Congratulations! You have officially graduated into the big bad world of NCEA, otherwise known as the National Certificate of Educational Achievement. Not just NCEA actually, you are playing in the big leagues now with NCEA Level 1 Mathematics. Are you feeling a bit daunted? Or maybe rearing to get started? Wondering what to expect when it comes to NCEA, and how many credits do you actually need to get in Level 1 Maths? Well, fasten your seatbelts because we are about to get started!
check out the calculators for the NCEA maths here.
Why should I take NCEA Level 1 Maths?
NCEA is the main education qualification for Level 1, 2 and 3 (or Years 11, 12 and 13) for secondary school students in New Zealand. It can come in pretty handy for whatever you want to do after you leave school, be it continuing studies at University, or make that cash money with an apprenticeship or starting a new job.
NCEA Level 1 maths, however, is particularly important if you want to go in a STEM-related field, which basically refers to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. If you are not sure what direction you want to go in, Guidance Counsellors or Career Advisors at your school may be able to help. There are also a lot of quizzes available online, or you could also have a chat with some tertiary education providers or employers themselves.
The Structure of NCEA
As you are probably well aware by now, NCEA is broken down into three levels. In NCEA Level 1, we learn the transferrable skills and develop the knowledge base we will need to launch into NCEA Level 2. NCEA Level 2 provides the minimum qualification you need to score to get into some jobs and further education programmes. The cherry on the cake is NCEA Level 3, required for most university entrances. Depending on your school, you may mix and match in terms of standards between levels.
You can find out how long the Ncea level1 maths exam will take here.
How do I pass NCEA?
To pass NCEA Level 1, you will need to accumulate a total of 60 credits at Level 1 or above. These will need to be 10 literacy credits, and 10 from numeracy. And hey, would you look at that, here is where NCEA Level 1 maths comes in. Or, more specifically, from numbers, measurement, statistics, or other mathematical skills. You can score these credits by sitting standards, which essentially test your knowledge on different areas and skillsets relating to the subject, in this case, NCEA Level 1 Maths. For instance, your standard ‘apply algebraic procedures in solving problems’ has 4 credits up for grabs.
Learn more about how you can pass NCEA level1 maths here.
You can earn these credits by showing that you do in fact, know or know how to do the task(s) at hand to a satisfactory standard. Guess what? Even more great news. You only have to achieve these credits once. That means, once you score your literacy and numeracy credits, you are sussed in that department for NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3. Gets easier and easier, doesn’t it? If you want to make sure you are taking the correct subjects and sitting the right standards to smash your literacy and numeracy credits, have a chat with your school.
NCEA Level 1 Maths Assessments
Now we are experts on the inner workings of NCEA in general, let us get into what we need to know for NCEA Level 1 Maths in particular. Your standards – and opportunity to score credits – will come from two main sources – internal and external assessments. Internal assessments can almost be thought of as assignments – are done throughout the year, and marked by your teachers. These are usually designed to assess a particular skill or closely related skillset. External assessments, on the other hand, are often in the form of exams or the Mathematics Common Assessment Task (MCAT) – which are assessed by NZQA. We have plenty of articles that go into detail on how to do the best you can in each and every one of these externals, though!
Your exams will generally be held around November and December each year, though your school may hold practice exams before this. Though these do not always officially count towards your NCEA credits, they will equip you with the golden practice you need to actually succeed when it comes time to sit your externals or show you what areas you need to work on a bit more, so do take them seriously!
You can get a total of four possible grades. N, or Not Achieved, which unfortunately is awarded when you do not meet the assessment criteria. A or Achieved is a pass (yay), Merit (M) is a big props to you because your work is at a pretty commendable level, and Excellence or E, is over and beyond, up in the top performers, world-class, well done.
Discover some of the reasons why you should study NCEA Maths
Have a look at this great guide detailing the number of credits you need!
Need a hand?
Here at Superprof, we are aiming for those higher grades though. Whether you need help understanding the concepts, or putting them into practice, our range of expert tutors are here for you Get in touch today.
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Thanks great help