Government confirms NCEA replacement: Compulsory exams, new grading scale and subject requirements unveiled
The National-led government has revealed final details of the qualifications that will replace NCEA, bringing compulsory exams, a six-point grading scale and mandatory science at Year 11 — with Māori and Pacific leaders warning students risk being left behind.
OREWA, North Auckland — Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Education Minister Erica Stanford today confirmed the final structure of the New Zealand Certificate of Education (NZCE) and the New Zealand Advanced Certificate of Education (NZACE), the qualifications that will replace NCEA from 2028.
The overhaul marks the most significant change to New Zealand secondary school qualifications in two decades.
From 2028, Year 11 students will sit a compulsory Foundational Award in literacy and numeracy, benchmarked at Year 11 level, replacing NCEA Level 1. The NZCE will be introduced for Year 12 students in 2029, followed by the NZACE for Year 13 students in 2030.
Students in Years 12 and 13 will be required to study at least five subjects each year and pass a minimum of three to achieve each qualification. A new six-point grading scale — from A+ to E — will apply across all subjects.
“Gone is the ability to make up your overall qualification by choosing between thousands of different standards,” Luxon told reporters in Orewa. “Gone are fully internally assessed subjects. Gone is the ability to avoid exams.”
Stanford said the current NCEA system had encouraged “credit crunching” rather than genuine learning.
“This qualification rewards hard work and is designed to encourage young people to strive to do their very best,” she said.
From 2028, English or Te Reo Rangatira, mathematics or Pāngarau, and science (pūtaiao) will be compulsory at Year 11 — a move the government says will strengthen foundational knowledge.
New subjects being developed include Civics, Politics and Philosophy, Journalism, Media and Communications, and Advanced Mathematics, alongside industry-led courses such as Building and Construction and Primary Industries.
The Post-Primary Teachers’ Association expressed concern that the assessment model was too rigid.
“It seems like a very rigid assessment plan that doesn’t really suit the needs of our young people,” PPTA president Chris Abercrombie said. He questioned how exams would work for practical subjects such as art and food technology, and raised concerns about teacher shortages in science.
The Green Party’s education spokesperson Lawrence Xu-Nan warned the changes would be especially harmful for Māori and Pasifika students.
“We’ve seen the harm of standardising assessment, where some students are left further behind — especially Māori, Pasifika, disabled and neurodivergent, and rural students,” Xu-Nan said.
The first cohort to move through the new system will be students currently in Year 9.
