On Monday morning, Education Minister Erica Stanford announced that the NCEA assessment and qualification system will be replaced.

In 2028, a foundational award in literacy and numeracy will replace NCEA Level 1. The New Zealand Certificate of Education and the New Zealand Advanced Certificate of Education will replace NCEA Levels 2 and 3 in 2029 and 2030, respectively.  

Under NCEA, each assessment contributes credits towards qualifications. Students can opt out of assessments they think will be difficult. Under the new qualification system, that strategy will no longer fly. Students will receive grades for whole subjects, based on percentage scales.   

The change vindicates a decade of the Initiative’s work, especially Briar Lipson’s report, Spoiled by Choice. The report called for NCEA to be replaced with the kind of system Stanford announced. 

Reaction to the announcement has been generally positive. Teachers and principals know the piecemeal approach to assessment under NCEA has often made learning piecemeal as well. When students skip assessments, they also forego important learning.  

Chris Abercrombie, President of the secondary teachers' union, has said he likes the intention to improve vocational education pathways under the new system. He did raise a contentious point, however.  

Credits from a wide range of assessments can contribute to NCEA. When students struggle to achieve qualifications, they often get over the line with assessments for things like making CVs or barista skills.   

Abercrombie wants this kind of flexibility to continue under the new system. But there must be no place in the new system for that approach.  

Whether a qualification certifies curriculum subjects like mathematics and history, or vocational pathways like automotive engineering and animal husbandry, they must reflect coherent programmes of learning and assessment.  

Qualifications padded out with assessments of isolated skills are not worth much. They do not open doors to university, industry training, or employment. When students are awarded qualifications like this, they are frankly, being sold a lie.   

The new system will not enable low roads to qualifications. It will require our education system to lift its game. There will be much more incentive to support students to succeed in difficult learning.   

Not all students are interested in academic study, and the new system must deliver on Stanford’s promise to provide high-quality vocational pathways. But whether they study chemistry or carpentry, when students gain qualifications, it will mean they are ready for life and learning beyond school.