Assessment and Examination for NCEA and New Zealand Scholarship Rules 2026

4. Interpretation

1. In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires:

Academic year is the time from the start of a school year until the Published final date for reporting results for that year 

Achievement Standard means a standard on the Directory that is derived from the achievement objectives of the New Zealand Curriculum or Te Marautanga o Aotearoa and developed by the Ministry of Education

Act means the Education and Training Act 2020

Administrative Guidelines refers to the Published administrative processes for the matters specified in rule 10

Adverse event means an uncontrollable event that has:

1. a significant prolonged disruption to teaching, learning and assessment of Candidates at a school; and
2. been accepted by NZQA as an event to which the process for Unspecified credits should apply

Affected Candidate means a Candidate entered into assessment standards leading to a NCEA qualification who:

1. for the purposes of Unspecified credits for Adverse events:
   1. is a School leaver;
   2. has experienced between 20-29 (inclusive) days of disruption by one or more Adverse events; and
   3. is up to 5 credits short of achieving NCEA:
2. for the purposes of Unspecified credits for an Exam booklet mix up:
   1. is a School leaver;
   2. was awarded either or both of NCEA or University Entrance prior to Results Release;
   3. has their Results downgraded after Results Release following discovery of the Exam booklet mix-up, and has had the award of either or both of NCEA or University Entrance withdrawn; and
   4. is up to 6 credits or fewer short of achieving either or both of the withdrawn NCEA and University Entrance

Applicable credits means:

1. Eligible credits recorded on a Candidate's Record of Achievement;
2. Candidate learning recognition credits;
3. Credit equivalents gained through Credit Inclusion;
4. Unspecified credits:

Assessment Opportunity refers to an instance where a Candidate is given an opportunity to be assessed against a Standard

Assessment Requirements include the Assessment Standard, the Assessment Specifications, the Conditions of Assessment, and the Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMRs) available on the NZQA website

Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMRs)

Assessment Specifications are the assessment parameters for each externally assessed Standard, which are Published in December annually and updated by 31 March the following year, where necessary

Assessment Standard means a Standard listed on the Directory that is not a skill Standard

Standards

Authenticity or authentic is the assurance that the evidence submitted for assessment by a learner is their own, with the evidence being free of plagiarism, and any inclusion of work from another source acknowledged and appropriately referenced

Candidate means a student entered for assessment against Standards on the Directory and/or New Zealand Scholarship performance standards

Candidate Breaches of External Assessment are described in sub-clause 3.1 of Schedule 5

Candidate learning recognition credits means, in relation to a Candidate enrolled in a School in 2020 – 2022, credits that were awarded to that Candidate for the purposes of recognising the disruption to teaching, learning and assessment due to staff and student absences resulting from the impact of Covid-19 and other winter illnesses

Conditions of Assessment are the assessment parameters Published for each internally assessed standard by the Ministry of Education

Resources for Internally Assessed Achievement Standards (external link) - TKI website

Consent to Assess is the consent granted to an institution under section 449 of the Act

Consent to Assess Rules means rules made from time to time under section 452 of the Act for the purposes of Consent to Assess

Credit in the context of the credit value of a qualification, micro-credential or Standard, represents 10 notional learning hours for one credit

Credit equivalents gained through Credit Inclusion are described in sub-clause 9.4 of Schedule 1

Derived Grade is a quality assured external assessment result provided by a School or TEO for an approved Candidate, the process for which is set out in Schedule 2

Directory means the Directory of Assessment and Skill Standards provided for in section 437 of the Act

Entry refers to the information that Schools and TEOs send to NZQA indicating the Standards that a Candidate is enrolled in and is being assessed against

Exam booklet mix up means a situation where, due to a system or human error, a Candidate’s exam booklet or marked examination grade is attributed to another Candidate

External Assessment refers to an assessment activity developed and assessed by NZQA, including by Examination, Common Assessment Activity (CAA) or Tūmahi Aromatawai Pātahi (TAPā), Submission and (including portfolio or kete manarua), either over time, or at a Published point in time

External Moderation refers to the process whereby NZQA moderators provide assurance that Providers’ assessment decisions in relation to Assessment Standards are consistent nationally

Formal face-to-face meeting means a meeting in person or an online meeting

Internal Assessment refers to the assessment or evaluation of Candidates’ knowledge and skills by their teachers in their School or TEO

NCEA refers to the National Certificate of Educational Achievement available for award at Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3

NCEA co-requisite means the Published 20 credit co-requisite requirement for NCEA made up of 10 literacy or te reo matatini credits and 10 numeracy or te pāngarau credits

Nominee means a staff member nominated by a School Principal, or nominated and appointed by a TEO, under rule 3

NZQA means the New Zealand Qualifications Authority as continued under section 430 of the Act

NZQCF means the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework provided for in section 436 of the Act

Out of cycle external moderation means additional external moderation required under sub-clause 6.2 of Schedule 4

Plagiarism is where a Candidate has:

1. copied, used, paraphrased, sourced or otherwise used another person's work or ideas; or
2. used machine or digitally generated content (such as through the use of artificial intelligence, software, programme); and
3. presented it as the Candidate’s own work without full acknowledgement

Principal’s Nominee is a staff member nominated by the Principal of a School under rule 3

Publish or Published means to make or made available on the NZQA website

Qualification means a qualification listed on the NZQCF

Record of Achievement means an individual student’s transcript of standards credited to the student, the credit value of the standards, and National or New Zealand Qualifications and Awards completed by the student, maintained by NZQA

Result is the outcome of assessment of a student against a Standard as reported on a Candidate’s Record of Achievement

Results Release is described in sub-clause 9.1 of Schedule 1

school means any relevant school (as defined in section 10(1) of the Act)

School means any relevant school (as defined in section 10(1) of the Act) with Consent to Assess

School leaver, for the purposes of the definition of an Affected Candidate, means a Candidate who is in their final year at a school

Special Assessment Conditions (SAC) are NZQA approved assessment provisions, or assessment provisions notified to NZQA by Schools or TEOs, which are provided to Candidates for recognised learning, behavioural or medical needs, the process for which is set out in Schedule 3

Standard means:

1. for Schools, any standard listed on the Directory, or a New Zealand Scholarship performance standard:
2. for TEOs, any Achievement or NCEA Co-requisite Standard listed on the Directory

TEO or Tertiary Education Organisation means an institution within the meaning of that term in section 10(1) and (5) of the Act

University Entrance or UE means the common educational standard established under section 434 of the Act (or its predecessor section) as a prerequisite for entrance to university for people who have not attained the age of 20 years

Unspecified credits for Adverse events means up to 5 credits added to an Affected Candidate’s NCEA credits through the process set out in the Administrative Guidelines, so the Candidate is able to achieve NCEA

Administrative Guidelines

Unspecified credits for an Exam booklet mix up means up to 6 credits added to an Affected Candidate’s NCEA or University Entrance credits through the process set out in the Administrative Guidelines, so the Candidate is able to achieve either or both of NCEA or University Entrance

Administrative Guidelines

Vocational Pathway is a certification recognising a student’s achievement in specific ‘sector-related’ Standards.

6. Candidate Eligibility for Assessment

1. A Candidate is eligible to be assessed against a Standard if the Candidate has an Entry from a School forwarded to NZQA;

1. 1. is enrolled at a TEO and has had their Entry from the TEO and the relevant fees for the Standards concerned forwarded to NZQA; and
   2. is assessed by a School, TEO, or (for external assessment) NZQA; and
   3. meets any eligibility criteria specified in the Standard concerned; and
   4. has not been disqualified by NZQA from being assessed against the Standard.
2. NZQA may allow a person to be entered for assessment against a Standard despite the person not meeting the eligibility criteria above if the situation justifies it and the person agrees to the content of rule 7(1).
3. A Candidate is not eligible for assessment against a Standard if prevented from doing so under the Candidate Breaches of External Assessment (see Schedule 5).

8. Assessment Requirements

1. Schools and TEOs must assess Candidates in accordance with the Assessment Requirements.

10. Extended Opportunities for Internally Assessed Standards

1. Schools and TEOs may offer Candidates a maximum of one Further Assessment Opportunity for the Candidate to improve their grade against an internally assessed Standard within an academic year:
   1. where manageable;
   2. after further learning has taken place; and
   3. using a different assessment.
2. Schools and TEOs may, under the following circumstances, offer Candidates one Resubmission per Assessment Opportunity where the Candidate did not achieve the standard:
   1. the assessor judges the Candidate has made a minor error or omission limited to specific aspects of the assessment that the Candidate can discover and correct on their own; and
   2. the result of the resubmission is limited to an Achieved grade.

12. Application of Administrative Guidelines

1. NZQA will use its Administrative Guidelines for the following administrative processes:
   1. request to change examination centre:
   2. working with the Examination Centre Manager:
   3. examination timetable clashes:
   4. External assessment:
   5. processes for conferring Unspecified Credits for adverse events or exam booklet mix ups:
   6. Internal and External Assessment of home-schooled students:
   7. fees for international students:
   8. reviews and reconsiderations:
   9. translation of examination papers or answers.

14. Revocation

1. The following rules are revoked:
   1. NZQA Assessment Rules for Schools, TEOs assessing against Achievement Standards and NCEA Co-requisite Standards, and Candidates 2025:
   2. NZQA Assessment Rules for Schools, TEOs assessing against Achievement Standards and NCEA Co-requisite Standards, and Candidates 2024, Amendment No.1.