[IN-CONFIDENCE - RELEASE EXTERNAL]

Kia ora

Thank you for the information request below. The Ministry will consider and respond to your request in accordance with the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).

Under section 15(1) of the Act, we are required to make and inform you of our decision on your request as soon as reasonably practicable and in any case not later than 20 working days after the day on which your request is received. You can therefore expect to receive our decision on your request on or before the 15th of September 2025. If more than 20 working days are needed due to the potential workload and/or consultations involved in answering your request, we will notify you accordingly.

In the interim, if you have any questions about your request, please email [email address].

Ngā mihi

Enquiries National Team | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga | Ministry of Education | MC education.govt.nz
We shape an education system that delivers equitable and excellent outcomes He mea tārai e mātou te mātauranga kia rangatira ai, kia mana taurite ai ōna huanga

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[UNCLASSIFIED]

Tēnā koe Lewis

 

OIA: 1352462 – the NCEA project

 

Thank you for your email of 18 August 2025 requesting the following
information:

 

1. Regarding the Integrity of Internal Assessment:

a.   All internal reviews, reports, and communications since 2018 that
discuss the issues of grade inflation, inconsistent moderation, and the
"undue assessment burden" associated with NCEA's heavy reliance on
internal assessment.

b.   Any longitudinal analysis comparing the long-term outcomes (including
university completion rates and post-study income) of students who achieve
NCEA qualifications primarily through internal assessment versus those who
achieve primarily through external, examination-based standards.

c.   All documents and communications related to the decision to remove
external examinations for a significant number of NCEA Level 1 subjects as
part of the NCEA "refresh."

 

2. Regarding "Flexibility" and the Dilution of Standards:

a.   All internal analyses, including the full, unredacted versions of
NZQA's "University Entrance insights papers," that discuss how NCEA's
"flexibility" has led to students, particularly in low-EQI schools, being
guided into combinations of standards that result in a "Level 2" or "Level
3" qualification that is functionally inadequate for university-level
study.

b.   Longitudinal data from 2005-2024 showing the national decline in
student enrolment and pass rates for traditional, academically rigorous
subjects such as Physics, Chemistry, and Calculus, broken down by
ethnicity and school EQI band.

c.   All internal advice and reports that model the impact of making
Literacy and Numeracy a separate, pass/fail co-requisite on the academic
rigor and foundational knowledge of students entering tertiary education
and the workforce.

 

3. Regarding the Fundamental Value of NCEA:

a.   Any and all cost-benefit analyses ever conducted by the Ministry of
Education, the Treasury, or NZQA that compares the NCEA system to:

i.  The qualification systems it replaced (e.g., School Certificate,
Bursary).

ii. International alternatives (e.g., Cambridge International
Examinations, International Baccalaureate).

This analysis should include metrics on cost, student outcomes,
international recognition, and preparedness for university.

b.   All advice provided to Ministers since 2018 that justifies the
continued use of NCEA as the single national qualification, in the face of
the declining PISA scores and widening "excellence gaps" documented in the
Ministry's own public reports.

 

Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982
(the Act).

 

You request, as currently worded, is very broad in nature and scope.
Attempting to locate, collate and prepare for release all information
requested within the timeframe requested would be a substantial
administrative task to undertake and would have a significant impact on
the Ministry’s ability to carry out our core functions. In addition, much
of the information you have requested is still to be considered by
Ministers through the Cabinet process. 

 

I am therefore refusing your request under section 18(f) of the Act as the
information you have requested cannot be made available without
substantial collation and research.  As required under sections 18A and
18B of the Act, I have considered whether inviting you to clarify, fixing
a charge or extending would enable your request to be answered. However, I
do not consider any of these mechanisms sufficiently mitigate the
administrative burden associated with attempting to provide a response. I
am also refusing your request under section 9(2)(f)(iv) of the Act, while
consultation on the proposal to replace NCEA with a new qualification
pathway is still under way and final decisions are yet to be made. The
consultation process is still open until 15 September 2025. Once the
consultation period has closed, and responses have been analysed, a
summary will be made publicly available. 

 

With regards to Parts 2a and 2b of your request, I have determined that
these parts of the information requested are not held by the Ministry.
They are believed to be held by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority
(NZQA). NZQA has advised that the response to Part 2a may be found at
[1]Insights papers - NZQA - NZQA . With regards to Part 2b, I can advise
that I have transferred this part of your request to NZQA in accordance
with section 14(b)(i) of the Act. You may expect a response from NZQA
directly concerning this part of your request.

 

You can find further details about the NCEA change proposal, including
information about why change is needed, and how to have your say, on the
consultation homepage here: [2]Consultation on proposal to replace NCEA -
Ministry of Education.  

 

Please note, we may publish this response on our website after five
working days. Your name and contact details will be removed.

 

Thank you again for your email. You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to
review my decision on your request, in accordance with section 28 of the
Act. You can do this by writing to [3][email address] or to
Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.

 

Nāku noa, nā

 

Official and Parliamentary Information | Ministry of Education | CM

[4]education.govt.nz

He mea tārai e mātou te mātauranga kia rangatira ai, kia mana taurite ai
ōna huanga
We shape an education system that delivers equitable and excellent
outcomes
[5]Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga

 

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Kia ora Lewis

 

Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982,
partially transferred to NZQA from MoE, on 2 Sept 2025 seeking the
following information:

 

        2 b.   Longitudinal data from 2005-2024 showing the national
decline in student enrolment and pass rates for traditional, academically
rigorous subjects such as Physics, Chemistry, and Calculus, broken down by
ethnicity and  school EQI band.

  

You can expect to receive a response to your request on or before 30
September 2025. You will be contacted again if there is a likelihood that
this timeframe cannot be met.

 

As you may know requests for official information become official
information once received.  As part of the processing of requests for
official information, NZQA may need to consult with relevant third
parties.  During the consultation, a third party may ask for the identity
of the individual/organisation requesting the information. If you are an
individual making a request, please advise us whether or not you would
have an objection to disclosing your identity if a third party asks for
your identity, and the reasons for your objection.  If you are an
individual making a request on behalf of an organisation please advise us
both whether you personally have an objection to disclosing your identity,
and the reasons for your objection, as well as any objection to
identifying the organisation, together with reasons. NZQA will consider
your reasons and whether they fit with any withholding grounds under the
Privacy Act 2020 or the Official Information Act 1982.

 

Requests from an organisation for information about the organisation will
be processed under Part 4 of the Official Information Act.

 

Please note that it is our policy to proactively release where possible. 
We will let you know when we respond, if we intend to publish it. Your
name and contact details will be removed before publication.  Please
contact us if you have any questions about that.

 

In some circumstances after scoping a request, NZQA may decide to charge
for making the requested information available. If this is the case, we
will write to you again with details and seek confirmation you wanted to
proceed on that basis.

 

For any enquiries about your request, please contact
[1][email address].

 

If you are dissatisfied with our response, you have the right, under
section 28(3) of the Official Information Act 1982, to lodge a complaint
with the Office of the Ombudsman at [2]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz. You
can also telephone 0800 802 502 or write to the Ombudsman at PO Box 10152,
Wellington, 6143.

 

NZQA Ministerials team

 

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Kia ora Lewis

 

We believe that the information available on our website [1]here is
sufficient for your  request in the short term.

 

Just some notes around this:

o I’ve linked the latest copy of the files, which go back 10 academic
years, we first started producing the files in 2022 (so the earliest
the published information goes back is 2012).
We could technically go back to 2008 but would be unable to go back
further, the data set we use to produce these figures starts in 2008.
o We do not have the concept of a pass rate with respect to a subject,
but the information linked above does include a grade distribution
(Not Achieved, Achieved, Merit, Excellence) for all achievement
standards assessed within that subject.

o School EQI Bands, and therefore the associated breakdowns, are not
available prior to 2019

 

Please get back to us on this via ministerials@nzqa,govt,nz if you have
any questions.

 

Ngā mihi

NZQA Ministerials team

 

From: Team Mailbox NZQA Ministerials <[email address]>
Sent: Tuesday, 2 September 2025 8:10 PM
To: [FOI #32052 email]
Subject: OC02037 Acknowledgement of partial transfer of Official
Information request -

 

Kia ora Lewis

 

Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982,
partially transferred to NZQA from MoE, on 2 Sept 2025 seeking the
following information:

 

        2 b.   Longitudinal data from 2005-2024 showing the national
decline in student enrolment and pass rates for traditional, academically
rigorous subjects such as Physics, Chemistry, and Calculus, broken down by
ethnicity and  school EQI band.

  

You can expect to receive a response to your request on or before 30
September 2025. You will be contacted again if there is a likelihood that
this timeframe cannot be met.

 

As you may know requests for official information become official
information once received.  As part of the processing of requests for
official information, NZQA may need to consult with relevant third
parties.  During the consultation, a third party may ask for the identity
of the individual/organisation requesting the information. If you are an
individual making a request, please advise us whether or not you would
have an objection to disclosing your identity if a third party asks for
your identity, and the reasons for your objection.  If you are an
individual making a request on behalf of an organisation please advise us
both whether you personally have an objection to disclosing your identity,
and the reasons for your objection, as well as any objection to
identifying the organisation, together with reasons. NZQA will consider
your reasons and whether they fit with any withholding grounds under the
Privacy Act 2020 or the Official Information Act 1982.

 

Requests from an organisation for information about the organisation will
be processed under Part 4 of the Official Information Act.

 

Please note that it is our policy to proactively release where possible. 
We will let you know when we respond, if we intend to publish it. Your
name and contact details will be removed before publication.  Please
contact us if you have any questions about that.

 

In some circumstances after scoping a request, NZQA may decide to charge
for making the requested information available. If this is the case, we
will write to you again with details and seek confirmation you wanted to
proceed on that basis.

 

For any enquiries about your request, please contact
[2][email address].

 

If you are dissatisfied with our response, you have the right, under
section 28(3) of the Official Information Act 1982, to lodge a complaint
with the Office of the Ombudsman at [3]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz. You
can also telephone 0800 802 502 or write to the Ombudsman at PO Box 10152,
Wellington, 6143.

 

NZQA Ministerials team

 

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Kia ora Lewis

 

Here is the full link mentioned in our earlier email.

 

[1]https://www2.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/understan...

 

Ngâ mihi

NZQA Ministerials team.

________________________________________

From: Lewis T <[2][FOI #32052 email]>

Sent: Thursday, 18 September 2025 12:03:58 pm (UTC+12:00) Auckland,
Wellington

To: Team Mailbox NZQA Ministerials

Subject: Re: OC02037 Initial response to OIA request -

 

Dear Team Mailbox NZQA Ministerials,

 

For some reason you have NOT  linked the website you said it was contained
on.

 

i do require all data back to 2008

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Lewis T

 

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