2022 Changes to NCEA Requirements

By Steve Read | Posted: Thursday August 11, 2022

Yesterday the Associate Minister of Education announced changes to NCEA that recognise the impact student and teacher absences due to COVID-19 and other winter illnesses have had on teaching, learning and assessment this year.

These changes have been designed to encourage students to continue working towards their NCEA and to ensure that the NCEA attained by our students this school year is just as valid as those earned in previous years.

We strongly encourage students to continue studying hard in order to gain their very best possible results. Please see next week’s newsletter for further details around tutorials being run to support this.

In 2022, students will be entitled to 1 Learning Recognition Credit (LRC) for every 5 credits earned through assessment, up to a maximum of:

Image by: Staff


To receive a Certificate Endorsement, students will need 46 credits at Merit or Excellence level, instead of the usual 50.

To be awarded University Entrance, students will need 14 credits in each of two UE Approved Subjects, and 12 credits in a third UE Approved Subject (they will also need to attain NCEA Level 3 and meet the regular literacy and numeracy requirements).

The submission dates for some externally assessed portfolios have also been moved back one week - this provides some relief but avoids overlap with end of year examinations. This will apply to the following subjects:

• Technology (NCEA Levels 1-3 and NZ Scholarship)

• Design and Visual Communication (NCEA Levels 1-3 and NZ Scholarship)

• Dance (NZ Scholarship)

• Music (NZ Scholarship)

• Health and Physical Education (NZ Scholarship)

The dates for Visual Arts and the Digital Technologies and Hangarau Matihiko Common Assessment Task (DCAT) are not changing.

If you have any questions about these changes, please contact

Steve Read - Deputy Principal - sread@kavanagh.school.nz

Jill Armstrong - NZQA Principals Nominee - jarmstrong@kavanagh.school.nz

Rachel Mortimer - Assistant Principal - rmortimer@kavanagh.school.nz