Press Statement: Government’s NCEA reforms vindicate decade of education research
Wellington (Monday, 4 August 2025) – The New Zealand Initiative welcomes the Government’s announcement to replace NCEA with a more rigorous qualification system, marking a crucial turning point for New Zealand education.
The proposed reforms – including compulsory English and Mathematics at Year 11, structured subject requirements and clearer A-E grading – directly address the fundamental flaws The New Zealand Initiative has identified through years of research.
“This is precisely the overhaul we’ve been calling for,” said Dr Michael Johnston, Senior Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative. “NCEA’s excessive flexibility has become its fatal weakness, allowing students to game the system rather than master essential knowledge.”
The Government’s move to introduce a knowledge-rich national curriculum aligns perfectly with the Initiative’s longstanding advocacy for education. Since 2018, the Initiative has documented how NCEA’s credit accumulation model encourages superficial learning at the expense of deep subject mastery.
“When students can cherry-pick easy standards to accumulate credits, we shouldn’t be surprised that employers find school leavers lack basic skills,” Dr Johnston said. “The new five-subject structure will ensure students develop coherent knowledge rather than collecting disconnected fragments.”
The Initiative particularly applauds the commitment to develop better vocational pathways in partnership with industry. This directly implements recommendations from the Initiative’s recent research showing that fragmented vocational programmes have failed to provide clear alternatives to university.
“Schools have been overwhelmingly biased towards academic pathways, even though only a third of students pursue degrees,” Dr Johnston said. “Creating industry-designed vocational pathways with equal status to academic routes is essential for serving all students, not just the university-bound.”
The proposed A-E grading system will provide the transparency parents and employers have long sought, replacing NCEA’s opaque achievement levels with internationally understood standards.
“These reforms represent a victory for quality over mediocrity,” Dr Johnston said. “Now the hard work begins – implementing these changes effectively will determine whether New Zealand can finally reverse two decades of educational decline.”
ENDS
For more information or to arrange an interview with Dr Michael Johnston, please contact:
E: michael.johnston@nzinitiative.org.nz
P: 021 0227 3415
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About The New Zealand Initiative
The New Zealand Initiative is an evidence-based think tank and research institute contributing to public policy discussion.
Supported by the nation’s leading visionaries, business leaders and political thinkers, we are committed to making New Zealand a better country for all its citizens with a world-class education system, affordable housing, a healthy environment, sound public finances and a stable currency.
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