Education Minister Erica Stanford says artificial intelligence will be a boon in the plan to replace the NCEA school system.
Under the proposal, NCEA level 1 would be replaced with foundation literacy and numeracy tests.
Levels 2 and 3 would be replaced with a New Zealand Certificate of Education and an Advanced Certificate.
Students would be required to take five subjects and pass at least four to get each certificate. Marking would be out of 100 and grades would and range from A to E.
Teachers' unions are cautiously optimistic the changes will work, provided they are implemented and resourced well.
Stanford fielded questions at Auckland's Rangitoto College, a school she attended, and her children now go to.
Education Minister Erica Stanford visits Rangitoto College, Auckland, 5 August 2025. Photo: RNZ / Calvin Samuel
Stanford said the cost of the changes had mostly been budgeted already through previous Budget announcements.
She said there is already a reform process in place, which the government is using and shifting across.
"There will likely be future budgets when we're looking at the feed pathways, the vocational pathways, we know there will be a little bit there," she said.
"But we're gearing up for that right now for next year's Budget."
Education Minister Erica Stanford visits Rangitoto College, Auckland, 5 August 2025. Photo: RNZ / Calvin Samuel
Stanford said New Zealand will continue to use AI as a marking tool, as it already been used for literacy and numeracy corequisite exams.
"We're extraordinarily advanced in terms of the rest of the world," she said.
"Many other countries can't even dream of where we're at the moment - digital exams, AI marking."
AI marking was as good, if not better than human marking, she said.
Stanford said the tool would be crucial to moving away from NCEA Level 1.
"You've got to remember we are dropping Level 1 so there is a whole year of internal and external assessments that will go all together," she said.
"If we didn't have AI, this is something that probably wouldn't be possible without a massive injection for NZQA.
"But we do have AI, it is coming, and it is getting better and better every year ... and I'm confident that will help (teachers) mark quicker."
Education Minister Erica Stanford visits Rangitoto College, Auckland, 5 August 2025. Photo: RNZ / Calvin Samuel
Stanford hoped the changes would make it easier for students, but also parents to understand the grading of an assessment.
"There's a couple ways we're using the word 'standard'. Essentially, the way we want to be using it now is the standard is the curriculum," she said.
"Teachers will be very used to marking an assessment, or an essay for example as a mark out of 100 ... it does give a lot more clarity to students on how they can improve, and also to parents really importantly."
Earlier, Associate Education Minister David Seymour told First up he sympathised with educators having to adapt to a new policy change, to allow everyone impacted to catch up.
But he was confident support will be on hand as they mapped out the overhaul.
"I'm sure that as the implementation rolls out, that support will be at the forefront of the government's mind," he said.
"But we haven't got to the point right now, we're just consulting on the shape of it. What I would say is that, because we are going back to something that is subject-based, I think some people might say it's a bit more prescriptive, then it's going to be clearer to educators, this is what the curriculum is. This is how it's assessed."
Meanwhile, Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the problems the government had identified with NCEA were ones he agreed with and were also raised during their review pre-Covid.
He said there needed to be changes and was interested in trying to find a consensus on how best to move forward.
"My request of the government is that they take the time to get their decisions right rather than try and rush them because the NCEA itself was rushed," he told Morning Report.
"It was actually introduced by a National government, and I think the rushing of the introduction of the NCEA is part of how we've landed up in this position in the first place, so, let's get this right."
Hipkins said even though the process played out over three to four years, he conceded it wasn't perfect, and was more reason for the current government to take its time now and ensure it is implemented correctly.
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