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About standards

Information about assessment and skill standards

About standards

A standard describes what a student who has achieved the standard knows and can do. 

There are 3 types of standards:

  • achievement standards
  • unit standards
  • skill standards.

Achievement and unit standards are also called assessment standards.

An example of an Agriculture unit standard:

19070 - Harvest cash crops under supervision.

An example of a Biology achievement standard:

91606 -  Demonstrate understanding of trends in human evolution.

Find a standard

Standards are listed on the Directory of Assessment and Skill Standards (DASS)

Search the DASS

Level and credit value of standards

Each standard has a level and a credit value. The level shows the complexity and skill it takes to achieve the standard.

The credit value shows the amount of time it takes to achieve the learning outcomes for a standard. One credit represents 10 notional hours of teaching, learning and assessment.

Achieving standards

Learners achieve standards as part of their assessment towards NCEA or another qualification or micro-credential they're enrolled in (if that qualification or micro-credential includes standards).

A learner can also achieve individual standards when they want to have a specific skill or knowledge recognised or need certain standards for their job. For example, crane operators need the standard US3789. These may be assessed at work or on a training course.

Standards earned in school, or through tertiary or workplace training are recorded on a learner's New Zealand Record of Achievement (NZRoA).

Internal and external assessments for NCEA

Some external assessments are by examination at the end of the year.

For other subjects, assessment is by portfolios or kete manarua, reports, investigations, common assessment activities or tūmahi aromatawai pātahi, or performances.

Find out more

NCEA external assessment (exams)

NCEA subject resources (external link)

Assessment grades

The grades a student can earn depend on the type of standard.

For unit and skill standards, all grades may be available, but usually there are just 2:

  • Achieved (A) if students meet the standard's criteria
  • Not Achieved (N) if students don't meet the standard's criteria


For achievement standards, there are 4 grades:

  • Achieved (A) for a satisfactory performance
  • Merit (M) for very good performance
  • Excellence (E) for outstanding performance
  • Not Achieved (N) if students don't meet the standard's criteria.

When a student doesn't achieve a standard

Students who don’t achieve a standard can ask their school or tertiary provider if there’s another internal or external assessment opportunity available.

There are different rules for schools and higher education providers, but most of the time, students can resit an assessment at a later date.

Developing standards

Organisations that develop standards are known as standard-setting bodies (SSB). All standards are developed by subject matter experts.

  • The Ministry of Education develops achievement standards related to the New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa.
  • Workforce Development Councils develop skill standards and unit standards.
  • NZQA also develops some skill standards and unit standards.

Find out more

Changes to the New Zealand curriculum (external link)

Workforce Development Councils (external link)

Directory of Assessment and Skill Standards search (external link)

Quality and the Directory of Assessment and Skill Standards

All standards listed on the DASS are quality assured.

An organisation must have consent to assess against standards before it can award these standards. 

National external moderation makes sure that assessment decisions are consistent across all providers assessing a standard.

Find out more

Consent to assess for schools

Consent to assess for tertiary providers

National external moderation for schools

National external moderation for tertiary providers

More about standards

Standard reviews and developments

Information on the latest reviews and changes to standards

Review updates

Assessment support materials

Resources to help when assessing standards

Unit standard resources

Standards exclusion list

List of standards that are mutually exclusive

Exclusion list

NCEA subject resources

Find subject specific resources and information

Find resources

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