Have your say on NCEA
We want to make sure every student has a pathway to qualifications that will help them reach their potential.
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(Text on screen: Shaping our future: Have your say.
Proposed changes to NCEA)
(The presenter is standing and talking, facing the camera.)
When young people leave school they should leave with the skills knowledge, and values they’ll need for life.
(Text on screen: Skills, knowledge, and values)
The qualifications they leave with are a key part of that journey.
(Text on screen: Reach their potential)
We want to make sure that every student in secondary school has a pathway to qualifications that will help them reach their potential.
Research shows NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3 are too flexible, making it hard to tell what knowledge and skills people have based off their qualifications.
And we've heard from frustrated parents that the way NCEA is graded can make it hard to understand how your children are doing.
(Text on screen: Internationally comparable)
(Text on screen: Easier to understand)
(Text on screen: Employers can trust)
(Text on screen: Skills and knowledge)
That's why we're suggesting replacing NCEA with new qualifications that are internationally comparable, easier for you to understand, that employers can trust, and that help give young people the skills and the knowledge they need to reach their full potential.
(Text on screen: View our website)
All the changes that are being proposed are on our website.
Please take a look.
Let us know what you think.
We need you to have your say on our plans for a qualification pathway that sets young people up for success.
(Text on screen: Your feedback is essential)
Your feedback is essential in shaping our future.
(Background music)
(Text on screen: Shaping our future: Have your say!
Visit: www.education.govt.nz/consultation-ncea
Email: [email protected] )
Kōrero mai
Mō ngā panonitanga ki ngā mahi NCEA.
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(Text on screen: Te hanga o ngā rā ki tua: He whakaputa whakaaro.
Mō ngā panonitanga ki ngā mahi NCEA)
(The presenter is standing and talking, facing the camera.)
(Text on screen: Ngā pūkenga, ngā mātauranga me ngā uara)
Ka wehe ana te taiohi i te kura, me whai pūkenga, whai mātauranga me ngā uara ka hiahiatia mō tō rātou ao.
(Text on screen: E eke ai ki tōna pitomata)
Ko ngā tohu kei a rātou ka wehe ana he mea nui mō te ara kei mua,
he hiahia nō mātou kia whai ia ākonga i ngā kura tuarua i tētahi ara tohu hei āwhina i a rātou kia puta te ihu.
E kī ana te rangahau he hāngore rawa ngā NCEA Kaupae 1, 2 me te 3, e uaua ai te kite
he aha ngā mātauranga me ngā pūkenga kei ngā ākonga e ai ki ō rātou tohu.
Kua rongo anō mātou kei te pōnānā ngā mātua i ngā āhuatanga ka whakainea te NCEA
he mahi nui kia Mārama kei hea ō tamariki i ngā akoranga.
(Text on screen: He ōrite ki ngā mahi ā-ao)
(Text on screen: He mārama ake)
(Text on screen: He mea pono nā te kaituku mahi)
(Text on screen: Ngā pūkenga me ngā mātauranga)
Koinei te take kei te whakahoutia te NCEA me ngā tohu hou whai mana ki te ao, he māmā kia mārama ai koe, e whakapono ai ngā kaiwhakarato mahi, me te āwhina i te rangatahi ki te whai pūkenga me te mātauranga ka hiahiatia e rātou kia ekea ngā taumata.
(Text on screen: Tirohia tō mātou paetukutuku)
Ko ngā panonitanga katoa kua whakatakotohia kei tō mātou paetukutuku.
Tēnā tirohia,
ka whakamōhio mai i ō whakaaro.
(Text on screen: He mea hiranga ō urupare)
He mea nui ki a mātou kia whai wāhi koe ki te whakaputa i ō kōrero mō ā mātou mahere ara tohu e angitu ai te rangatahi.
He mea nui ō kōrero mō ngā rā kei mua.
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(Text on screen: Te hanga mō ngā rā āpōpō:
He whakaputa whakaaro!
Tirohia te: www.education.govt.nz/consultation-ncea
Īmēra: [email protected] )
New Zealand Sign Language video: Have your say on NCEA
Watch an introduction to the proposal to replace NCEA in New Zealand Sign Language.
(Text on screen: Shaping our future: Have your say.
Proposed changes to NCEA)
(The presenter is standing and talking, facing the camera.)
When young people leave school they should leave with the skills knowledge, and values they’ll need for life.
(Text on screen: Skills, knowledge, and values)
The qualifications they leave with are a key part of that journey.
(Text on screen: Reach their potential)
We want to make sure that every student in secondary school has a pathway to qualifications that will help them reach their potential.
Research shows NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3 are too flexible, making it hard to tell what knowledge and skills people have based off their qualifications.
And we've heard from frustrated parents that the way NCEA is graded can make it hard to understand how your children are doing.
(Text on screen: Internationally comparable)
(Text on screen: Easier to understand)
(Text on screen: Employers can trust)
(Text on screen: Skills and knowledge)
That's why we're suggesting replacing NCEA with new qualifications that are internationally comparable, easier for you to understand, that employers can trust, and that help give young people the skills and the knowledge they need to reach their full potential.
(Text on screen: View our website)
All the changes that are being proposed are on our website.
Please take a look.
Let us know what you think.
We need you to have your say on our plans for a qualification pathway that sets young people up for success.
(Text on screen: Your feedback is essential)
Your feedback is essential in shaping our future.
(Text on screen: Shaping our future: Have your say!
Visit: www.education.govt.nz/consultation-ncea
Email: [email protected] )
Overview#
Evidence shows us that the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) isn’t working as well as it could for students, families, teachers, and employers. It’s more confusing and less reliable than it needs to be, and we’re proposing changes to make sure that the qualifications students leave school with set them up well for what comes next – whether that be work, training, or study. That’s why we’re proposing to replace NCEA with a new national qualification system that is easy to understand, credible, and internationally comparable.
Between now and 15 September 2025, we’re inviting you to learn more about the proposal and let us know what you think. Everyone has a stake in the success of our young people, which is why it’s important that everyone gets a chance to have their say.
NCEA was introduced in 2002 as a flexible and standard-based national senior secondary qualification. It offered a wider range of assessment opportunities, including for students looking for future work in vocational pathways like trades, hospitality, and tourism.
The changes were designed to have a positive impact on students, but recent national and international evidence show us that the current system is far from perfect:
- International data shows that young adults in New Zealand have below average literacy and numeracy achievement despite many of them having an NCEA qualification – suggesting it does not accurately represent students’ understanding of those foundational skills.
- The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) tells us the quality of a student’s education depends too much on which school or kura they attend, because they decide what and how to teach and which NCEA standards they offer to students.
- A report from the Education Review Office (ERO) explains that NCEA isn’t as credible as other countries’ senior secondary qualifications. It recommends that we reduce its flexibility so that it’s clearer about what students know, understand, and can do.
- A report from the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) showed that less than a third of employers believed that NCEA worked well, likely because they cannot trust it to be a reliable picture of students’ knowledge and skills.
- Parents and caregivers have told us that NCEA is hard to understand, making it more difficult to support teaching, learning, and assessment from home.
The evidence is clear
The amount of flexibility in NCEA means there is not enough consistency in what students are learning or how they are assessed. That makes it hard to guarantee every student leaves school with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful.
It is also tough for employers and tertiary providers to trust that the qualifications accurately show how prepared students are for future work, training, or study.
We want to make sure that our national qualification system incentivises the important skills and knowledge that students need for life after school and clearly represents what they know and can do.
The proposal to replace NCEA focuses on 4 key changes:
- working with industry skills boards to make sure students in vocational pathways get the real-world knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the industry
- removing Level 1 to focus on 2 years of assessment instead of 3, and introducing a new award that focuses specifically on foundational literacy, numeracy, te reo matatini, and pāngarau skills
- moving to a structured subject approach to assessment, and introducing required subjects to make sure students do not miss out on important learning
- making grades easier to understand and changing how students get their qualifications so they accurately represent students’ knowledge and skills.
We plan on introducing the new qualification pathway during 2028 to 2030. That would give schools and kura the time to familiarise themselves with the updated curriculum and the new qualifications so they can confidently prepare students for them.
We would also make sure that students would either be assessed through the current NCEA and national curriculum, or the new qualifications pathway and the updated curriculum – never a combination of both.
About the proposal#
Discussion document#
The main document below explains the proposal in detail, including information about why a new qualification system is needed and how it would be implemented.
NCEA Discussion documentEasy Read – NCEA Discussion document
Accessible NCEA Discussion document He marohitanga ki te whakakapi i te NCEA ki ngā tohu ā-motu houTe tātā‘anga no runga i te ‘Uri‘uri‘anga ManakoTokumeni o na FakatālatālanoāgaEnglish videos
Watch videos about our 4 proposals for change.
1. Vocational Education and Training (VET)
The first thing we want to do to improve qualifications is work with industries to bring VET subjects into the qualification system.
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(Text on screen: Shaping our future: Have your say.
- Vocational Education and Training)
(The presenter is standing and talking, facing the camera.)
The first thing we want to do to improve qualifications for our students is working with industries to bring VET subjects into the qualification system.
(Text on screen: Vocational Education and Training (VET) )
We're talking about Vocational Education and Training, or VET, becoming a core part
of what students can study in their senior years at school.
Think construction, automotive engineering, or trades, delivered in partnership with the experts in those fields.
That means your children get real world skills and a clear pathway to jobs or further study and training.
(Text on screen: World-leading VET subjects)
But how do we make sure VET subjects are world-leading?
Industry experts will help design subjects with a combination of new and existing standards to make sure students are engaged in learning skills and knowledge that are relevant to them and their future.
(Text on screen: Career-prepared)
Imagine your children being able to take a subject that teaches them to use the tools, materials and skills required on a work site, to properly prepare them for a career and building, construction or trades.
We'll work with Industry Skills Boards to make sure that VET subjects like that are high quality and practical for schools to offer.
(Text on screen: More advanced industry qualifications)
Working closely with industry professionals means students will have pathways into more advanced industry qualifications, setting themselves up for successful careers.
(Text on screen: What do you think?)
We want to hear what you think about our plan and if there's anything you think we should consider so that schools and kura across the country can deliver these VET subjects for their students.
We know access is key.
(Text on screen: Partnerships work)
Programmes like trades academies are showing us that partnerships between schools, tertiary providers and industry work.
This idea builds on that success.
So every student, no matter where they are, can benefit.
So, what do you think?
Could this be the future of learning that truly prepares our young people for life beyond school?
(Text on screen: Have your say)
Have your say, because shaping education means shaping our future.
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(Text on screen: Shaping our future: Have your say!
Visit: www.education.govt.nz/consultation-ncea
Email: [email protected] )
2. Foundational Skills Award
Our second suggestion for a better qualification system is to introduce the Foundational Skills Award for students.
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(Text on screen: Shaping our future: Have your say.
- Foundational Skills Award)
(The presenter is standing and talking, facing the camera.)
(Text on screen: Foundational Skills Award)
Our second suggestion for a better qualification system is to introduce the Foundational Skills Award for students.
This is all about making sure every student has the essential literacy and numeracy or Te Reo Matatini and Pāngarau skills they need to thrive in life and work.
(Text on screen: A standalone award)
It would replace the current co-requisite assessment as a standalone award.
Meaning, if a student leaves school before Year 12, they still leave with a credible award that recognises those foundational skills.
It can be earned anytime from Year 9 to Year 13, but it's mainly focused on Year 11.
That's supported by our fourth proposal, which includes making some foundational subjects compulsory at Year 11 to guarantee your children are getting the understanding of the basics they need.
(Text on screen: Goodbye to NCEA Level 1)
That brings us to the next part of this proposal, saying goodbye to NCEA Level 1 after 2027.
Most of the countries we compare ourselves too, don't require three years of assessment.
We're hearing from schools, kura, and young people that three years of high stakes assessment is just too much.
And most employers tell us that
NCEA Level 1 doesn’t show what students know or can do or reflect how hard they work.
That's why we want your thoughts on the value of a simple, standalone Foundational Skills Award and what other areas of learning or achievement that could be a part of it.
For example, should attendance be factored in?
Now here's the big shift.
(Text on screen: Two new national qualifications)
(Text on screen: New Zealand Certificate of Education (NZCE))
(Text on screen: New Zealand Advanced Certificate of Education (NZACE))
Two new national qualifications to replace NCEA: The New Zealand Certificate of Education, NZCE, for Year 12 and the New Zealand Advanced Certificate of Education, NZACE, for Year 13.
(Text on screen: Deeper learning)
(Text on screen: More classroom time)
(Text on screen: More preparation time)
This change is all about deeper learning in subject areas, more classroom time and more time to prepare for the first year of high-stakes assessment in Year 12.
There'll be more time in school because Year 11 students won't need study leave in Term 4 and there'll be more reason for them to stay for Year 12.
That's important because we know that the longer young people stay in school, the better prepared they are for work or study.
(Text on screen: What do you think?)
So, what do you think?
Do you agree that replacing NCEA Level 1 with a Foundational Skills Award makes good sense?
(Text on screen: Have your say)
Have your say.
Because shaping education means shaping our future.
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(Text on screen: Shaping our future: Have your say!
Visit: www.education.govt.nz/consultation-ncea
Email: [email protected] )
3. Clear, consistent qualifications
The third part of our proposal is to replace NCEA with qualifications that are clear, consistent and set our young people up for success.
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(Text on screen: Shaping our future: Have your say.
3. Clear, Consistent qualifications)
(The presenter is standing and talking, facing the camera.)
(Text on screen: Clear, consistent, set up for success)
The third part of our proposal is to replace NCEA with qualifications that are clear, consistent and set our young people up for success.
Right now, your children can get a qualification from a mix of standards in unrelated subject areas.
It was initially designed to be flexible, but in reality, it's not working for everyone.
It's made it hard to tell what somebody really knows in any one subject.
It also means there's a lack of consistency between what a student learns in a subject from school to school, because they could be doing a completely different set of standards!
This means that English in one school could look completely different to English in another.
That's making it hard for employers, polytechs and universities to understand what your children know when they leave school.
(Text on screen: Structured, subject-based approach)
That's why we're suggesting a more structured subject-based approach to the new qualifications.
Instead of collecting what could be random standards to make up 60 credits for a pass, students will focus on full subjects, like English, Maths, Science and industry-designed vocational packages.
That would give a much better sense of what students know and can do.
It would mean that your children would be using the same assessments in each of their subjects,
no matter where they go to school.
And to keep it simple, each subject will be assessed with a mark out of 100, and a grade from A to E.
But more about that in our fourth proposal.
(Text on screen: Subject-designed assessments)
We want overall marks for subjects to be made up of a mix of internal and external assessments designed for each subject.
For example, visual arts students might have three internal standards and one external portfolio
that contribute to their overall grade.
Where someone doing history would have two internal assessments and two exams at the end of the year.
That structure gives students an opportunity to showcase their knowledge and skills in ways that fit specific subject areas and stay consistent with what other students are doing across the country.
It also keeps people engaged in their learning.
Last year, a quarter of all students didn't sit the external assessments they were entered for, and they left more than 250,000 exam papers unattempted altogether. That's a lot of missed opportunities for learning.
That won't be possible under the proposed new system.
(Text on screen: Year 11: Five subjects)
In Year 11, students will also need to take at least five subjects that have to include English or Te Reo Rangatira and Maths or Pāngarau.
This will guarantee that every student gets the foundational learning they need.
(Text on screen: Kura kaupapa Māori)
And for kura kaupapa Māori? We are committed to working closely with representatives that can help make sure the design of the new qualification system meets their needs.
(Text on screen: Clearer, future-focused system)
Our goal? A system that's clearer and more future-focused.
(Text on screen: What do you think?)
(Text on screen: Have your say)
So, what do you think?
Have your say, because shaping education means shaping our future.
(Background music)
(Text on screen: Shaping our future: Have your say!
Visit: www.education.govt.nz/consultation-ncea
Email: [email protected] )
4. Strengthening the requirements
One of the most exciting proposals on the table is strengthening the attainment requirements for the new qualifications.
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(Text on screen: Shaping our future: Have your say.
- Strengthening the requirements)
(The presenter is standing and talking, facing the camera.)
(Text on screen: Strengthening requirements)
One of the most exciting proposals on the table is strengthening the attainment requirements for the new qualifications.
This proposal is all about consistency. We want the time and effort that assessments take to be fair across all subjects.
That means internal and external assessments would contribute more fairly to students' final grades.
You'll be pleased to hear that we are saying goodbye to terms like Achieved, Merit and Excellence.
(Text on screen: Detailed marks out of 100)
(Text on screen: Clear subject grades, A–E)
Instead, your children will receive detailed marks out of 100 and clear subject grades from A to E.
Why?
Because it's easier to understand, meaning everyone gets a better picture of how students are achieving and what's really being learnt.
We also want to make sure that students are showing their knowledge and skills across multiple subjects to get their new qualifications.
(Text on screen: Five subjects minimum)
(Text on screen: Pass four subjects)
(Text on screen: Foundational Skills Award)
(Text on screen: Endorsements to aim high)
To earn the new qualifications, students will need to take a minimum of five subjects and pass at least four of them as well as achieving the new Foundational Skills Award.
And there would still be endorsements to give our young people reason to aim high.
Students' top five subjects would contribute to their overall grade. And if they hit a high score, say 400 or more, they'll earn an endorsement with distinction.
(Text on screen: Flexibility where needed)
And there's still flexibility where it's needed.
If life throws them a curveball, your children can complete their qualification over multiple years.
And yes, cross-crediting between Year 12 and 13 will still be allowed.
(Text on screen: What do you think?)
So what do you think?
Do you agree with these new requirements?
What supports or changes do you think are needed to make this work for everyone?
Let us know.
(Text on screen: Have your say)
Your voice matters, because shaping education means shaping our future.
(Background music)
(Text on screen: Shaping our future: Have your say!
Visit: www.education.govt.nz/consultation-ncea
Email: [email protected] )
New Zealand Sign Language videos
Watch videos in New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) about our proposal to change NCEA with new national qualifications.
How did we get here and what is the problem?
NCEA’s flexibility means that not all teaching and learning is coherent and consistent.
How did we get here and what is the problem?
Proposal 1
Watch proposal 1 to replace NCEA with a new national qualification.
Proposal 1.
Proposal 2
Watch proposal 2 to replace NCEA with a new national qualification.
Proposal 2.
Proposal 3
Watch proposal 3 to replace NCEA with a new national qualification.
Proposal 3.
Proposal 4
Watch proposal 4 to replace NCEA with a new national qualification.
Proposal 4.
Implications and next steps
Managing the implications of replacing NCEA and taking the time we need to support the changes.
Implications and next steps.
What you need to know#
These documents are built specifically to help parents and families, teachers and kaiako, and employers understand what the proposal means for them.
Summaries of the discussion document#
Short versions of the discussion document help you quickly understand the proposal.
Te whakakapi i te NCEA ki ngā tohu houFaailoga fou e sui ai le NCEAFetongi ‘o e NCEA ‘aki ha ngaahi tohi fakamo‘oni ako fo‘ouTe mono‘anga i te NCEA ki te au pēpa (qualifications) ‘ōuHukui e NCEA aki e taha puhala taute ola foouHūiga o te NCEA ki he tuhi pāhi fouFrequently asked questions#
Frequently asked questionsFactsheet#
NCEA factsheetHave your say#
There’s an online survey open to families | whānau, students, educators, and industry. Share your thoughts with us.
Parent, family and student survey
If you're responding on behalf of a group or organisation, email us to request a template that can help you prepare your submission.
Email: [email protected]
Here are the full lists of survey questions by audience, for those who prefer to submit their responses by post or email. They are available in English, Te Reo Māori, Samoan, Tongan, Cook Islands Māori and Tokelauan.
Survey questions for parents and whānau (English)Survey questions for teachers and kaiako (English)Survey questions for employers (English)Survey questions for parents and whānau (Te Reo Māori)Survey questions for teachers and kaiako (Te Reo Māori)Survey questions for employers (Te Reo Māori)Survey questions for parents and whānau (Samoan)Survey questions for teachers and kaiako (Samoan)Survey questions for employers (Samoan)Survey questions for parents and whānau (Tongan)Survey questions for teachers and kaiako (Tongan)Survey questions for employers (Tongan)Survey questions for whānau and students (Cook Islands Māori)Survey questions for teachers and kaiako (Cook Islands Māori)Survey questions for employers (Cook Islands Māori)Survey questions for parents and whānau (Tokelauan)Survey questions for teachers and kaiako (Tokelauan)Survey questions for employers (Tokelauan)Survey questions for parents and whānau (Niuean)Survey questions for teachers and kaiako (Niuean)We will be looking at all of your feedback once consultation closes, and making sure that your voice is heard before making any final decisions.
Webinars#
We held a series of webinars from 11 August to help kaiako and leaders understand the proposed changes.
- Monday 11 August, from 1pm to 2pm (Principals and tumuaki – English)
- Monday 11 August, from 4pm to 5pm (Principals and tumuaki – Bilingual: te reo Māori me te reo Pākehā)
- Wednesday 13 August, from 4pm to 4:45pm (Assistant principals and deputy principals – English)
- Thursday 14 August, from 4:45pm to 5:30pm (Assistant principals and deputy principals – te reo Māori)
- Thursday 21 August, from 4pm to 4:45pm (Teachers and kaiako – Bilingual: te reo Māori me te reo Pākehā)
- Tuesday 26 August, from 4pm to 4:45pm (Teachers and kaiako – English)
- Wednesday 27 August, from 4pm to 4:45pm (Teachers and kaiako – Bilingual: te reo Māori me te reo Pākehā)
- Thursday 28 August, from 4pm to 4:45pm (Teachers and kaiako – English and NZSL)
- Tuesday 2 September, from 4pm to 5pm (Tertiary)
- Wednesday 3 September, from 4pm to 5pm (VET).
You can watch a recording of the webinar from Thursday 28 August below.
NCEA proposed changes webinar recording
Webinar in English and New Zealand Sign Language.
Tēnā koutou katoa kua huihuimai nei ki te kōrero ngā whakaaro
Ka nui te mihi ki a koutou
Ko wai au?
Ko Wēra te whakapaparanga mai
engari, i tipu ake au i Te Whanganui-a-Tara
Kei Tāhuna au e noho ana
He Kaiwhakahaere Matua kei te wahi o te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga
Ko Jen Fraser toku ingoa
Tēnā tātou katoa
Tēnā koutou. Nice to see some of you here today. Thank you very much for joining us. My name is Jen Fraser. I am the General Manager of Schools Policy at the Ministry of Education and I'm part of the team working on the proposed changes to NCEA.
We've got some slides here to support this presentation, but I'm also joined today by Philippa and Melody here, who will support us with New Zealand Sign Language and will be taking turns throughout the presentation. Thank you for joining us. I'll just wait for those slides to pop up. Great.
So, as you'll be aware on Monday the 4th of August, Minister Stanford announced a set of proposals to replace NCEA.
It marked the beginning of a consultation period, so that consultation period runs until September 15th.
We have had some questions about whether or not this is a genuine consultation. It is. We really want your feedback. We have tried to balance giving everybody enough information and detail with balancing predetermination. So, we don't want to go too far along the track in case the feedback means the proposals change, or they need to look different. So, we really do encourage you to submit. You might hear through my presentation or through the questions – sometimes I'll say that's yet to be determined or that's what we need to think about next. And I hope that you appreciate that we have tried to balance getting the proposals at the right level without that predetermination.
We are committed to getting accurate information out into the sector and so these webinars are part of a series to make sure that the factual information is available to everybody. We have a couple more of these webinars and we have them in te reo Pākehā and bilingual options with te reo Māori as well. I encourage you to come along again if you want to or let your colleagues and communities know that these are available so we can get that information to everybody.
How this hui will run is I will run through some slides for 30 minutes and then we have a facilitator who will pick up questions from the Q&A function that you will see at the top of your screen. I think the chat is closed off, so if you have a question, it's the Q&A function that we’ll take those in. Some of those questions might be the same, so, she'll theme those up for me – thank you, Natalie, and send them through to a chat and I will answer those.
Chances are, if you have a question, somebody else will have a question too, so I encourage you to ask. We'll also be collating some of the questions we've had into a frequently asked questions document that we will put up on to the website.
We are recording this presentation so that you don't have to. That means that what I say here, these slides and your Q&A are part of public record and might be released as part of that.
So, the parts of this presentation that I'll go through are outlined on this slide:
Why the changes are being proposed, What we need from the qualification system,
An overview of the proposed changes – that's the meat of the presentation and then the timeline and how you can submit.
So why are these changes being proposed? So, the objectives here are to build on what we've got, so strengthen the good aspects of NCEA, there's some elements of NCEA, including some of the flexibility, the choice around subjects, that are the standards based that we want to preserve.
We had an aim to simplify the structure so that it makes sense to students, teachers, whānau, employers and we wanted to increase the international comparability. I want to be clear at this point that this is not a reversion to norms referenced assessment, so there's no proposal to have a bell curve – this is about criterion reference or standards based assessment in terms of the curriculum sets the standards and then the young people, children and young people students are assessed against the curriculum, not against each other. So, I've seen some similarities drawn to school certificate or bursary, a key feature of those was the norm reference, so this is not, this is not that.
You'll hear us talk a lot about consistency and coherency, now those words can mean a lot of things – in this sense it is about bringing together consistent teaching and learning programmes and assessment – that means having a qualification that does what it says on the tin, in getting consistency across schools as well as subjects and coherent learning, so that really means bringing together a learning package either within a subject or across a certificate that makes sense to folks and is reflective of the refreshed curriculum. The aim is to retain the flexibility where it matters and where it's valued.
This is an overview slide of the proposal, so I'll give a high-level overview of the proposals and then I have a slide for each proposal as well, where I'll give you more detail. The team's very good at moving me on if I start to go into more detail on the slide, so I will try and keep it short at this point and give you more information on each one.
The first proposal is about vocational education and training. This is about integrating vocational education and training into the one qualification. This is not about a dual pathway. This is a single pathway. This is about using industry as leaders to determine effective vocational education and training into the qualification. The industry is proposed to set the standard through the industry skills boards.
Proposal two is about the structure of the award, so you'll know that at the moment we have 3 levels of certificate: Level 1, Level 2, Level 3. This is a proposal to have two levels of certificate: one at year 12 and one at year 13. That means for year 11 there is not a full certificate, it's replaced with an award, a smaller award focused on literacy and numeracy or pāngarau and te reo matatini, and then that means that curriculum drives learning in year 11.
Proposal three is to introduce a subject approach to achievement. So, this means that we'll have the subjects determined either through Ministry or through Industry-led subjects and they will have consistent assessment through them. Each subject will be marked out of 100 and there's a proposal for letter grades. This is quite a significant change from the achievement and unit standard approach that we have now, and I will talk more about that when we get there.
Proposal four is what does it take to get the qualification overall – and the proposal here is that you're required to get 4 subjects, plus the Foundational Award in order to achieve each certificate and you can get an overall mark out of 500 to get your endorsements, for example.
Ok, a bit more on Vocational Education and Training: so some schools are doing this really well right now, they have Vocational Education and Training integrated into their learning programme, perhaps they're accessing programmes like Trades Academy or Gateway, they're partnered with the tertiary provider and their community, maybe they're also working with local employers as well.
However, there are a wide range of vocational design and programmes in the sector and the intention behind this proposal is to make sure that kids have a meaningful learning programme and qualification that helps them towards those pathways. It's also intended that young people can keep their options open, so they can do Vocational Education and Training alongside Ministry lead subjects like English, Maths, Physics and so their programme can be integrated.
The idea is that a subject in say Building and Construction might also count towards an industry or tertiary qualification, as is sometimes the case now, and the proposal is that the industry skills boards set the standards for that subject. The industry skills boards are the new organisations instead of our Workforce Development Council, so this has changed through the Vocational Education and Training reforms that are underway. They have that being set up now, so they're somewhat in the infancy and they have, they’re intended to have the power to set the standard for industry qualifications. They already would have the power to do this for schools. They are not currently resourced for this, and that would be something that we would need to look at if this proposal goes ahead.
We are aware of how ambitious this proposal is and we know that if it goes ahead, we are interested in your feedback, that it will need resourcing and support. We're also really interested to hear from people where delivery of vocational programmes works really well in their schools. We know that some schools are large enough and have the capability to deliver the programmes in the school itself, others are partnering with tertiary providers and we're aware that we need to think about coverage and delivery as well.
Right, this is the structure of the qualification, so this is the shift from three levels of certificate to two levels of certificate. So what does this mean for year 11? It means that there would not be a Level 1 NCEA, so that would be removed. That means that teaching and learning would be driven from the curriculum at year 11.
There will be a Foundational Award, and now I'm going to try and be clear about the difference of the Foundational Award and the subject requirements because it's getting a bit confused but, the Foundational Award is part of the qualification – it's a co-requisite, it will build on the current co-requisite. The proposal is that over time, so the current corequisite as you know, is pitched at a year 8/year 9 curriculum level, over time that will increase to a year 11 curriculum level.
It will be made-up of literacy and numeracy or te reo matatini and pāngarau and the format of that assessment we still need to work through, if that goes ahead. However, we can assume that we'll start with what we've got, we won't throw the baby out with the bath water, and we'll continue to build and improve based on that. We've learnt a lot about the co-requisite and the CAA, I'm sure you have too, and we would want to make sure that we are learning from that process. The focus on keeping the literacy and numeracy, or te reo matatini and pāngarau is because we know that those skills are important for all young people to participate in society or future education and employment.
There is a proposed change that makes English and Mathematics or Te Reo Rangatira and Pāngarau mandatory subjects at year 11 – that is through the curriculum, so it is a compulsory teaching of those subjects but remember, there's not a full certificate at year 11, so they're not part, proposed to be part of the qualification. So, whilst these two things are presented on the same slide, that doesn't mean that literacy, numeracy, te reo matatini and pāngarau can only be taught through the curriculum subject, so we consider them separate, but related yes.
So the Foundational Award is part of the qualification, English and Mathematics capital E capital M Te Reo Rangatira Pāngarau mandatory subjects through the curriculum.
Students will still have a full learning programme at year 11, so those compulsory subject plus, excuse me, those compulsory subjects plus subjects of their choosing, a point where they can specialise. Again, that means the removal of Level 1, and the introduction of certificates at year 12 and 13, they are proposed to have new names – we have had some feedback on this already and we encourage you to submit, if you have alternative ideas for the names of these certificates, or you want the names to remain the same – we have heard some of that as well, please do let us know, one of the restrictions is that the word certificate must be included if you're going to have a go.
Some of the flexibility that the proposal looks to maintain is that the subjects that can count towards the year 12 certificate is year 12 and above. So if you want to do year 13 subjects, they can count towards the year 12 certificate, but also maybe students want to do the year 12 subjects over, do two in one year and two in another, or start a bit earlier if the curriculum and that suits the young person and that's available in the school.
We also want to preserve flexibility on when the Foundational Award can be sat and we're proposing that that can be done anytime between year 9 and year 13 – because it's a co-requisite, not a pre-requisite, so you don't need to have, the proposal is you don't need to have the Foundational Award before you start the certificate. That has raised questions about when will the Foundational Award be available, does it have to be 2027, for example 2028, so we're looking at the timeline and I'll talk a bit about that later, in terms of how we prepare young people and how we transition, if this goes ahead.
Proposal three is about the subject based approach. This is a, this proposal signifies a shift from the achievement standards and the unit standards approach. So, at the moment, you'll know there are over 11,000 standards that we can bring together to contribute towards NCEA, this shifts away from that. So, it will be driven out of the curriculum which will be refreshed or the industry lead subject packages that will be developed, and they will articulate a set of standards. That will inform assessment tasks, there might be a little something in the middle, around assessment guidelines or marking criteria, but really it's the curriculum that sets the standards. I understand that the Phase 5 subject list is due to be released, we've had quite a few questions about wanting to have that in order to inform submissions and I understand that's under advice at the moment to be released.
So the idea is that the mark is for the subject, rather than the components, and the idea will be to pass the subject overall. The thresholds for that subject have not been set. So, we’ll need to look at that once the curriculum content has been developed. Some countries would be looking at 40%, others at 60, and I think once the curriculum content in a subject is developed, there will be questions about how much of this needs to be demonstrated through, through assessment, in order to say “yeah, I've got English that's going on my record of learning.”
There is a proposal that that be out of 100, we've had questions about how that might work. An example that we give is if you have 4 assessments within a subject, maybe 3 are internal and one is external, each is worth 25, we know the externals currently are assessed out of 8. This does give more granularity to each of those assessments, but I think when you break it down like that, it starts to make a bit more sense.
We have required subjects in year 11 that’s through the curriculum, not for the qualification certificates.
And then strengthening the achievement requirements. So this proposal was about what does it take to get the certificate overall – it's about introducing consistency, so, English in one school or Te Reo Rangatira in one school will look the same or similar, with some contextualization, obviously, as another. So, if you have Physics on your record of learning – students, teachers, parents, employers, further education providers will know, broadly what that means, and that will be comparable across schools.
You will have seen coverage about the proposal to introduce grades. That is a proposal that we are obviously we're consulting on, and we'd like your feedback on. The translation for them, for example, I've had some feedback about do you need granularity in terms of fail grades or could you just draw the threshold and anything under that's just either not achieved or a or a new grade. So, any ideas like that for alternatives, also we really welcome to inform our, the final decisions for Minister and Cabinet.
There is a proposal here that students need to achieve 4 subjects. Why 4? Why not 3? Why not 7? Some, some jurisdictions have a broad number of subjects that students need to achieve. The idea is 4 would give enough to have some core subjects if students wanted to and specialise, or perhaps keep their options open if they were thinking about different pathways.
There's also the idea to have that Foundational Award as a requirement to get your certificate. There is a proposal to have a score out of 500 in which students have, can count their top 5 subjects – so that means you, you need to pass 4, you can sit 5, you can also sit more than 5 and you count your top 5 marks towards the endorsement for the qualification, for example.
This is the proposed timeline. Now we've had to do some balancing here. We've had some feedback that just do it now, get it over and done with, we've been waiting for so long, you know, we've been in ambiguity, we just want some certainty. We've had some other feedback that is, please do the curriculum first and then do the assessment qualification. This is trying to balance the roll out of the curriculum, refresh and a cohort approach followed by the introduction of the new qualification.
That means that students who are year 9 next year, they will have the refreshed National Curriculum available to be taught 2027, when the year 10 it will be required, year 11 they'll have that refresh curriculum and then 2029 as the first year of that new qualification. So, you'll see we have described in the Discussion Document that we think this will be more difficult for some students to achieve and because of that, we wanted to give students more time with the refresh curriculum, in order to be successful in that qualification.
This is a proposal, if you've got feedback on this, it's not fast enough, it's too fast. Please do let us know, as well.
The ways that you can submit: we really encourage you to do the survey, so, the survey has validation information, it means we can be sure that we're not double counting submissions that ask specific questions, it has both quantitative and qualitative questions, so that we can look at how many numbers, but also we can look at free text and bring themes together as well. We're hoping to be able to also feedback what changes have been made, based on that feedback as well.
Implementing the change#
Once the consultation has closed, feedback will be used to inform final decisions on the change. We will make sure that you have a clear understanding of what comes next once the changes have been finalised. That includes providing students, families, educators, and employers with the support they need to make the change confidently.
Mōhiohio anō
