paper assessment or a digital assessment.
For a digital assessment, you need to:
- know exactly which assessment you are doing and how long you have to complete it
- have an NZQA learner account so you can log in
- find the link to the assessment on the NZQA homepage
- understand how to use the digital assessment platform
- check that your digital device is suitable for the assessment
- bring any other equipment you need (e.g. headphones).
Preparing for digital assessments as a student
Find more information about sitting digital assessments and how to use the platform
Tips for studentsChecking your digital device
Make sure your digital device and browser are suitable for a digital assessment
Check your deviceInformation for schools
Schools need to make sure they have the resources and technology to run digital assessments successfully.
We will:
- administer entries into the digital exams
- offer an online platform for the digital exams
- give training and ongoing support to use the online platform, during and after the assessment.
Opting in to digital exams
Schools can opt in to digital external assessments by flagging external entries as digital in their Student Management System (SMS).
Then schools can check digital entries in the Key Indicators page of their Provider Login.
Submitting digital external entries to NZQA means that a school will automatically get support for assessments during the year and end-of-year exams.
Resources for schools
Make sure your school has the right infrastructure:
Check your school's technology
Prepare rooms for assessments:
Who needs to do what, when while preparing for digital assessments:
Digital exams preparation timeline [PDF, 154 KB]
Common issues that may arise and how you can plan for them:
Solutions for coping with the unexpected [PDF, 51 KB]
Special Assessment Conditions in digital assessments
Students with a SAC entitlement can sit a digital assessment.
As a school, you should consider the resources you will need to plan for a SAC student sitting a digital assessment. For example, you’ll need to plan the appropriate space, supervisors, and exam assistants.
Find more information at:
Changing the background colour during the assessment
If a SAC student needs a different background colour to help them read, they need to talk through their needs and preferences with the school.
The supervision software does not support changing the background colour. The digital assessment becomes locked if you use browser extensions.
Where to get support
We’re here to support your school to provide digital assessment to students.
If you have questions, please contact your school relationship manager, call our contact centre on 0800 697 296, or send us an email: