by Rosalind Peterson
The most common question that we’ve been asked over the two decades that our family has homeschooled is, “But what about socialisation?!” And the second most common question has been, “But what about high school qualifications?!”
You may have already decided on what is your favourite answer to the school qualifications question, but if you haven’t, I hope that my version of “A Beginner’s Guide to High School Qualifications for the NZ Home Educator”, or Qualifications 101, will be of some use to you.
1. If you want your child to get high school qualifications while still at home, there are (at least) three options:
A. The New Zealand “NCEA”.
When I was a teenager, NZ school qualifications were: School Cert in Form 5 (now called Year 11), 6th Form Certificate/UE in Form 6 (Year 12), & Bursary in Form 7 (Year 13). They have been replaced with: NCEA Level 1 in Year 11, NCEA Level 2 in Year 12, & NCEA Level 3 in Year 13 (plus Level 4 as scholarship exams in Year 13). Theoretically, homeschooled kids can do NCEA by linking in with a school - but the reality is that no school wants the hassle – which leaves us with just the option of the NZ Correspondence School. (Warning: Very expensive unless your child is at least 16 years old.) An important point to remember: it is perfectly OK to do whoever level you think that your teen can handle (eg Level 3 English) *without* having done the previous levels, though the Correspondence School will ask what prior study has been done.
B. The British “Cambridge University A Levels”.
IGCSE exams are sat at the end of Year 11, AS exams at the end of Year 12, and A2 at the end of Year 13. (AS + A2 = your “full A Level” results.) These exams can be sat by home educators, via the home school academy, Bridge Academy, here in South Auckland ( – the contact is Jill Meyer at mmeyer@ww.co.nz) – but be warned, these exams are tough. Over 50 NZ schools now offer Cambridge Univ exams. For more info about Cambridge University exams:
www.acsnz.org.nz/
www.kingscollege.school.nz (second half of page)
“To gain the common tertiary entrance standard, students require 120 UCAS points. This is the equivalent of four D grades in AS Papers.”
C. The American “SAT tests”.
There are two SAT tests; the SAT I Reasoning Test (general test) and the SAT II (subject tests). The SAT I test is a 3 hour test of Maths & English. The SAT II tests are one hour each in separate subjects. The tests can be sat in Auckland, Wanganui, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch, and Invercargill. NZ universities may accept SAT scores as supporting evidence for your teen’s application for Provisional Entrance (now usually called Discretionary Entrance). You will probably require a minimum total score of 1100 for the SAT I, with at least 600 for the Maths component if you plan on doing a BSc, & 600 for the verbal skills component to do a BA. To be granted Discretionary Entrance, you’ll need proof of FOUR subjects ie the Maths/English of the SAT I plus at least two SAT II subject tests (- but not another Maths). For more info about SAT tests:
www.fulbright.org.nz/education/sat.html
2. Getting university entrance:
A. Provisional Entrance (PE).
PE (& Discretionary Entrance, known as DE) is granted by the university if they feel confident that the student has *at least* a good Year 12 education. Long ago homeschoolers could quite easily convince some universities that the teen’s academics were of an adequate standard – but things are much tougher now. In 2000 my son found that the University of Auckland required exam results as proof, & now at Massey University they require teacher evaluations of the teen’s work. Once you get PE, you will be ”on probation” until you have passed a full year’s university workload, & you will not be allowed to enroll in any limited entry courses (eg professional courses & Comp Sci 101 at the University of Auckland).
[Update: Since I wrote the above, NZ universities have really tightened up on this method of entry, so check your univ's website for specific details. One of my sons scored in the top 5 students in NZ in Physics for a Cambridge exam in 2004 - and still wasn't granted Prov/Discretionary Entrance to the Univ of Auckland in 2005. He had to pass enough NCEA subjects, like everyone else.]
B. Gaining the Common Entrance Standard (CES) with NCEA.
It used to be that three C passes in any Bursary subjects got you into university. With NCEA Level 3 (ie Year 13), three bare passes, or two bare passes plus two almost-passes (ie at least 42 credits at Level 3), will give you CES – but you also must have fulfilled the new literacy & numeracy requirements. You will need to have passed Maths to at least Year 11 level and to have passed roughly half of Level 2 English. (My younger children will probably gain university entrance by enrolling with the NZ Correspondence School after they are 16, for four or five Level 3 subjects - including a Maths subject, to fulfill the numeracy requirement, plus Level 2 English.)
However, please be warned that some universities have so much demand for their courses that having just bare university entrance won’t be enough. Eg at the Univ of Auckland, you need at least 60 credits (not 42) to get into a Bachelor of Arts degree; everything else is even more.
C. Gaining the Common Entrance Standard (CES) with Cambridge Univ exams.
Because Cambridge exams are tougher than NCEA, you need three passes at only AS (ie Year 12) level – and to fulfill the numeracy & literacy requirements. (ie a minimum of IGCSE Maths & AS English.) Again, to get into the Univ of Akld requires marks above the bare minimum.
D. Aged over 20 years old.
This is *not* a way of automatic entry into uni. In the past, entry requirements may have been looser but today there is so much competition that univ’s can be picky – and they don’t want to increase their rate of “% of students who dropped out before completing their degree.” Unless your teen is able to show proof of adequate academics (eg exam results), he/she will probably be directed to first complete a bridging course.
For more info about University Entrance:
www.kingscollege.school.nz/
If you have any questions please post them on the NCHENZ members’ Yahoo group or leave a comment below.
Very kind regards
Rosalind 
( Updated November 2009)
[...] Qualifications 101 by Rosalind Peterson [...]
Hi there, i’m 15 and wanting to get homeschooled. My parents are considering it. I was wondering if it’s too late to be homeschooled? And if i can do the NCEA exams this year while being homeschooled?
It’s nearly May 2010
Please reply as soon as possible
Thanks
Ella
Hi Ella,
I’m sorry I don’t have the answers to your questions – my kids are 9 and 11 and we haven’t got to your stage yet. The above information is as much as I know. Homeschoolers are generally a helpful bunch though, so hopefully a fellow NCHENZ member with older children will be able to provide some more information
)
You can do the NCEA exams through the correspondence school as part of your homeschool learning, however they are expensive. Once you are 16 you can enrol at the correspondence school as an adult learner at no charge. Other options include courses at other training institutions.
Options really depend on where you want to go, you might like to read
http://www.nchenz.org.nz/resources/qualifications/pathways-to-tertiary-education/
Regards
Tarnya
Hi Ella,
If you want to do NCEA through the correspondence school it is very expensive before you turn 16, and as a quarter of the year is passed, getting all the internals done could be a problem. After you are 16 you can enroll with the correspondence school for free. I am assuming you are still enrolled at school. As that school will already have funding for you they may be open to you still sitting NCEA Level 1 with them, but doing most of your work from home – it may be worth asking – they can only say no but someone there may be pleased you are keen to get qualifications even though you are not keen to remain in school. Another possibility is the ACE programme, which many home schoolers use, or enrolling to do Cambridge exams.
Feel free to ask more questions here if you need to as you work out the best options for you.
All the best,
Maddy
Hi Ella,
You can be homeschooled and sit NCEA external exams by linking with a secondary school to sit the exams. There is an application form on the site below (right side of the page, 2nd WORD icon down). After getting an exemption for homeschooling from the MInistry of Education you should contact NZQA to register for NCEA. The form says the application should be sent before March 1st, but I encourage you to see if you can still apply.
http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/acrp/secondary/home-schoolers.html
How soon will you be 16? At that age you can enrol with the Correspondence School throught the Young Adult category and sit NCEA through them.
All the best,
Penny.
Ella, It is not too late, but if you want to do NCEA it does get a little more complicated. As Tarnay mentioned you have free access to the school of correspondence at 16. This is an option that many HS families use when they want their children to complete NCEA as it is really straight forward. My children are younger than you too, but I believe you can affiliate with some schools for NCEA, but again this takes a bit more work to get organised,and not all do it. If I were you (and your folks) you could start HS’ing as soon as the exemption is approved but work on independent studies until you are 16 and then use correspondence school for NCEA. Based on when you turn 16 the extra few months this may slow you down in the scheme of your whole life is neither here or there. Hope that helps.
Hi Ella,
Have you worked out what it is about school that you dont like and what you would like instead?
There will be a counsellor or Dean at school you can talk to with your parents, and work out a plan with you for the next couple of years, but it will help if you can tell them what the problem is.
If you want to work in a profession (doctor, architect etc) you will need good marks in NCEA or similar. The dean will tell you whether the school will support you by letting you sit with them or maybe even giving you work to do at home. Otherwise you might have to wait for next year to enrol in correspondence school.
Another option for 15 yos is Youth Training. This gets you NCEA but is aiming for a job rather than a profession. They keep similar hours to school but without pressure of exams as you do it at your own pace. Taught are basic work skills, compiling a CV, often a stage of the driver’s licence along with subjects as diverse as business skills, IT, hospitality industry, and various trades. (Each provider specializes in one or two subjects). Students are assisted to find work or further training after the course. See http://www.tec.govt.nz/templates/standard.aspx?id=481 (search “Participating providers”)
If you want to do your own thing then google search “Unschooling” and read the rest of the info on this website – you can get into uni without NCEA if you start with a foundation course. All you need to do to leave school and start homeschooling is get an exemption from school from the Ministry of Education, you dont have to do the same work as at school.
Would you like to join a homeschooled teenagers internet social group? Join Groupbox http://www.groupbox.com and type the word Mayhem (thats right, Mayhem) into the search box, you will get a join prompt for this group
best wishes
Marianne