Missed NCEA credits? What to do now

Not getting the results you wanted in NCEA can be disappointing, but it doesn’t have to stop you achieving your goals. Here’s what you can do now.

First check your results and see if you can apply for a review or reconsideration.

Check your results for internally assessed standards and portfolios against your marks. Talk to your school if you have concerns.

When you get your answer booklets back, check that:

• they are marked completely
• those marks match your results.

How to apply for a review or reconsideration

If you find a marking mistake, you can ask the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) for:

• a review – where your results are checked against your answer booklet
• a reconsideration – where your answer booklet is re-marked.

• NZQA website - information about NCEA reviews and reconsiderations

Talk to a teacher or student adviser about your options. You may be able to:

• earn missing credits while studying at a higher level – for example, if you missed some Level 1 maths credits, you could do these again while working towards Level 2
• change some subjects – your school may have a subject confirmation day where you can change subjects.

Consider doing tertiary or workplace learning while at school

You may be able to start tertiary study or workplace learning while working towards NCEA.

Programmes include:

• at school through Gateway or STAR
• at a trades or services academy.

• Start tertiary or workplace learning while at school

If you’ve missed credits you need for a tertiary course, you can try these options.

See what help the tertiary education provider offers 

Contact a student adviser at the education provider you want to attend (polytechnic, university or wānanga). They may suggest:

• a foundation or bridging course
• that you do a related course first and then reapply for the course you want. For example, if you want to become a nurse you could complete a Certificate in Health Studies to earn enough credits to apply for a nursing degree.

• Courses database – search for education providers

You may be eligible for special entry, where you can enrol for a tertiary course without the usual NCEA credits.

• Do a course or training without NCEA

Do NCEA credits before your course starts

You may be able to make up missing NCEA credits before your course starts.

You could do this:

• at school early in Term 1
• through Te Kura (The Correspondence School) summer school.

Te Kura summer school this year runs from 19 December 2022 to 10 February 2023.

• Te Kura website - information about summer school programmes

• Contact us for career help

Sources

• NZQA website, accessed January 2023, (www.nzqa.govt.nz).
• Te Kura website, accessed January 2023, (www.tekura.school.nz).