Information for Year 9 parents and caregivers - Changes in Junior Assessment as NCEA is phased out

For Year 9 Families

If you have had children at secondary school before, you may be familiar with the four level NCEA grading scale: Not Achieved, Achieved, Merit, Excellence New Zealand’s national assessment system is changing. Your child, as part of the current Year 9 cohort, will be among the first to move through this updated system. To prepare students for these changes, we are adjusting how we assess and report learning in Year 9.

What is changing?

We are moving from a 4-level scale to a 5-point scale:

Emerging → Developing → Consolidating → Proficient → Exceeding

This allows us to give more detailed and meaningful feedback about student progress.

What the 5-point scale means

• Emerging: Beginning to learn key concepts and skills. Requires regular support.
• Developing: Building understanding. Can demonstrate learning in familiar situations but still needs guidance.
• Consolidating: Working towards expectations. Showing most required skills with growing consistency.
• Proficient: Meeting expectations. Applies learning independently across a range of contexts.
• Exceeding: Above expectations. Demonstrates deep understanding and can apply learning in complex situations.

How to interpret your child’s progress

• Consolidating → Working towards the expected level
• Proficient → Meeting the expected level
• Exceeding → Working above the expected level

What this looks like in subjects

• Mathematics (and similar subjects): Students may receive percentage scores for tests.
• English, Social Studies (and similar subjects): Students will be assessed using the 5-point scale, based on the quality of their thinking, writing, and understanding.

Why are we making this change?

These changes:

• align with the new national direction for assessment
• provide clearer and more detailed feedback
• help students understand their progress before senior school

I have no doubt there will be adjustments to the grading systems used as the parameters of the new qualification system become clearer. You can expect regular communication on these qualification and assessment changes as your child progresses towards the senior school.