Important Updates to NCEA: What You Need to Know

Starting in 2024, all NCEA Level 1 students (normally Year 11) must achieve the co-requisite to receive any NCEA qualification (including Levels 1, 2, and 3). Some schools may start their Year 10 students on the assessments if they are ready.

The co-requisite is worth 20 credits. For many schools, students will receive these 20 credits through 3 new assessments.

One maths external worth 10 credits:

• ‘Use mathematics and statistics to meet the numeracy demands of a range of situations’. (US 32406)

Two literacy externals worth 5 credits each:

• ‘Read written texts to understand ideas and information’. (US 32403) 
• ‘Write texts to communicate ideas and information’. (US 32405)
  

These are external assessments, marked by NZQA, and usually sat in exam-like conditions.

No, students still need to achieve their 60 credits at Level 1, 2, and 3. The 20 credits from the co-requisite do not count towards those 60 credits at any level.

No, students will only be able to receive ‘achieved’ or ‘not achieved’ for the co-requisite.

Fear not, schools will offer repeated opportunities for students to resit the externals if they do not achieve them initially. Currently, NZQA offers two attempts at each external per year, and students can resit in following years too.

Students can progress through NCEA Level 1, 2, and 3, without having yet achieved the co-requisite requirements. But they will need to eventually achieve them to be awarded NCEA Level 1, 2, and 3 qualifications. Students only need to achieve the co-requisite once – they do not have to repeat it at Level 2 and 3 if they achieved it earlier on.

One great thing about NCEA is that even after students leave high school there are ways for them to complete their qualifications. So, if they need to, it is highly likely they will be able to do the co-requisite externals even after leaving school.

Unfortunately, it is a little more complicated than this. Teachers asked for the roll out of the co-requisite to be delayed, to not add too much more to their workloads. And in response The Ministry of Education decided to stagger its roll out.

During 2024 and 2025, students can gain the 20 credits needed for the co-requisite by completing dedicated assessments (the maths external, and two literacy externals mentioned above). Or students can gain the 20 credits needed from a small list of literacy-rich and numeracy-rich assessments. Schools will have chosen what they feel is best for their students, so make sure to check with them about which option they have chosen. From 2026 all students will only be able to receive the co-requisite by completing the dedicated assessments.