We use grade score marking for all achievement standards.
All external achievement standards have a single outcome. Markers can measure a candidate's performance by gathering assessment evidence from all parts of a paper.
A well-researched approach to marking
We did 5 years of research before bringing in this way of marking.
That research confirmed that grade score marking is a fair and effective method of standards-based marking.
On this page
How we mark questions
We award a single grade for each question in an NCEA paper:
- Not Achieved (N)
- Achieved (A)
- Merit (M)
- Excellence (E).
We use evidence from the assessment response
We use the criteria from the standard to award this grade. We base the grade on the quality of evidence in the response.
Markers are instructed to ensure a high-quality response is not marked down for a minor error.
We look for evidence of high performance first
Marking is 'top down'.
Markers must first look for evidence for Excellence, as described by the criterion for Excellence in the standard.
If they don't find this evidence, markers then look for Merit evidence, and then down to Achievement.
Grades are based on the candidate's whole response
The grade is based on the whole response to the question. It takes account of all evidence in the candidate’s answer.
Some questions may have parts or bullet points, but this does not stop markers giving a single holistic grade.
We identify if the assessment response is upper or lower within a grade
Grade score marking also recognises the quality of evidence within each grade. Grades can show an upper and lower result in a grade.
For example, lower Merit is M5 and upper Merit is M6. Both 5 and 6 are Merit scores.
The scores indicate that the student has met the criterion for a Merit grade in the question.
Possible grade scores for a question
| Not Achieved | Achievement | Merit | Excellence | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NØ | N1 | N2 | A3 | A4 | M5 | M6 | E7 | E8 |
Calculating the overall grade for a standard
We come to a single grade for overall performance against the standard by combining the scores from the questions.
For example, in an assessment paper with 3 questions, a candidate scores M5 for Question 1, A3 for Question 2, and M6 for Question 3. For the whole paper, the candidate’s score is M5 + A3 + M6 = 14.
This score will be written in the 'total' box on the front cover of the candidate’s answer booklet.
We check the total score against the cut scores for the standard
During marking in each year, the senior markers set the cut scores. These are the scores where the different grades separate.
The senior markers use the standard and a large sample of papers on each score to decide these cut scores.
It is essential to the integrity of grade score marking that the cut scores are based on a holistic judgement across actual papers.
The cut scores may be written as judgement statements: either as a range of numbers (for example, Merit range 14 to 19) or as a single number (for example, Merit 14).
In this example:
- any paper with a score of 14 written in the 'total' box would receive a Merit grade
- any paper with a score of 19 written in the 'total' box would receive a Merit grade
- all papers between and including 14 to 19 receive a Merit grade.
Each set of cut scores relates only to that particular assessment.
There are new cut scores each year
Each year, we set new grade score ranges using marked papers and the standard being assessed.
We publish these cut scores at the same time as papers are returned to candidates. This allows candidates to check whether their grade as shown in their online results is correct.