The New Zealand high school NCEA system is great for encouraging students to embrace passions and explore their skills. Unfortunately, trying to work out exactly how many credits you need to pass can be a nightmare. Every time you try to find exact information, you’ll come up against an answer that usually starts with “Well, it depends…”.
This isn’t anyone trying to be difficult, it’s just that you can earn NCEA credits can in a variety of ways.
So, let’s try to work out how to get NCEA Level 3 English credits, and make the whole process just a little easier to understand.
For those that have gone through the university system, particularly in New Zealand, you’ll know that technically you could do nothing but 3rd year papers to get a degree. The phrase is usually something like “must pass at least 360 credits, 75 of which must come from level 300 papers”. The normal structure is to take 8 level 100 papers (120 credits) in your first year, 8 level 200 (120 credits) in your second year, and 8 level 300 papers (120 credits) in your third year, this isn’t compulsory.
Other than the few compulsory papers, you can mix and match a range of papers to walk away with a degree. This is different for Polytech or vocational courses, which have specific requirements. However, this is a great comparison for the difference between the old school certificate system and the NCEA system – but older parents need to remember that NCEA has been in operation for 20 years now.
Although the NCEA system has gone through a few changes (and will go through more shortly), teachers are well-versed in helping students navigate NCEA English.
If you’re still struggling to try to make sense of how to pass, talk to a teacher!
Understanding NCEA Level 3 Achievement Standards
A lot of the confusion around working out what to take and how to pass NCEA subjects comes from not really understanding the difference between a “unit standard” and an “achievement standard”.
When you look at the NCEA English Level 3 subjects, you’ll see there are currently 41 Unit Standards and 9 Achievement Standards available. Each standard is worth between 3 and 5 credits, so in order to be awarded Level 3 English, you will normally take several units. However, the key difference is around how the NCEA standards are accessed.
How English Level 3 is Assessed for NCEA
For Achievement Standards, students have an external assessment. In English, this generally is an exam that students will sit at the end of the year. But, for other subjects such as art or hard technology, students may need to submit a project for external assessment.
Unit standards are assessed internally. This is generally included as part of the classwork delivered by the English teacher. Students should know what they are being assessed for, when they’re being assessed, and how to achieve great marks.
However, with so many subjects and different areas of focus, it isn’t always guaranteed that students will have realised what is happening.
Internally assessed English Unit Standards
As an example, the internally assessed English Level 3 NCEA Unit Standard “Speak to a known audience in a predictable situation”, will often be called “speech competitions”. The only thing students know is that they are required to research and write a speech, and then deliver it to their class.
With the top students in each class delivering their speech to a wider school audience – then perhaps a regional audience.
Because unit standards are internally assessed, there is limited access to nationwide exemplars, but most schools should be able to provide help if students are struggling.
Although there is a wonderful range of English units available for students to take at Level 3, most will already be set by the school. So, what if there is a particular standard that will provide a better fit for the student?
Talk to talk to the English HOD to find out how it can be fitted into the curriculum. This is particularly important for students that are struggling, as swapping standards for something more suitable or in line with academic interests may mean the difference between an achieved and a not achieved grade.
Externally assessment achievement standards
With the achievement standards, students will sit an end-of-year exam. Hopefully, by the time they have reached NCEA Level 3, exams are old hat. If this is an area that is still causing anxiety and stress, then definitely bring in a tutor. Even if the subject content matter seems accessible, having an experienced tutor work through previous exams in a clear and calm manner can really help.
One of the biggest advantages of external exams over internal assessments is that you have access to some amazing exemplars and past exams. This gives you a chance to ensure you have the content knowledge before walking into the exam. Even better, exemplars are marked exams with assessor comments. These are marked with appropriate grades, so you can look through the work of a not-achieved exam or some that were awarded a high excellent.
This means you can read through what a previous student has written to get a better understanding of how you compare.
When you read through the exemplars, are you making the same mistakes that the marker has pointed out? Things like poorly completed ideas are a common cause for lower marks.
If this is one area you struggle with, a little coaching in how to map out your response can go a long way.
Mix and Match English Levels for NCEA Credits
Some of the confusion about how many credits you need to achieve NCEA comes from the idea that students need 80 credits in level 1 and 60 credits in level 2 and level 3 NCEA. This isn’t 100% accurate.
All students need to achieve 10 credits in literacy and numeracy. For most students, this is done as part of the level 1 curriculum. However, one of the brilliant aspects of the NCEA system is that these credits can take the form of a variety of subjects, not specifically an English Literature or Maths subject.
Some schools are not using NCEA Level 1 assessment at all, moving students in year 12 straight to NCEA Level 2. This is OK! You will still have the subject knowledge to pass NCEA Level 2 and Level 3. However, you may need to pass your level 1 literacy and numeracy credits as part of your Level 2 or Level 3 assessment.
To get your NCEA Level 3 certification, you need to pass at least 60 credits from Level 3 subjects, and an additional 20 credits from level 2 or above. This means that you can take mostly level 3 subjects, but if you really wanted to try your hand in another area, you can still take that subject at level 2 and have those credits count towards your Level 3 NCEA.
One thing to be aware of is those “easy pass” subjects aren’t always easy to pass. Academic students sometimes fall into the trap of thinking less academic subjects are going to be a class they can cruise along in, taking a break from the high-academic subjects that fill the rest of their school day.
This is so far from the truth! While few students would expect to start performance music in year 12 and walk away with an excellence, there can be this idea that subjects like geography, food technology or social studies are less challenging than maths or physics. Whereas the truth is, they are just as challenging and require a different way of thinking that you might use in maths or sciences. If you have already fallen into this trap, you’ll be ok, but you will need a tutor to help you with the assessment.
Assessments in technological subjects (which will also include art) also have an external assessment component. However, rather than sitting a written exam in a hall, you have an end of year project to complete and submit. While you will generally know exactly what the requirements are at the start of the year, and have a year to do it in, your skill level and ability will of course increase as the year goes on. So, start with an ambitious idea, and work towards completing it – steadily throughout the year.
This is even more important if you are using one of these subjects to fill in an academic schedule! You can take these subjects as your lower-level subject to maintain your NCEA level 3 certification, but you need to ensure that you put the work in to successfully complete the requirements.
Successfully Passing NCEA English Level 3
First, to quote Douglas Adams: Don’t Panic.
While NCEA is the focus of high school academic achievement, what you do in high school doesn’t necessarily mean you are tied to those subjects for life. Building the skills to study well and learn effectively is the most important aspect of taking NCEA subjects.
Developing this mindset will ensure that no matter what subject you take, you can find the resources and people to help you achieve your goals.
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