Rules for students taking assessments

About the rules students need to follow for external assessments

When students enter an external assessment, they agree to:

  • following the rules and instructions for Candidates
  • comply with any decisions that NZQA makes.

Candidate information sheet 2023 [PDF, 219 KB]

Puka Pārongo Kaitono 2023 [PDF, 283 KB]

There are rules for assessment

These rules make sure assessment is fair.

Student work must be their own. Read more in our Assessment Rules:

NZQA Assessment Rules for Schools, TEOs assessing against Achievement Standards and NCEA Co-requisite Standards, and Candidates 2024

NZQA will apply the rules

Students must not break the rules.

NZQA will investigate any possible breaches of the rules and can impose penalties if there is proof of a breach.

Learn more about breaches of the rules and the processes we follow

What happens if you break the rules

Schedule 5 of the Assessment Rules outlines the process for possible breaches of the rules:

Go to Schedule 5 of the Assessment Rules

Before an assessment

Timetable for end-of-year exams

The NCEA and New Zealand Scholarship examination sessions are 3 hours.

The sessions start at either 9.30 am or 2.00 pm.

To find out the date and time of an assessment, see:

National secondary assessment timetable

Timetable for assessment of Literacy and Numeracy or Te Reo Matatini me te Pāngarau

There are sessions for these assessments during the year. Schools can run these assessments within certain dates.

Check with your school when they are running them and what you need to do.

Timetable for Common Assessment Activities

These assessments happen throughout the year.

Check for the dates:

NCEA Review Pilot assessment timetable

What you can and can't bring to an NCEA exam or assessment

Students are responsible for taking the correct equipment to the assessment and making sure that it is working.

Bring equipment into the assessment room in a clear plastic bag.

Students can bring:

  • pens (black and blue colours are allowed)
  • pencils
  • an eraser
  • an approved calculator for subjects where a calculator has been used during the year.

Check the assessment specifications for the subject

You can confirm what is allowed in a specific assessment by reading the relevant assessment specification.

Find the assessment specification on the subject's page:

NCEA subject resources (external link)

Approved calculators

Calculators must:

  • be silent
  • be hand-held
  • be non-printing
  • work from their own power.

Students cannot keep notes, routines or store files in the calculator memory.

Teachers or supervisors will check the calculator memory is cleared before it can be brought into the assessment room.

List of approved calculators

Emergency evacuation and student pack

Students are allowed to bring items for an emergency evacuation into the assessment room in a clear, sealable plastic bag.

This pack must stay under the chair. Students must not touch or open it without the permission of the supervisor.

Contents could include:

  • a mobile phone (switched off) or other electronic device
  • keys
  • money
  • mask or other face covering
  • bus pass
  • medicines.  

Banned items

Do not bring the following items into an assessment room unless they are sealed in the emergency evacuation pack:

  • blank paper or refill paper
  • correcting fluid
  • books, written notes or electronic notes
  • mobile phones or pagers
  • English dictionaries, foreign language dictionaries, or te reo Māori dictionaries or translators
  • watches of any type (digital or analogue)
  • any electronic device which has the capability to store, communicate or retrieve information except approved calculators.

On the day of the assessment

Arrive at least 20 minutes before the exam starts so you can find out where the assessment room is in the school.

If you arrive more than 30 minutes after the assessment has started, you will not be able to sit the assessment or enter an assessment room.

In the assessment room

  • At all times, listen to and follow the instructions of the supervisor.
  • Sit at the desk allocated. The assessment booklets at this desk will have been selected and coded specifically for the individual student.
  • Check all the answer booklets have your student NSN and Examination Code on them as listed on your Admission Slip.
  • When told, check that all pages in each assessment booklet are printed correctly.
  • If you have a problem, you should put your hand up.
  • Students cannot leave in the first 45 minutes or the last 15 minutes of the examination, even to use the toilet.

During the assessment

Students should:

  • not borrow equipment from someone else
  • not talk to, communicate with, or do anything to disturb other students
  • not read or copy another student's work.

Writing answers

Students should:

  • follow all the instructions on the front cover of the assessment booklet
  • use only black or blue pen
  • not write in pencil unless instructed to do so. Work in pencil or erasable pen will not be accepted if a student applies for review or reconsideration
  • write neatly, so the marker can read the answers
  • cross out any work they do not want marked
  • not write or draw anything that may be regarded as offensive
  • not write to the marker or write in the part of the answer booklet 'For assessor's use only'
  • not write answers for one standard in the answer booklet for another. Where students fill up their answer booklet, they may request extra paper
  • fill in their details at the top of any additional sheets of paper provided and put them inside the answer booklet.

At the end of the assessment

Students must stop writing when the supervisor tells them to.

They must hand all material to be marked to the supervisor before they leave. If they take any work outside the assessment room, it will not be marked.

Students can keep resource booklets and separate question booklets.

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