The Government is proposing to replace the current NCEA with new national qualifications, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Education Minister Erica Stanford announced this morning.
The pair made the announcement in Auckland this morning, saying the current system “doesn’t always deliver what students and employers need”.
“We want every New Zealander to reach their full potential and contribute to a thriving economy — and that starts with our students,” Luxon said.
“The evidence shows NCEA is not consistent and can be hard to navigate.”
The proposal includes:
- Removing NCEA Level 1, requiring students to take English and Mathematics at Year 11, and sit a foundation award (test) in numeracy and literacy.
- Replacing NCEA Levels 2 and 3 with two new qualifications (The New Zealand Certificate of Education at Year 12 and the New Zealand Advanced Certificate of Education at Year 13).
- Requiring students to take five subjects and pass at least four to attain each certificate.
- Marking clearly out of 100 with grades that make sense to parents like A, B, C, D, E.
- Working with industry to develop better vocational pathways so students are getting the skills relevant to certain career pathways.
The new qualification would be underpinned by a new national curriculum for Years 9-13 that outlines what students need to learn in each subject and when, in a bid to provide more consistency.
“While NCEA was designed to be flexible, for many students that flexibility has encouraged a focus on simply attaining the qualification. This has come at the cost of developing the critical skills and knowledge they need for clear pathways into future study, training or employment,” Stanford said.
“This is about making sure our national qualification opens doors for every young person, whether they’re heading into a trade, university, or straight into work. Parents can be assured their kids will get the best possible opportunity to thrive.”
Luxon said “New Zealand’s future depends on our young people having the skills to succeed in the modern global economy”.
“We’re backing Kiwi kids with a new internationally benchmarked national qualification designed to do exactly that.
Standford said the Government’s major education reforms were already “well underway in primary and intermediate”.
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“Every student is already taught at least an hour a day of reading, writing, and maths, we’ve banned cell phones in classrooms, we’ve introduced a world-leading Maths and English curriculum, mandated structured literacy and maths programmes, equipped teachers and students with high-quality resources, made huge investments into learning support and stopped building open-plan classrooms,” Stanford says.
Consultation on the proposal will be open until September 1, with final decisions to be make before the year’s end.
The proposed changes are to be phased in, with the new national curriculum coming in next year.
The Foundational Skills Award will start in 2028, and the Certificates of Education in 2029 and 2030 for Years 12 and 13.
During the transition period, students will be assessed either through the current NCEA system, or the new one.
‘NCEA is basically not a rigorous curriculum’
Yesterday, Crimson Education co-founder Jamie Beaton told Q+A that NCEA wasn’t setting students up well for future success, and lacks international recognition.
“To be honest, it’s rough. NCEA is basically not a rigorous curriculum at all, and students graduating with it are often two years behind in core subjects like maths, science as well,” said Beaton.
‘A real opportunity’
Kaitaia College principal and Secondary Principals Association president Louise Ānaru-Tangira spoke to Breakfast ahead of the announcement.
Kaitaia College principal and Secondary Principals Association president Louise Ānaru-Tangira spoke to Breakfast ahead of the announcement in Auckland. (Source: Breakfast)
“NCEA has its strengths, it has its areas to improve on. And we know the review has focused around making sure NCEA is robust, it’s internationally comparable but also that it addresses disparities in the system as well.”
“We all want our students to have the very best quality education, to be well-prepared for their future pathways, and our qualifications are a key part of that.”
She warned that schools must be given enough time and resources to make any changes work.
“The key is here in terms of the changes, is being able to implement them effectively.
“In order to do that, principals, secondary schools really need to be resourced adequately. We need to have the time to implement all of the changes effectively.”
She encouraged all principals to engage in consultation to ensure NCEA was “fit for purpose for our individual schools”.
