May 09, 2022
Equity gap in NCEA results
Māori Year 12 students were the only group whose NCEA level 2 attainment dropped in 2021 compared to 2019.
The New Zealand Qualifications Authority says there was a net 0.6 percentage point drop among that group.
NZQA deputy chief executive Andrea Gray says while attainment for Māori and Pacific students held up during 2021 compared with 2019, the underlying equity gap remains.
Overall attainment at level 2 was up 0.4 percentage points in 2019 but 2.2 points down from 2020.
Ms Gray says the results reflect hard work by students and outstanding support from schools, complemented by changes to help address the disruption from COVID-19.
Overall attainment of NCEA Level 1 amongst Year 11 students was 69 per cent in 2021, compared to 72 per cent in 2020 and 71 per cent in 2019.
This is consistent with a trend of some schools moving away from offering a full NCEA Level 1 programme in Year 11, focussing instead on a two-year pathway to achieving NCEA Level 2 in Year 12.