How NCEA works
NCEA (the National Certificate of Educational Achievement) is New Zealand's main secondary school qualification. This page explains how it works. For the top-students' award, see the separate How Scholarship works page. All figures are drawn from NZQA and are current for the 2026 school year; sources are linked at the bottom.
The NCEA system
- •NCEA has three levels — Level 1, 2 and 3 — usually studied in Years 11, 12 and 13.
- •You earn credits by passing standards (each standard is a unit of learning worth a set number of credits). You need 60 credits at a level (or above) to gain the certificate for that level.
- •You also have to meet a one-off 20-credit literacy and numeracy co-requisite (10 literacy + 10 numeracy), usually by sitting online Common Assessment Activities. You only meet it once — it then counts for all three levels.
- •Credits can be built up over more than one year.
Grades and how standards are assessed
- •Each standard is graded Not Achieved, Achieved, Merit, or Excellence — not a percentage.
- •Internal standards are assessed at school during the year (e.g. projects, practicals, essays). External standards are assessed at the end of the year, usually by exam or a submitted portfolio.
Endorsements
Endorsements are how NCEA recognises consistently high achievement.
- •Course endorsement — get 14 or more credits in a single course in one year, with at least 3 from external and 3 from internal assessment. 14+ credits at Merit endorses the course with Merit; 14+ at Excellence endorses it with Excellence.
- •Certificate endorsement — get 50 or more credits at Merit (or a mix of Merit and Excellence) at a level to endorse that certificate with Merit; 50 or more at Excellence endorses it with Excellence.
University Entrance (UE)
University Entrance is the minimum requirement to study at a NZ university. You need:
- •NCEA Level 3, and
- •14 credits in each of three UE-approved subjects at Level 3, and
- •UE literacy — 10 credits (5 reading, 5 writing) at Level 2 or above — and numeracy — 10 credits at Level 1 or above.
Aiming higher: New Zealand Scholarship
New Zealand Scholarship is a separate, competitive award for the very top students — worth up to $10,000 a year. It's assessed and rewarded quite differently from standard NCEA.
How Scholarship works →Important: NCEA is being replaced
On 16 May 2026 the Government confirmed that NCEA will be phased out and replaced with two new qualifications. If you're studying now this doesn't change your current NCEA — but it's worth knowing what's coming.
- •Two new qualifications: the New Zealand Certificate of Education (NZCE) in Year 12 and the New Zealand Advanced Certificate of Education (NZACE) in Year 13.
- •NCEA Level 1 is removed from 2028. In Year 11, English, Mathematics and Science become compulsory, alongside a literacy and numeracy Foundational Skills Award.
- •First NZCE awards in 2029; first NZACE awards in 2030.
- •A new six-point A+ to E grading scale for every subject, with C the minimum pass. Students will study at least five subjects a year and must pass a minimum number to gain each certificate.
- •Students already enrolled in NCEA Level 1 or 2 will be able to finish under the current rules.
Sources
Official NZQA and New Zealand Government pages. Always check these for the latest detail.