how does the nz grading system work?
I'm going to explain the entire system for you, just so you don't need to (hopefully) ask any more questions after this (although you can if you want, I don't mind). Some schools use different testing and grading things, but the most common one is NCEA (National Certificate of Educational Achievement), and that's the one my school uses.NCEA is a system run by NZQA (New Zealand Qualifications Authority) that revolves around "credits". There are 3 levels for high school students. To pass level 1, you must get 80 NCEA level 1 credits. To pass level 2, you must get 60 NCEA level 2 credits, as well as an additional 20 credits from another level. To pass level 3, you need 60 level 3 credits, as well as 20 from another level. To get entrance to most universities, the minimum is 14 credits from 3 NCEA level 3 approved subjects (so, 42 level 3 credits evenly divided across 3 subjects), as well as 10 literacy credits from level 2 or above, which are made of up of 5 credits and writing and 5 in reading (this can usually be gained by taking English in year 12, not a problem), and 10 numeracy credits at level 1 or above (usually attainable by taking a math class in year 11).
Credits are earnt by passing assessments throughout the year. Assessments are divided into 2 categories: Internal and external. Internal assessments are marked by teachers at the student's school, and moderated by other teachers at the school. Externals are marked by people paid by NCEA to mark exams, and externals are usually only sat at the end of the year, although some subjects have a couple during the year as well. Different assessments are worth different amounts of credits. For example: My speech that I did in my english class this year was worth 3 credits, but my writing portfolio for English is worth 6 credits (I think). Most subjects offer an average of 24 credits, but some offer far more, and others a little less. No subject will offer less than 20 usually.
There are 4 grades you can earn for assessments: Not Achieved, Achieved, Merit and Excellence. There is no set "percentage" or anything for each grade, NCEA puts out a marking criteria for each assessment, and a students grade is determined by which criteria they meet for that particular assessment. For example, to pass the first health assessment I did this year, I had to write a report analysing a New Zealand health issue. That's it. But I got excellence for it (which I bloody well earnt because I wrote more than 9000 words), which means I analysed it perceptively, and the perception is what makes the difference. (for merit, it would have been an in depth analysis). There's more detail to the marking than that, but that's the general idea.
There's all sorts of stuff I could tell you about subject endorsements and stuff, but I've rambled on enough and you're probably bored as heck, but if you do want to know, just ask! I enjoy talking about NCEA, just because it's so different to other countries' schooling systems, and it's entertaining watching people try to wrap their heads around it xD
