The New Zealand School Certificate or School Certificate was an examination-based
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
secondary-school qualification for
high-school students in Year 11 (Form 5) from the 1940s until 2002.
Qualification details
Originally to gain School Certificate proper, students had to achieve an average score of at least 50 percent and a "C" grade (50–64%) or better in all subjects (including English and mathematics). Latterly this changed to three subjects and by the final years of school certificate, students could progress to the sixth form (year 12) if they narrowly missed these criteria but had an overall score of 180 in their top four subjects. This was at the discretion of the school.
Some subjects were a mixture of internal and external assessments. Internal assessment increased in later years. Subjects such as art, music and design technology were internally assessed by the school and nationally moderated. Originally internal exams were adjusted and scaled to ensure only 50% of students gained a “C” grade or higher. Latterly they were adjusted and scaled to make them consistent with results from other schools nationwide.
An "A" School Certificate was awarded to candidates achieving scores between 80–100 percent and "B" School Certificates were awarded for scores between 65–79 percent. Students attaining five or more A grades received a special certificate acknowledging their achievement.
History
School Certificate was awarded by the
Ministry of Education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
until 1991, and then by the
New Zealand Qualifications Authority
The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA; mi, Mana Tohu Mātauranga o Aotearoa) is the New Zealand government Crown entity tasked with administering educational assessment and qualifications. It was established by the Education Act 1989 ...
until 2002 when it was replaced by the
National Certificate of Educational Achievement
The National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) is the official secondary-school qualification in New Zealand. Phased in between 2002 and 2004, it replaced three older secondary-school qualifications. The New Zealand Qualifications Au ...
(NCEA) at Level 1.
See also
*
History of education in New Zealand
The development of state education in New Zealand has been shaped by social and political interactions between Māori as tangata whenua of the land, missionaries, settlers, voluntary organisations and those charged with consolidating central st ...
*
Sixth Form Certificate Sixth Form Certificate was a New Zealand secondary school qualification gained at the end of Year 12 (Form 6) that was awarded until 2002. The system was assessed internally.
Sixth Form Certificate was originally developed to allow schools to provi ...
*
School Certificate (United Kingdom)
The United Kingdom School Certificate was an educational attainment standard qualification, established in 1918 by the Secondary Schools Examinations Council (SSEC).
The School Certificate Examination (often called the "Junior Certificate" or " ...
*
School Certificate (Australia)
References
*
{{Reflist
History of education in New Zealand
Secondary school qualifications