Year 12 and 13 Assessment

We deliver The National Certificate of Education (NCEA) Levels 1 and 3. These are national qualifications for secondary school students and are for everyone, whether they want to go to university, do an apprenticeship, or be ready to get a job when they leave school. We also offer Cambridge Mathematics.

We take seriously the responsibility of delivering fair assessment. Senior students need to understand Wellington College’s assessment policy and procedures as they navigate the NCEA years. The FAQs will clarify some of the most important aspects of the assessment policy for them to understand.

Course Information

Request Forms

FAQs

  • All work submitted for assessment purposes must be your own work.
  • For long-term assessments, working drafts may need to be submitted. Where evidence indicates that work presented for internal assessment is not your own work, a Not Achieved grade will be awarded.
  • Breaches of the rules include plagiarism, impersonation, false declarations of authenticity, cheating, and all forms of collusion in tests and exams.
  • Should a possible breach of the rules occur, the HOD will consult with Deputy Principal Mrs Lendrum, who will make a final decision about the appropriate response.

All content you submit for assessment must be your own work, reflecting your independent learning, skills and understanding. Using Gen-AI tools (including, but not limited to, ChatGPT) without acknowledgement is plagiarism and is a breach of the rules.

It is your responsibility to ensure that:

  • Using Gen-AI is allowed for the particular assessment you are using it for. Check this with your teacher or the HOD
  • The final work submitted is your work, reflecting your learning and performance
  • You correctly acknowledge your use of Gen-AI software.

  • You have the right to a reconsideration of any assessment-related decisions, including breaches of the rules, missed and late assessments, as well as grades awarded for assessments.
  •  Reconsiderations are to be made within five school days from the time of the event, or once assessed work is returned and gone over by the teacher.

  • For all reconsiderations, a Reconsideration Application Form is to be completed by the student. The HOD automatically receives this form, and will notify you of the outcome.
  • If the matter remains unresolved with the HOD, the Deputy Principal may be involved in the decision if needed. Students will need to complete the Unresolved Reconsideration Application Form and the decision made on the reconsideration by the HOD/Mrs Lendrum will be final.

  • Missing a deadline or absence from an assessment will result in no credit being awarded for that standard.
  • If you have already been given an adequate opportunity to achieve the standard, a Not Achieved grade will be awarded.

However, if circumstances causing lateness/absence have been discussed with the appropriate HOD, are deemed legitimate, and supported by a doctor’s certificate in the case of illness, the following outcomes may be possible:

  • provide a specified time extension to submit work for assessment (e.g. an assignment)
  • schedule the assessment at another agreed time
  • provide a further assessment opportunity
  • use relevant standard-specific evidence to award a grade
  • no credit awarded.

A family holiday or event is not a valid reason for extension for assessments. Work must be handed in ahead of the due date.

  • To apply for an extension, you must complete the Extension Application Form. The HOD will be automatically notified and will inform you of the outcome via email.
  • Unless there are extenuating circumstances, you must apply for extensions before the due date.

Please note that a family holiday or event is not a valid reason for an extension.

In certain circumstances, some students might request being entered in a reduced number of standards within a course.

  • When withdrawals do occur, these are to be made in consultation with the student.
  • For externals, any final withdrawals must occur before 1 September, and for internals, prior to 1 December.
  • To withdraw from a standard, you must complete the Request to Withdraw from a Standard Form and give it to the HOD.

Please note – If you have already been given an adequate opportunity to achieve the standard, a Not Achieved grade will be awarded and no withdrawal can take place.

  • There will be one assessment opportunity for each internal standard.
  • However, for some nominated standards, one further assessment opportunity will be provided in a year.
  • Also, specific aspects of a completed assessment can be reviewed, called ‘Resubmission’. If it is available, only one resubmission opportunity is given per assessment per year.

Please note: A student has access to an Achieved grade only from a resubmission.

A resubmission:

  • can be offered to individually identified students to correct a minor error and gain the grade of Achieved.
  • does not allow students to gain Merit or Excellence grades.

Full details relating to the standards being assessed, including whether further assessment opportunities and resubmission are available for standards, will be provided by departments in student course information at the start of the year.

We are here to help. If you have a permanent or long-term sensory, physical, medical or learning difficulty that directly impacts on your access to fair assessment then you may be eligible for Special Assessment Conditions (SAC). These are available for timed internal and external assessments (examinations). For more information please contact the Learning Support department senco@wc.school.nz.

If you are unable to sit an external assessment in the end-of-year examinations, you can apply for a Derived Grade. A Derived Grade is based on the result you gained in a school assessment.

Derived grades are decided by NZQA and based on evidence. The school assessment will use authentic evidence that is completed under exam conditions. Usually this will come from Derived Grade Exams in Term 3.

You can apply for a Derived Grade if you are unavoidably absent from an exam or your performance is impaired in the exam because of one of the following reasons:

  • medical
  • accident
  • bereavement
  • representing New Zealand in an activity that meets NZQA’s criteria

Holiday travel is not a valid reason for a Derived Grade.

The application form is on the NZQA website – please click here.

You can contact the Principal’s Nominee (Ms Lendrum – l.lendrum@wc.school.nz) for advice and help. The completed application form, along with appropriate documentation, should be returned to Ms Lendrum.