NCEA F.A.Q.s

Is NCEA Acceptable at Overseas Universities?
Yes. Students from St Cuthbert's College have been accepted at leading international universities such as Yale, Duke, Brown, the University of Edinburgh and the University of Melbourne.

Do Students With NCEA Get Acceptance to Limited Entry University Courses?
Yes. If we use the Auckland University Medical School as an example, in 2006 and 2007 more St Cuthbert's College girls gained entry (8 in 2006 and 7 in 2007) than any other school in New Zealand.

Does NCEA Report Failure?
Yes. Students who do not meet the standard in externally assessed standards have that reported as ‘not achieved’. From 2008 ‘not achieved’ will be reported for internally assessed standards.   Students’ Annual Results Notice will detail standards in which they did not achieve.

As an Employer, How Will I Know Where an Applicant Ranks Academically?
The ‘excellence, merit, achieved’ endorsement of certificates at all three levels will be of real significance for employers. Another useful measure will be the ‘excellence, merit, achieved, not achieved’ endorsement for individual courses. Looking for specific skills in areas such as oral presentation, scientific experimentation or algebra in individual standards will provide employers with a level of fine detail.

Does NCEA Recognise High Achievement?

Yes. From 2008, achievement across all courses is recognised with certificates at all levels endorsed with excellence and merit (as well as achieved or not achieved).

The endorsements serve many purposes: they will motivate students and provide universities and employers with clear, concise benchmarks.   The scholarship level provides recognition of very high achievement.

Is Internal Assessment as Rigorous as External Assessment in NCEA?

Changes to the processes by which internally assessed standards are moderated means that three times as many samples of student work will be moderated. External moderation of internally assessed standards ensures that schools across the country are assessing in a fair and valid way.

 

 

Changes to the Distribution of NCEA Certificates

The New Zealand Qualifications Authority has advised that because students will be able to order NCEA certificates online from January of 2011, these will no longer be automatically posted out later in the year.
Learners will be able to order copies of their National Certificates of Educational Achievement, University Entrance certificate, Record of Achievement and School Results Summary from their Learner Login in mid-January, after release of examination results online.
This means that they will be able to receive copies of documents much earlier than in the past.
There will be no charge for certificates for newly-awarded qualifications but reprints of certificates previously awarded will be charged. Learners can order one free copy of their Record of Achievement annually and school leavers are entitled to one free copy of the Schools Results Summary.
If a student has applied for a review or reconsideration of externally assessed standards, she should wait until these are completed before ordering documents.

For any enquiries regarding qualifications please contact:
Director of Qualifications, Mrs. Margaret Hashimoto
email: margaret.hashimoto@stcuthberts.school.nz