Endorsed NCEA Certificates delivered
6 May, 2008
Nearly 110,000 NCEA certificates have now been delivered to students gaining the qualification at one of the three levels last year.
For the first time, the redesigned certificates include endorsements with Merit and Excellence, as part of a range of improvements to NCEA introduced last year.
Records of Achievement, detailing all standards and qualifications gained, have also been delivered to more than 34,000 students, including all Year 13 students who left secondary school last year.
To qualify for an endorsement with Excellence, students require 50 credits at Excellence. An endorsement with Merit requires 50 credits at Merit (or Merit and Excellence). In 2007:
- of 49,132 candidates gaining NCEA Level 1, 11,277 (23%) gained endorsement with Merit, and 2579 (5.2%) gained endorsement with Excellence.
- of 39,680 candidates gaining NCEA Level 2, 6690 (16.9%) gained endorsement with Merit, and 1517 (3.8%), gained endorsement with Excellence.
- of 20,489 candidates gaining NCEA Level 3, 4272 (20.9%) gained endorsement with Merit and 867 (4.2%) gained endorsement with Excellence.
NZQA Deputy Chief Executive, Qualifications, Bali Haque said the introduction of certificate endorsement appeared to be providing extra motivation for students.
"Certificate endorsement was introduced mid-way through the school year in 2007, but we have had anecdotal reports of students focussing on achieving the credits at Merit and Excellence required for endorsement.
"With an endorsement of certificates in place for a full year in 2008, we are expecting increased focus by students on achieving endorsement."
Endorsements will also automatically be applied retrospectively to NCEA qualifications gained by students in previous years, and will appear on students' Records of Achievement. Retrospective endorsement is based on credits gained at the time the qualification was awarded.
Students may order hard-copy version of retrospectively endorsed certificates by contacting the NZQA Call Centre on 0800 QAHELP. A cost of $15 per certificate applies.
For more information contact:
Steve Rendle
Senior Media Advisor
NZQA
DDI: 04-463-4240
Mobile : 0274-575783
Page updated: 06 May 2008