The Framework
The New Zealand Curriculum Framework (NZCF) covers the key learning arrears which should be part of a
broad, balanced education. Each learning area comprises a progression of eight curriculum levels, from Year
One to senior secondary.
The New Zealand Curriculum Framework (NZCF) recognizes learning achievement qualifications in senior
secondary school and beyond.
Below is a diagram illustrating the relationships between:
 Years of schooling
 New Zealand Curriculum Framework (what is to be learned)
 New Zealand Qualifications Framework (what is to be achieved)
New Zealand Qualifications Framework
(RNQF)
8
7
Year of
Schooling
13
New Zealand
Curriculum
Framework
(NZCF)
8
5
7
2
11
6
1
9
Year
Level
Curriculum
Level
National Diploma
4
12
5
Initial Degree
6
3
10
Postgraduate
Degrees, Diplomas
Qualification
Level
NATIONAL
CERTIFICATE
New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF)
The NZQF covers all the nationally registered qualifications (National Certificates) and all the
nationally registered standards (Achievement Standards for NCEA and Unit Standards for other
National Certificates) from which those qualifications are derived.
1. New Zealand Qualifications Framework
The qualification framework has eight levels. Level 1 is entry-level education & training, broadly
equivalent to Year 11 studies. Level 8 offers the most advanced learning, (post graduate degrees and
diplomas). Unit standards and Achievement Standards earned can be credited to all National
Certificates on the National Qualifications Framework.
Sacred Heart Girls’ College has been accredited by the NZQA as a provider of all the conventional
subjects registered on the Qualifications Framework, as well as a range of others which, we believe,
will meet the requirements of pupils at the College.
These subjects may be studied at school in normal classes or studied off-site as either school
organised activities or activities organised by off-site providers. There is a great deal of flexibility
allowed in the system but each student will have to carefully consider where her best options lie – it
will not be wise to spend too much time of-site if she is going to be a serious candidate for national
exams.
2. NCEA – National Certificate in Educational Achievement
The NCEA is the main qualification for NZ secondary school students and complements external
exams with internal assessment using Achievement Standards and some Unit Standards.
NCEA provides a more comprehensive record of what students achieve while they are at school. To
complete the NCEA students must earn credits. They gain credits by meeting standards in their
chosen subject areas. Each standard will set out clearly and comprehensively what students need to
know and do to be credited with meeting the standard.
Achievement standards have been developed for school curriculum subject areas and cover Years
11 to 13 and curriculum Levels 6-8, (not to be confused with the qualifications framework levels of
NCEA Level 1, 2 or 3).
Unit standards have been developed for mainly industry based subjects, however there is a unit
standard pathway for Level 1 Literacy and Numeracy standards.
How do students gain their NCEA?
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There are three NCEA qualifications: Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3. These are the first three
levels of the National Qualifications Framework’s ten levels.
For a student to be awarded NCEA Level 1 they must achieve 80 credits. Of these, 10
credits must be literacy standards and 10 credits numeracy standards.
For a student to be awarded NCEA Level 2 they must achieve 80 credits, of which a
minimum of 60 credits are at Level 2 or above, from anywhere on the National
Qualifications Framework (NQF). Students must also have Level 1 Literacy and Numeracy
For a student to be awarded NCEA Level 3 they must achieve 80 credits, of which a
minimum of 60 credits are at Level 3 or above, from anywhere on the National
Qualifications Framework (NQF).
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Each student’s NCEA qualification shows their overall level of achievement. The cumulative
annual Record of Achievement gives more detailed results for every subject, standard by
standard, indicating only those Standards that have been Achieved, Achieved with Merit,
Achieved with Excellence. Since 2008 these results have been endorsed with Merit or
Excellence if a student achieves at least 50 credits at the appropriate certificate level.
Course endorsement, introduced from 2011, provides additional Merit or Excellence
achievement recognition.
There is also a Scholarship award, achieved through additional examinations based on Level
3 standards.
University Entrance has its own requirements.
Endorsements
NCEA reports how well a student does in each of the separate skills and knowledge areas in a course.
Students are able to gain their NCEA Level 1, 2 or 3 endorsed with Merit or Excellence, providing
they gain at least 50 credits at that level. A level endorsement can be gained across two years.
Course Endorsement Requirements
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Gain at least 14 credits with Merit/Excellence in one year.
Gain at least 3 internally assessed credits.
Gain at least 3 externally assessed credits, (exceptions are Physical Education, Religious
Education and Visual Arts).
They are designed so that satisfactory work, good work and excellence work can be recognized with
“Achieved”, “Achieved with Merit” and “Achieved with Excellence”.
3. Record of Achievement
Credits for all registered standards will be recorded on a Record of Achievement. Students must
register (once only) on the framework and pay an annual fee for any credits to be awarded. It will list
the student’s successful completion of all achievement and unit standards credits, National
Certificates and other NZQF qualifications. It will be issued by the NZQA (who keep a national
database) and will enable education and training acquired over a number of years from a variety of
sources to be recorded in a single document.
Students will be certificated when they successfully complete the units required which make up a
specific registered qualification e.g. NCEA Level 1, National Certificate in Sport Level 2, etc.
Approved Curriculum Related
Achievement
Standards
Unit Standards
ITO Developed
Other Exams or
Qualifications
Unit Standards
NCEA
Record of
Achievement
For more information
Go to the NZQA website:
http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/qualifications-standards/qualifications/ncea/
4. University Entrance (New requirements from 2014 for entry into university from 2015)
From 2014 students will qualify for entrance to a university in New Zealand if they have obtained:
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Level 3 (60+ Level 3 credits, plus 20 Level 2 credits)
14 credits in each of three approved subjects
10 Level 1 numeracy credits
10 Level 2 literacy credits including 5 (UE – R) in reading and 5 (UE – W) in writing
Credits can be accumulated over more than one year.
Information about discretionary and provisional entrance is available on the website of the New
Zealand Vice Chancellors’ Committee, www.nzvcc.ac.nz
Students need to be aware that changes to university funding means that qualifying for entrance
may not guarantee a student entrance to a specific course. Students are advised to aim for Merit or
Excellence endorsement if they intend to pursue university study.
Approved Subjects
The Board of Qualifications Authority has approved the addition of Music Studies and Social Studies
to the list of approved subjects for university entrance. The full list of approved subjects for 2015 is:
Accounting
Agriculture & Horticulture
Biology
Business Studies
Calculus
Chemistry
Chinese
Classical Studies
Construction and Mechanical Technologies
Cook Islands Maori
Dance
Design (Practical Art)
Design and Visual Communication
Digital Technologies
Drama
Earth and Space Science
Economics
Education for Sustainability
English
French
Geography
German
Health Education
History
Home Economics
Indonesian
Japanese
Korean
Latin
Mathematics
Media Studies
Music Studies
Painting (Practical Art)
Photography (Practical Art)
Physical Education
Physics
Printmaking (Practical Art)
Processing Technologies
Religious Studies
Samoan
Science
Sculpture (Practical Art)
Spanish
Social Studies
Statistics
Technology
Te Reo Māori
Te Reo Rangatira
Also: Some universities retain the right to limit entry using their own specifications. These specifications can
be found on the university’s websites.
5. Scholarship (NZ’s Premier Academic Award)
Students in a secondary school have the opportunity to win a Scholarship in individual subjects.
Scholarship is a monetary award to recognize top students. It does not attract credits nor contribute
towards a qualification but the fact that a student has gained a Scholarship will appear on the
Record of Achievement.
Scholarship will enable students to be assessed against challenging standards, and will be
demanding for the most able students in each subject. Scholarship students will be expected to
demonstrate high-level critical thinking, abstraction and generalisation, and to integrate, synthesise
and apply knowledge, skills, understanding and ideas to complex situations.
The best students in each of the 27 Scholarship subjects will be awarded Scholarships. The number
of awards in each subject will be around 2-3 percent of those students studying the subject at NCEA
Level 3.
Eligibility
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Scholarship candidates need to be enrolled full-time in a secondary school or wharekura.
In order to receive a monetary award, a student must be
o Either a New Zealand citizen or
o A permanent resident, and
o Enrolled in tertiary study in New Zealand in the years they receive monetary awards,
($500 per scholarship), $2,000 for scholarship in 3 subjects for 3 years, $2,000 top
subject scholar for 3 years, $10,000 for scholarship at Outstanding level in 3
subjects.
Fees
A New Zealand Scholarship fee of $30.00 (GST incl.) per subject will be charged from the beginning
of the 2015 academic year. The $76.70 NCEA assessment fee will no longer cover entry to any New
Zealand Scholarship subjects. International students will continue to pay the full fee of $102.20 (GST
incl.) per Scholarship subject.
Financial Assistance
Financial assistance will continue to be available for those students who meet the financial
assistance criteria based on income, benefit or multiple-candidate applications from one family.
Application forms are available on the NZQA website.