Provisional figures show new literacy and numeracy requirements have dented NCEA level 1 pass rates.
The Qualifications Authority said only 64 percent of Year 11 students attempted level one last year and 70% of that group were successful, down from 82% in 2023.
NZQA said the decline was due to the new literacy and numeracy requirements, which were assessed through online tests in reading, writing and maths, and to changes in the composition of the cohort that attempted level 1.
It said the 64% of Year 11s that entered a full level 1 programme last year was down from 75% in 2023.
“As more schools choose not to participate in the optional NCEA Level 1, participation is more weighted to schools with moderate to high socio-economic barriers,” it said.
The authority said pass rates for levels 2 and 3 and for University Entrance were about the same as in 2023.
“Provisional 2024 NCEA Level 2 attainment by students in Year 12 is 72.7% compared to 73.2% in 2023.
“Year 13 provisional attainment of NCEA Level 3 is 68.2% compared to 67.7% in 2023, and Year 13 University Entrance (UE) attainment is 48.2% compared to 49.7% in 2023.”
NZQA final results tended to be slightly higher than provisional results.
It said the final level 1 result was likely to be one to 1.5 percentage points higher than the provisional result.
Education Minister Erica Stanford said the results showed the reality of literacy and numeracy achievement, something the old NCEA system failed to do.
“While these Level 1 students will have another two years to pass this requirement, it’s important to note the level it is set at is foundational and in line with a level of the curriculum that equates to the end of Year 8 and beginning of Year 9,” she said.
Stanford said the government was moving to improve literacy and numeracy through curriculum changes and direct support to students who needed it most.
‘Serious but not unexpected’
Education Minister Erica Stanford said a drop in NCEA level 1 achievement is serious but not unexpected.
Stanford said the level 1 achievement drop was partly due to new literacy and numeracy requirements and some teenagers would need more help to pass.
“We could see last year there were a number of teenagers not getting across the line with their literacy and numeracy required assessments and that has borne out in the results,” she said.
“There were many kids, or students, who got their required NCEA credits, but then just did not get the foundational literacy and numeracy assessment.”
Stanford said those students would have another chance to pass the tests this year, or they could meet the literacy and numeracy requirements by completing specific achievement standards.
She said they should not give up.
“Please keep going, we will give you all of the help that you need, schools will give you the help that you need,” Stanford said.
She said the government wanted to avoid similar falls in level two and three pass rates in future.
“I expect next year that level 2 will dip slightly,” she said.
Stanford said the government had changed the literacy and numeracy tests to ensure they were fair for students such as by reducing the amount of reading required for the numeracy test.
It had also extended the use of the achievement standard alternatives to the tests until the end of 2027 and was providing extra teaching at some schools.
“We will not leave these young people behind. We’ve already at the end of last year identified the schools who need the most help and we’ve already gone to them and said here’s a package of resources and tutoring and help for your teachers and we’ll continue with these new results to identify more schools,” she said.
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