Helping education agents understand the NCEA qualification and the pathways it opens to higher study

Education New Zealand and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) collaborated to organise a webinar for education agents in December on the National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA), New Zealand’s school-leaver qualification.  

The webinar was well received, with 241 attendees, and featured a robust question and answer session at the end. 

The session helped education agents – and by extension the international students they support – in better understanding how NCEA works, the changes introduced to the qualification in recent years, and how learners can access higher education in New Zealand and internationally after achieving the NCEA qualification. 

NZQA Deputy Chief Executive - Assessment, Jann Marshall, said the webinar was a valuable opportunity to build understanding of how the NCEA qualification works.  

“It is important for everyone working with international secondary learners to have some understanding of how NCEA works, and the opportunities it creates for learners wanting to continue their study in New Zealand or internationally. 

“It was great that we could engage with education agents on the topic and answer questions.” 

NCEA is a well-recognised qualification in many countries. New Zealand is also a signatory to UNESCO qualifications recognition conventions (for example, Lisbon, Tokyo and Global Conventions), which support learners with NCEA to work or study internationally. 

About NCEA 

NCEA is offered at three levels – Level 1 is usually attempted by students in Year 11 of schooling, Level 2 at Year 12, and Level 3 at Year 13 (the final year of New Zealand secondary school). NCEA Level 2 is generally the minimum qualification needed for some jobs and tertiary education programmes, while Level 3, with the University Entrance award, is the minimum standard for entrance into a New Zealand university. 

NCEA is standards-based, meaning each learner needs to show they have skills and knowledge at a specified level (a “standard”). Each standard a learner achieves gains them credits, and credits build toward an NCEA qualification. 

Learners are also required to meet minimum requirements for literacy and numeracy. There are multiple opportunities in each school year for learners to attempt specific literacy and numeracy assessments, and there is also a list of other standards that can be used towards these requirements. 

A recording of the webinar is available to view here on the Resources section of AgentLab 

NCEA resources for education agents, students and parents