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NCEA Information

NCEA Information

 

NCEA Information

NCEA (Levels 1-3)
A National Certificate of Educational Achievement is available at Levels 1, 2 and 3 and is generally assessed in Years 11-13.
There are two types of standards that contribute to NCEA, and different levels of achievement for each.
 
Achievement Standards
These generally involve studying traditional curriculum subjects and your child gains these with grades of:
  • achieved with excellence (an excellent pass)
  • achieved with merit (a very good pass)
  • achieved (pass)
  • not achieved (fail).
 
Unit Standards – These generally involve studying vocational subjects and your child is awarded unit standards with grades of
  • achieved (pass)
  • not achieved (fail).

How many credits does my child need to earn at each NCEA level?

At every level of NCEA your child needs to achieve a total of 80 credits to have gained that NCEA level qualification as follows:

NCEA Level 1: 80 credits at level 1 or higher, including

  • 10 credits in numeracy standards
  • 10 credits in literacy standards.

Assessment can be in English or te reo Māori.

Talk to your child’s teachers if you’re unsure about which standards give credits that meet the numeracy and literacy requirements for NCEA.


NCEA Level 2: A total of 80 credits made up of:

  • 60 credits at level 2 or higher
  • 20 credits at any other level.


NCEA Level 3: A total of 80 credits made up of:

  • 60 credits at level 3 or higher
  • 20 credits at level 2 or higher
How do scholarships fit in?
A scholarship is an external exam or assessment for top-performing secondary students. Students usually enter year 13, which is their last year of school. Scholarship exams are based on level 3 standards relating to areas of the New Zealand Curriculum studied in year 13.
A scholarship does not count towards your child’s NCEA credits or qualification, but the fact that your child has gained a scholarship appears on the student’s Record of Achievement.

Find all the dates for 2026 NCEA and New Zealand Scholarship examinations and assessments – National secondary examinations timetable

 
Dux, Proxime Accessit  and 1st in Year group for PG Awards 2025 – guidelines 

Dux – awarded to the top Academic Year 13 student across five subjects at Level 3 NCEA or higher.

Proxime Accessit – awarded to the second top Year 13 student across five UE approved subjects or higher.

Tauhara Dux and Proxime Accessit Awards – Criteria:

The decision is made by the school Principal, in consultation with the SLT and the Year 13 Dean based on these 2 main categories, in that order:

  1. Highest placements in 5 subjects ranked lists e.g. most 1st places, 2nd place 

             If there is still no clear recipient then- 

  1. The greatest number of Excellence and /or Merit grades/credits (including internals and school based exams)  –  obtained across five Level 3 NCEA subjects, as outlined (and enrolled for) in their course statement.

If there still no clearly identified recipient the following guidelines will be considered:

Additional academic achievements in that year e.g. University course results, High Achievement Awards, externally entered Achievement Standards, the academic achievements from the previous year e.g. NZ Scholarship as a Yr 12 Student and any other achievement from the previous year e.g. entry into NZ Scholarship.

Year 13 Year Level Awards – 1st  in year group- same as DUX

  • Highest placements in subject ranked lists, in total.
  • The greatest number of Excellence and /or Merit grades/credits obtained across five Level 3 or higher NCEA subjects.
  • This award is not awarded if the recipient is either the Dux or Proxime Accessit

Year 12 Year Level Awards – 1st  in year group

  • Highest placements in subject ranked lists, in total.
  • The greatest number of Excellence and /or Merit grades/credits obtained across five Level 2 or higher NCEA subjects.

Year 11 Year Level Awards – 1st   in year group

  • Highest placements in subject ranked lists, in total.
  • The greatest number of Excellence and /or Merit grades/credits obtained across five Level 1 or higher NCEA subjects.

1st in subject criteria

To determine first in class- The student with the highest number of credits at Excellence/Merit in that subject (internally based credits and school based exam results) as outlined (and enrolled for) in their course statement.

A weighting system for placings for Year Level Awards will be used:

1st –  3 points, 2nd –  2 points and for High Achievement 1 point will be awarded.

All discussions are based on results entered in the School’s SMS on Monday 19 Oct 2026 at 4pm.