Changes to NCEA Exam and Portfolio Submission Dates

We have just received an update from NZQA (New Zealand Qualifications Authority) around some changes to dates and processes around assessments - including end of year exams and portfolio submissions.

These operational changes to NCEA mainly revolve around allowing further time for teaching, learning and internal assessment in Term Four by moving external exams and folio submission dates to later in the year.

These changes will mean significant changes to our school calendar for the remainder of the year, including the possibility of moving our school suspended timetable (mock exams) to a week later in the year. Once we are able to sort through the implications of these date changes, we will communicate the new dates to you as soon as possible.

Confirmed changes as of today are listed below.

Immediate changes

• external NCEA examinations and New Zealand Scholarship examinations will be delayed by two weeks so they start on Monday 22 November instead of 8 November. Examinations will now end on Tuesday 14 December.

• the requirement for NZQA verification of Level 1 and 2 Visual Arts portfolios will be waived, giving students more time to complete their portfolios and teachers more time for marking

• the submission date for subjects which require students to submit a portfolio, such as Design and Visual Communication, and Scholarship portfolios is being extended from 27 October to 10 November 2021, giving students more time to prepare.

Mathematics Common Assessment Task (MCAT) and Digital Technologies & Hangarau Matihiko Common Assessment Tasks (DigiCATs)

NZQA are delaying the NCEA Level 1 Mathematics Common Assessment Task (MCAT) from 16 September for two weeks – to 30 September. This will give students, who were due to sit the MCAT, more time to prepare.

At this stage, the dates for DigiCATs in Term 4 remain unchanged.

Ngā mihi

Steve Read
Deputy Principal