The Government has announced a plan to overhaul New Zealand’s secondary school qualification system, proposing to replace NCEA with two new national certificates aimed at raising academic standards and aligning education with workforce needs.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Education Minister Erica Stanford unveiled the proposal on Sunday, describing the current NCEA system as inconsistent, difficult to navigate, and often misaligned with the skills needed in modern life and work.
“We want every New Zealander to reach their full potential and contribute to a thriving economy—and that starts with our students,” said Luxon. “The evidence shows NCEA doesn’t always deliver what students and employers need.”
Under the proposed reforms, NCEA Level 1 will be scrapped. Year 11 students will instead be required to take English and mathematics and sit a new foundation award in literacy and numeracy. The current NCEA Levels 2 and 3 will be replaced with two new qualifications: the ‘New Zealand Certificate of Education’ at Year 12 and the ‘New Zealand Advanced Certificate of Education’ at Year 13.
Students will be required to take five subjects and pass at least four to earn each certificate. Grading will move to a clearer A–E scale marked out of 100, which the Government says will be easier for parents and students to understand.
Stanford said that while NCEA was designed to be flexible, that flexibility has often led students to focus more on passing than on gaining useful skills and knowledge. “This has come at the cost of clear pathways into future study, training or employment,” she said.
The changes will be supported by a new national curriculum for Years 9 to 13, specifying what students must learn and when, to ensure consistency across schools. The Government also plans to work closely with industry to strengthen vocational pathways aligned with the new qualifications.
The announcement comes amid a broader education reform programme already underway. Stanford noted earlier initiatives such as requiring daily instruction in reading, writing and maths, banning cell phones in classrooms, implementing a structured curriculum, and halting the construction of open-plan classrooms.
“It’s time to ensure that when students reach secondary school, our national qualification reflects the same high standards and ambition we expect throughout their education,” she said.
Luxon claimed the reforms were central to the Government’s economic goals. “Supporting our young people to succeed and develop their skills is a key part of how we grow the economy, create jobs, lift wages, and help Kiwis with the cost of living.”
Image credit: Element5 Digital
Damn good idea. Time something was done.
Why not adopt the North American model, ie what Canada and the U.S. have?
At least there you can re-sit and re-enrol in the individual subjects under the ‘second chance’ scenarios.
Most Middle & High School students who failed a subject during the school year sign-up for ‘Summer School’ for a few weeks on one-subject .
Most who do pass the formerly failed course / subject score 3 letter grades higher, as they are focusing only on the failed course, and in a less-crowded environment.
Their focus is not distracted with the workload of other subjects as encountered during the normal school year term.
The current British-based Victorian / Colonial model is outdated, and has been since 1903! NCEA was noted to lower grades of students who otherwise had Uni entry scores, and this was based on the PTB maintaining the UNFAIR status-quo.
When this was discovered, many Kiwi kids gave up, knowing that the system was rigged against them in all spheres.
BUT-
Kids from Masonic families, and Old Boy / Old Girl Networks who came from early colonial / provincial ‘founding families’ were ‘taken care of’ with uni enrolments, while those more qualified at the NCEA level were CHEATED out of their merited slot for higher education.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/349917/nzqa-falsely-fails-students-taking-digital-exams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aaV-n1Pflk&themeRefresh=1
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/543748/students-left-demotivated-and-dejected-by-ncea-exam-results
BUT-
The following at least lends credit at trying to make the system better…
Under the proposed reforms, NCEA Level 1 will be scrapped. Year 11 students will instead be required to take English and mathematics and sit a new foundation award in literacy and numeracy. The current NCEA Levels 2 and 3 will be replaced with two new qualifications: the ‘New Zealand Certificate of Education’ at Year 12 and the ‘New Zealand Advanced Certificate of Education’ at Year 13.
Students will be required to take five subjects and pass at least four to earn each certificate. Grading will move to a clearer A–E scale marked out of 100, which the Government says will be easier for parents and students to understand.
‘TO BE UNQUALIFIED AND ALLOWED TO PRACTICE A SKILL IN A MANIPULATED SOCIETY, THAT IS TRAGIC ENOUGH.
BUT TO BE FULLY QUALIFIED AND NOT ALLOWED TO PRACTICE ONE’S SKILL DUE TO SOCIAL AND STATUS-QUO BARRIERS, THAT IS THE REAL TRAGEDY!”
-GOETHE
Yes they care sooo much they have increased interest on student loans to the point students would, if possible, be better off borrowing from a bank at their rates of interest and paying for their study that way. All just window dressing, they really could not care less.