Endorsements

There are two types of endorsement:

• certificate endorsement
• course endorsement

Certificate endorsement shows high achievement across the courses you have studied.

When you gain 50 or more credits at Excellence at Level 1, your NCEA Level 1 certificate will be endorsed with Excellence.

When you gain 50 r more credits at Merit (or higher) at Level 1, your NCEA Level 1 certificate will be endorsed with Merit.

The same applies if you are working towards Level 2 or Level 3.

Credits from Level 2 can be used to endorse a certificate at Level 1, or credits from Level 3 can be used for Levels 1 or 2.

Credits for an endorsed NCEA certificate can be gained over more than one year.

Course endorsements recognise achievement in a particular course.

To be awarded an endorsement in most courses, you need 14 credits at Achieved, Merit or Excellence in a course in a single year, with at least three credits to come from internal assessment and at least three from external assessment.

For example, to get an Excellence endorsement in your Cook Island Māori course, you will need at least 14 Excellence credits, with at least 3 gained from internal assessment and 3 from the end-of-year exam.

Credits at either Excellence or Merit can count towards Merit endorsements, while credits at Excellence, Merit or Achieved can count towards Achieved endorsements.

Not all courses may have endorsements available - check with your school.

Information from NZQA's Guide to NCEA, February 2024