When students enter an external assessment, they agree to:
- follow the rules and instructions for candidates
- comply with any decisions we make.
You can learn more about entering NCEA and NZ Scholarship assessment in the candidate information sheet:
Candidate information sheet [PDF, 125 KB]
Puka Pārongo Kaitono [PDF, 140 KB]
There are rules for assessment
These rules make sure assessment is fair.
Student work must be their own.
The rules governing NCEA assessment are called the NZQA Assessment Rules for Schools, TEOs assessing against Achievement Standards and NCEA Co-requisite Standards, and Candidates 2024 (the Assessment Rules)
NZQA applies the rules
Students must not break the rules.
We investigate any possible breaches of the rules and can impose penalties if there is proof.
Rule breaches and the processes we follow
What happens if you break the rules?
There are consequences if we have proof that you broke the rules. Schedule 5 of the Assessment Rules explains the possible consequences and the process we follow:
On this page
Exam and assessment timetables
Timetable for end-of-year exams
NCEA and New Zealand Scholarship examination sessions are 3 hours long and start at either 9.30 am or 2.00 pm.
To find out the date and time of an assessment, see:
National secondary exam timetable
Literacy and Numeracy or Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau
Schools choose when to run these assessments, but it must be within the assessment periods we set. Ask your school when they are running them and what you need to do.
Common Assessment Activities
These assessments happen throughout the year. You can see the dates on the secondary assessment timetable:
What you can and can't bring to an NCEA exam or assessment
You're responsible for bringing the correct equipment to an assessment and making sure that it is working.
Bring equipment into the assessment room in a clear plastic bag.
Students can bring:
- pens (black and blue colours are allowed)
- pencils
- an eraser
- an approved calculator for subjects where a calculator was used during the year.
Check the assessment specifications for each subject
You can confirm what's allowed in an assessment by reading the subject's assessment specifications. These are linked on each subject page:
Approved calculators
Calculators must:
- be silent
- be hand-held
- be non-printing
- work from their own power.
Students cannot keep notes, routines or store files in the calculator memory.
Teachers or supervisors will check the calculator memory is cleared before it can be brought into the assessment room.
Emergency evacuation and student pack
Students are allowed to bring items for an emergency evacuation into the assessment room in a clear, sealable plastic bag.
This pack must stay under your chair. Do not touch or open it without the permission of the supervisor.
Contents could include:
- a mobile phone (switched off) or other electronic device
- keys
- money
- mask or other face covering
- bus pass
- medicines.
Banned items
Do not bring the following items into an assessment room unless they are sealed in the emergency evacuation pack:
- blank paper or refill paper
- correcting fluid
- books, written notes or electronic notes
- mobile phones or pagers
- English dictionaries, foreign language dictionaries, or te reo Māori dictionaries or translators
- watches of any type (digital or analogue)
- any electronic device which has the capability to store, communicate or retrieve information except approved calculators.
On the day of the assessment
Arrive at least 20 minutes before the exam starts so you have time to get to the right room.
If you arrive more than 30 minutes after the assessment has started, you will not be able to sit the assessment or enter an assessment room.
In the assessment room
You must listen to and follow the supervisor's instructions. You must also:
- sit at your allocated desk. The assessment booklets at each desk are selected and coded for each individual student
- check that the answer booklets have your National Student Number (NSN) and Examination Code on them as listed on your Admission Slip
- check that all pages in each assessment booklet are printed correctly when you are told to do so
- put your hand up if you have a problem.
- not leave the assessment in the first 45 minutes or the last 15 minutes, even to use the toilet.
During the assessment
You must not:
- borrow equipment from someone else
- talk to or communicate with other students, or do anything to disturb them
- read or copy another student's work.
Writing answers
You must:
- follow all the instructions on the front cover of the assessment booklet
- use black or blue pen only
- not write in pencil unless instructed to do so (we can't accept work in pencil or erasable pen if you apply for a review or reconsideration)
- try to write neatly so the marker can read your answers
- fill in your details at the top of any additional sheets of paper provided and put them inside your answer booklet.
- cross out any work you don't want marked.
You must not:
- write in pencil unless instructed to do so (we can't accept work in pencil or erasable pen if you apply for a review or reconsideration)
- write or draw anything that may be regarded as offensive
- write to the marker
- write in the part of the answer booklet marked 'For assessor's use only'
- write answers for one standard in the answer booklet for another. If you fill up your answer booklet, you can request extra paper.
At the end of the assessment
- Stop writing when the supervisor tells you to.
- Hand all material to be marked to the supervisor before you leave. If you take any work outside the assessment room, it will not be marked.
- You can keep resource booklets and separate question booklets.