NCEA to be abolished: Government confirms new secondary school qualifications coming - what parents, students need to know

The Government has officially confirmed it will proceed with a significant overhaul of New Zealand’s secondary school qualification system, including the replacement of the current NCEA programme.  After consultation on the proposal last year, Cabinet has formally agreed to a set of changes which include removing NCEA Level 1 and introducing a new Foundational Award for Year 11 students, as well as replacing Level 2 and 3 with new qualifications.  More than 10,000 people are said to have participated in the consultation, with Education Minister Erica Stanford saying there was “strong support for structural change”, particularly regarding Level 1. Some principals have, however, previously criticised the change process.  “We are building a new system that is clearer, more consistent across schools and internationally comparable so that when a student earns a qualification it genuinely signals they are ready for the next step and reflects what they know and can do,” said the minister.  Stanford is expected to formally announce Cabinet’s decision at a press conference later today and will highlight the next steps, which will include engaging with the sector on the specific designs of assessments.  One piece of feedback raised during the consultation period was around making it compulsory for schools to require Year 11 students to take science, something Stanford said she will “be seeking further advice on”. English and mathematics were already planned to be compulsory.  The proposals for the future of NCEA were first revealed last August. Photo / Mark Mitchell  The Government revealed its proposals for the country’s main secondary school qualification in August last year, with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon saying a new system would help ensure New Zealand’s young people had the skills to succeed in a modern global economy.  It followed stories from the Herald which revealed ministerial briefings warning NCEA faced a credibility crisis over its “overused” flexibility, a lack of coherent vocational education pathways, and an over-reliance on internal assessments.  The consultation ran into September and was expected to be followed by Cabinet consideration in November. However, that was delayed until early this year as officials were still analysing the feedback.  Cabinet has now met and agreed to an initial package of changes to the system. This provides the outline of the new structure, with further work to be undertaken on specific achievement requirements, grading, and the balance of internal versus external assessments.  Among the changes confirmed:  Replacing the current three levels of NCEA with two new qualifications delivered at Year 12 and 13  Introducing subject-based assessments for the Year 12 and 13 qualifications, rather than requiring students to accumulate a certain number of credits across various subjects  Removing NCEA Level 1 and introducing a Foundational Award focused on literacy and numeracy for Year 11 students  Requiring all Year 11 students to study English and mathematics from when changes take effect in 2028  There will be one pathway for academic and vocational learning, with industry-led subjects within the curriculum  The Year 11 Foundational Award will be introduced in 2028, the Year 12 qualification in 2029, and the Year 13 qualification in 2030.  This means the first students to participate will be the current Year 9 cohort. The staggered implementation also ensures no students will have to switch between the current NCEA system and the new qualification.  Students will see changes to the qualification system from 2028 onwards. Photo / File  Stanford said Cabinet’s decision was the “first of two major milestones” in what she called a “carefully sequenced set of decisions” leading to a new qualification system.  “We are ambitious for young New Zealanders and believe they deserve a qua...

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