More than 5000 teens fail NCEA numeracy test four times or more

More than 5000 teens have failed the critical NCEA numeracy test four times or more.

A Qualifications Authority report said, by the end of last year, 5356 students were yet to pass the online "co-requisite" test after four or more attempts since 2023.

It said 2508 failed the reading test at least four times and the figure for the writing test was 2687.

The tests were offered twice a year, and students must pass all three, or complete 20 credits in approved literacy and numeracy standards, before they could be awarded any NCEA certificates.

"This data shows that there is still a population of students for whom more intensive or specific support is required," the report said.

About 14 percent or one in seven of the teens who met the literacy and numeracy requirements last year did so using the alternative standards rather than the tests - a pathway available only until the end of 2027.

Some schools warned that their students struggled to pass online tests and the alternative pathway was essential for them.

The report said the percentage of students passing the online tests showed they had become the primary pathway for achieving the literacy and numeracy requirement.

"In 2025, more than 85 percent of students met requirements for both literacy and numeracy through the co-requisite standards, an indication that the Ministry of Education's recommended approach for meeting the NCEA co-requisite has been well embedded," it said.

Students required on average of 1.3 attempts to pass the tests and most students first attempted the assessments in Year 10.

"The participation patterns suggest a shift towards earlier and more deliberate focus on foundational literacy and numeracy, with Year 10 emerging as the key point of first engagement," it said.

"In 2025, 75 percent of enrolled Year 10 students participated in one or more co-requisite assessments."

In 2028, the government will abolish NCEA level 1, and introduce a foundation certificate in literacy and numeracy as a first step to replacing NCEA with a new qualification system by 2030.