The Government has unveiled key details of the new senior secondary qualifications set to replace NCEA, outlining how students will achieve the certificates, how they will be graded, and what subjects they must take.
Education Minister Erica Stanford confirmed last year that NCEA would be scrapped in favour of a new subject-based system.
At a media conference on Saturday, she released further details on the replacement qualifications — the New Zealand Certificate of Education (NZCE) at Year 12 and the New Zealand Advanced Certificate of Education (NZACE) at Year 13 — which will begin rolling out from 2028.
Full video: Luxon and Stanford front media as NCEA replacement unveiled
The changes mark a shift away from NCEA’s credit-based system, which the Government said had encouraged students to focus on accumulating credits rather than building deep knowledge and skills.
Revealed: What NCEA's replacement will mean for students - Watch on TVNZ+
The Education Minister confirmed last year that NCEA would be scrapped in favour of a new subject-based system. (Source: 1News)
Last September, Stanford criticised NCEA for allowing students to "get credits for having a part time job, or participating in a group activity, or filling in forms".
Under the new system, students will study at least five subjects in Years 12 and 13, needing to pass a minimum of three subjects to gain each qualification, alongside a compulsory literacy and numeracy Foundational Award benchmarked at Year 11.
Certificates will show how many subjects a student has passed and the grades they achieved, replacing NCEA’s aggregate credit totals with a clearer record of performance. Students who pass more subjects will have that recognised directly on their certificate.
A new six-point grading scale — ranging from A+ to E — will apply across all subjects, with a C grade required to pass.
Stanford said the system would better align with international standards and make achievement "easier to understand for parents, employers, tertiary providers and students themselves".
Each subject will include a mix of internal assessments and at least one exam, with around three to four assessments expected per subject each year, with the weighting depending on the subject.
High-performing students would also be eligible for endorsement awards, which will require passing at least five subjects and achieving a set number of top grades, although the final design of those endorsements was still to be confirmed.
New subjects
PM Christopher Luxon says evidence shows the current system is inconsistent and “can be hard to navigate”. (Source: 1News)
From 2028, science will become compulsory at Year 11, alongside English and mathematics — a move the Government said would strengthen students’ foundational knowledge and critical thinking skills.
New subjects were also being developed, including Civics, Politics and Philosophy, Journalism, Media and Communications, and Advanced Mathematics, alongside industry-led courses such as Building and Construction and Primary Industries.
Stanford said the new system aimed to give greater clarity and credibility to school-leavers’ achievements.
"We want young people leaving school with qualifications that are clear, rigorous and widely understood," she said.
The first cohort to fully experience the new qualifications will be students currently in Year 9.
'Very rigid' assessment plan - PPTA
PPTA president Chris Abercrombie said teachers were concerned the assessment model risked being too rigid and out of step with how young people learn.
"[It] seems like a very rigid assessment plan that doesn't really suit the needs of our young people, doesn't suit the needs of the future of New Zealand in an age of AI and an age of having the world's knowledge at your fingertips. We need creative problem-solving thinkers."
Abercrombie said requiring exams across all subjects was a particular concern, especially for practical and creative disciplines.
"What does that mean for someone doing art, or someone doing food tech, or someone doing hard materials? What does an exam look like in that context? Not all subjects, not all knowledge is suitable for an exam for students to show what they understand."
Making science compulsory at Year 11 also raised practical concerns, he said, including whether schools would have enough teachers and facilities.
“Where are we going to get the science teachers? Are we going to have enough science labs? There's already shortages in those areas, and every school and every community aren't going to be able to do that."
'Detrimental for our students' learning' - Greens
The Green Party says the decision to replace NCEA with "disastrous curriculum and qualification changes" will lead to thousands of children leaving school without a qualification.
"Education is about encouraging curiosity and nurturing our future generation’s love of learning. NCEA is a world-class qualification, one that is already internationally benchmarked. New Zealand students are readily accepted into top universities overseas with NCEA," the Greens' education spokesperson Lawrence Xu-Nan said.
Xu-Nan said the country had "seen the harm of standardising assessment, where some students are left further behind – especially Māori, Pasifika, disabled and neurodivergent, and rural students".
He continued: "The real world does not exist in neat little five subject boxes."
"Such siloed thinking will be more detrimental for our students’ learning than ever before."
Xu-Nan added that there was no confirmation around university entrance requirements or the relevant curricula to support the qualification.
"The Green Party is committed to halting the disastrous curriculum and qualification changes until there has been meaningful consultation with the communities, including teachers and principals, parents, and students to ensure that any change is centred on the needs and aspiration of individual students."
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