The current design of NCEA can make it hard for some New Zealanders to succeed in NCEA.

What we've heard

Although results can be viewed online, students with unpaid NCEA fees do not receive formal recognition of their achievement which is unfair.

Many assessment standards, teaching and learning guides, exemplars and assessment resources are not designed with Aotearoa New Zealand’s diversity in mind, and don’t do enough to include students of all cultures, identities, disabilities, genders, and sexualities.

For example, some contain:

• cultural assumptions that privilege some learners.
• assumptions that unfairly disadvantage some learners with disabilities.
• contexts that exclude some learners.
• limited guidance on how to include local histories and contexts.

The process of applying for Special Assessment Conditions (SAC), such as enlarged text or braille, can also be difficult, and often stops people from accessing support.

Key changes

• NCEA fees, including NZ Scholarship, were removed in 2019.
• Design achievement standards and associated resources that are accessible and inclusive so that everyone has an equal opportunity to achieve, and the need to apply for SACs is reduced.
• Where possible, make some existing SACs such as large-text papers available for anyone who needs them.
• Simplify the application and evaluation process for SACs.