2023 NCEA attainment results show decrease across all levels, Government says urgent changes needed

A continuous decline in NCEA and university entrance attainment results has been labeled as “disappointing” and symbolic of the Covid-19 pandemic.

NCEA (National Certificate of Educational Achievement) and University Entrance (UE) final attainment results for 2023 were released today by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA).

The results show that overall attainment at all levels of NCEA and UE has decreased across Year 11 to 13 students for a third consecutive year.

Chris Abercrombie, president of the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA), said the results are “disappointing” and “symptomatic of the continuing effects of a serious pandemic and a worsening shortage of subject specialist teachers”.

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Between 2022 and 2023, attainment of NCEA Level 1 among Year 11 students dropped by 3.2 percentage points, adding to a decrease over the last five years.

Since 2019, NCEA Level 1 attainment has dropped 8.9 per cent.

Abercrombie said these results were “particularly concerning”, but could be credited to the young people in this cohort transitioning to secondary school during “extremely disruptive years” during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Many of them have probably not settled fully into the routines, study habits and disciplines of life as a secondary school student.”

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Meanwhile NZQA deputy chief executive of assessment Jann Marshall said the Year 11 results reflect the continuing trend of some schools moving away from offering a full NCEA Level 1 program and working towards achieving NCEA Level 2 over two years.

“A survey of schools by NZQA in late 2023 showed that 25 percent of schools were not planning on offering a full assessment program leading to NCEA Level 1 for their Year 11s this year. While it is optional for schools to offer NCEA Level 1, it remains the highest qualification held by around 10 per cent of school leavers,” Marshall said.

Attainment of NCEA Level 2 among Year 12 students also showed a decrease of 1.7 per cent from 2022 however. This makes it an overall decrease of 4.3 per cent compared to 2019.

Marshall said the Level 2 results reflect the ongoing effects of Covid-related disruption.

Attainment of Level 3 in Year 13 declined 0.5 per cent from 2022 and increased by 0.4 per cent compared to 2019.

Abercrombie said ongoing Covid-related sickness and absences of both teachers and students continued to take its toll last year.

“Last year’s Year 13 students, for instance, did practically all their secondary education in extremely disrupted times… Students benefit significantly from regular classroom lessons. There is no substitute.”

He added that the worsening shortage of subject specialist teachers is also clearly “starting to bite”.

“The latest PPTA staffing survey found that nearly 60 percent of secondary schools have teachers teaching subjects outside their specialist areas.

“I have no doubt that these teachers are working their hardest to fill the staffing gaps. However, all students need – and deserve – to have teachers who know their subject inside out.”

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Abercrombie urged the government to “show its mettle” and find an effective, lasting solution for the secondary teacher shortage.

“Every young person in Aotearoa New Zealand has a right to a specialist teacher in every subject. The future of Aotearoa New Zealand depends on it.”

Education Minister Erica Stanford told the Herald the failing NCEA and EU attainment rates confirm the need for “urgent and fundamental changes” to our education system.

“While I am pleased to see some areas of improvement in achievement, our rates of achievement rates have been declining for decades. We cannot allow this to continue, our children’s education is too important.”

The results come after Stanford yesterday announced a “major change” in the Government’s education priorities that will “make fundamental changes” in our school system and turn around declining achievement rates.

Stanford said her six priorities were a clearer curriculum, a focus on literacy and numeracy, especially at the early stage of schooling, more consistent assessment and achievement reporting, better teacher training, targeted support for students with additional needs, and more use of data and evidence to drive improvements.

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“These priorities are based on evidence and are focused on lifting achievement and reflect the Government’s unrelenting focus on improving the education New Zealand children receive. Parents need to know when they send their children to school, the education they receive is world-leading and is setting them up for success in life,” Stanford said.

The 2023 NCEA results showed while Māori student attainment has lifted slightly at NCEA Level 2, Level 3 and UE in 2023 compared to 2022, Pacific student attainment has declined at NCEA Levels 1 and 2 compared to 2022.

“While there are some positive movements, a significant underlying equity gap remains between Māori and Pacific students, and their European and Asian classmates at each level of NCEA,” Marshall said.

“Māori and Pacific students are still awarded University Entrance at around half the rate of their European and Asian peers. NZQA and the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) will soon release a report looking at how some schools are successful in supporting more equitable outcomes in the EU.”

Benjamin Plummer is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He has worked for the Herald since 2022.