Parent’s concern for NCEA changes with already ‘overworked’ teacher workforce

Monday, 4 August 2025

A Wellington parent says she is “worried” about the future of her daughter’s education, following a Government announcement to scrap NCEA and introduce new secondary school qualifications.

Gerri Ward said she was “acutely aware” of the strain already experienced by teachers, who were “overworked, underpaid [and] under-resourced”.

Her daughter, Quinn, was in Year 4 so secondary school was a few years yet. But as a parent, she was worried whether the changes would be suitably well-resourced and implemented to support the start of her secondary school education.

Teachers and principals said the announcement held promise – but only if teachers were supported to deliver the new curriculum.

Education Minister Erica Stanford announced on Monday the Government would replace the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), with the transition starting in 2028.

The new system – which would go out for feedback – would replace NCEA’s complex system of credits with scores from 0-100 and a reversion to grade scales such as A through E. It would introduce new qualifications to sit atop the new national curriculum for years 9 to 13, which was expected to be introduced in 2026.

“It’s time to ensure that when students reach secondary school, our national qualification reflects the same high standards and ambition we expect throughout their education,” Stanford said.

Ward said a downside and “unintended outcome” of NCEA was that it encouraged “credit chasing”. It also lacked comparability and did not usefully link vocational goals and workplace knowledge with the subjects offered.

She was encouraged by “subjects designed by industry” included in the new qualifications. With the grading scales, it was important teachers communicated well so students did not feel defined by the letter they were given, she said.

“Politically, I wonder if the coalition Government is pandering to their voter base in this response, and whether it’s actually policy driven or populist vote driven.”

Labour education spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime raised concerns, pointing to “previous rushed overhauls” – like national standards – which “led to students being the guinea pigs for failed change”.

“NCEA is not perfect, which is why we started to implement a fully consulted change process that this Government delayed.”

The Green Party said scrapping the entire NCEA system was “throwing the baby out with the bathwater”.

Flexibility and a tailored, student-centric had been very important for some students, Green Party education spokesperson Lawrence Xu-Nan said.

“Our education system is too important to be reduced to a single, rigid framework that will leave many behind.”

ACT leader David Seymour celebrated the move, saying the debate over NCEA was the first time he paid attention to politics.

“I watched the principal of my high school, John Morris, fighting the [then]-Minister of Education, Trevor Mallard. Everything John predicted has turned out to be right,” he said.

“Sitting exams and getting graded is tough, we all know that, but it serves as a useful preparation for life, taking on challenges and building resilience. By moving away from high-stakes exams, we may have unintentionally worn down New Zealand’s character.”

Teachers cautiously optimistic about NCEA change

President of the Post Primary Teachers Association Chris Abercrombie said he hoped benefits of the NCEA system, such as its founding principle that all students should have opportunities to succeed, would be retained.

He was pleased the new qualifications would still be standards and curriculum-based but it was important the curriculum was “nailed first”.

His greatest concern was how teachers would be supported to make the changes.

The timeline to implement the new curriculum and assessment sounded like a long time, but was in fact “relatively quick”.

Canterbury-West Coast Secondary Principals Association president Rachel Skelton, who is the principal of Rolleston College, was broadly supportive, but “the devil will be in the detail”.

She wasn’t surprised by level 1 getting scrapped, but the changes to levels 2 and 3 were “huge”.

The return to grades of A to E, and marks out of 100, would be attractive to parents and easier to understand, she said.

She was interested to know how the vocational education pathways would change and how “subjects designed by industry” would be implemented.

She didn’t think it would make too much difference to students, who would adjust quickly.

Making English and maths mandatory for year 11 students was positive and would help improve literacy and numeracy.

She said flexibility would still be needed in how those subjects were taught and the learning recognised.

Teachers were in the midst of collective bargaining for a new agreement, and were coping with other significant changes to the curriculum, Skelton said.

“I hope they will feel reassured that there’s time for this to be rolled out.”

Auckland Secondary Schools Principals Association president and Albany Senior High School principal Claire Amos thought some of the changes were more of a re-brand.

Amos said she was concerned about what would replace more generic unit standards – widely derided as “barista” credits – that were actually useful for some young people, but would no longer count towards their certificates at level 2 and Level 3.

“And so my question is, what are we going to do to ensure that those young people still have pathways and have success?”

Secondary Principals Association of New Zealand (SPANZ) president and Kaitaia College principal Louise Ānaru welcomed the changes and felt they would result in more consistent assessment across schools, while retaining positive elements from NCEA including a balance of internal and external assessments.

Universities New Zealand was broadly supportive, but chief executive Chris Whelan said more detail was needed about changes to university entrance requirements.

What are the changes

The new proposal would scrap NCEA level 1, and instead required students to take English and Maths in Year 11 (5th form) and “sit a foundation award (test) in numeracy and literacy.”

In Year 12 and Year 13 the Government proposes to replace NCEA with two new qualifications - the New Zealand Certificate of Education and the New Zealand Advanced Certificate of Education.

The Foundational Skills Award is expected to begin in 2028, followed by the new year 12 and 13 qualifications in 2029 and 2030.

During the transition period, students will either be assessed through the current NCEA and curriculum or the new qualification and updated curriculum.

The changes are out for consultation until September 15.