NZQA NCEA Level 3 English grade boundaries
NZQA NCEA Level 3 English grade boundaries for 5 series, November 2021 to November 2025, for the qualification as a whole and for each paper. Each table shows the lowest mark that got each grade, copied from NZQA's own document, which is linked underneath.
November 2025 NZQA NCEA Level 3 English grade boundaries
Newest
| Standard | Max mark | Grade: lowest score, and % of max | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade Excellence | Grade Merit | Grade Achieved | ||
| Respond critically to specified aspect(s) of studied written text(s), supported by evidence91472 | 8 | 787.5% | 562.5% | 337.5% |
| Respond critically to specified aspect(s) of studied visual or oral text(s), supported by evidence91473 | 8 | 787.5% | 562.5% | 337.5% |
| Respond critically to significant aspects of unfamiliar written texts through close reading, supported by evidence91474 | 24 | 1979.2% | 1354.2% | 833.3% |
- Cut scores are the lowest mark for each grade in the examination for each achievement standard. Below the Achieved cut score the result is Not Achieved.
Source: NZQA cut scores, NCEA 2025 (opens www2.nzqa.govt.nz in a new tab)
Use these on your question decks: keep them in your account, then choose them on any deck's Grade boundaries page to see your predicted grade against them.
November 2024 NZQA NCEA Level 3 English grade boundaries
| Standard | Max mark | Grade: lowest score, and % of max | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade Excellence | Grade Merit | Grade Achieved | |||
| Respond critically to specified aspect(s) of studied written text(s), supported by evidence91472 | 8 | 787.5% | 562.5% | 337.5% | Schedule Assessment schedule 91472 (opens nzqa.govt.nz in a new tab) |
| Respond critically to specified aspect(s) of studied visual or oral text(s), supported by evidence91473 | 8 | 787.5% | 562.5% | 337.5% | Schedule Assessment schedule 91473 (opens nzqa.govt.nz in a new tab) |
| Respond critically to significant aspects of unfamiliar written texts through close reading, supported by evidence91474 | 24 | 1979.2% | 1354.2% | 833.3% | Schedule Assessment schedule 91474 (opens nzqa.govt.nz in a new tab) |
- Cut scores are the lowest mark for each grade in the examination for each achievement standard. Below the Achieved cut score the result is Not Achieved.
- Each standard’s cut scores are printed at the end of its own assessment schedule, which is linked beside it.
Source: NZQA assessment schedule, 91472 November 2024 (opens nzqa.govt.nz in a new tab)
Use these on your question decks: keep them in your account, then choose them on any deck's Grade boundaries page to see your predicted grade against them.
November 2023 NZQA NCEA Level 3 English grade boundaries
| Standard | Max mark | Grade: lowest score, and % of max | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade Excellence | Grade Merit | Grade Achieved | |||
| Respond critically to specified aspect(s) of studied written text(s), supported by evidence91472 | 8 | 787.5% | 562.5% | 337.5% | Schedule Assessment schedule 91472 (opens nzqa.govt.nz in a new tab) |
| Respond critically to specified aspect(s) of studied visual or oral text(s), supported by evidence91473 | 8 | 787.5% | 562.5% | 337.5% | Schedule Assessment schedule 91473 (opens nzqa.govt.nz in a new tab) |
| Respond critically to significant aspects of unfamiliar written texts through close reading, supported by evidence91474 | 24 | 1979.2% | 1354.2% | 833.3% | Schedule Assessment schedule 91474 (opens nzqa.govt.nz in a new tab) |
- Cut scores are the lowest mark for each grade in the examination for each achievement standard. Below the Achieved cut score the result is Not Achieved.
- Each standard’s cut scores are printed at the end of its own assessment schedule, which is linked beside it.
Source: NZQA assessment schedule, 91472 November 2023 (opens nzqa.govt.nz in a new tab)
Use these on your question decks: keep them in your account, then choose them on any deck's Grade boundaries page to see your predicted grade against them.
November 2022 NZQA NCEA Level 3 English grade boundaries
| Standard | Max mark | Grade: lowest score, and % of max | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade Excellence | Grade Merit | Grade Achieved | |||
| Respond critically to specified aspect(s) of studied written text(s), supported by evidence91472 | 8 | 787.5% | 562.5% | 337.5% | Schedule Assessment schedule 91472 (opens nzqa.govt.nz in a new tab) |
| Respond critically to specified aspect(s) of studied visual or oral text(s), supported by evidence91473 | 8 | 787.5% | 562.5% | 337.5% | Schedule Assessment schedule 91473 (opens nzqa.govt.nz in a new tab) |
| Respond critically to significant aspects of unfamiliar written texts through close reading, supported by evidence91474 | 24 | 1979.2% | 1354.2% | 833.3% | Schedule Assessment schedule 91474 (opens nzqa.govt.nz in a new tab) |
- Cut scores are the lowest mark for each grade in the examination for each achievement standard. Below the Achieved cut score the result is Not Achieved.
- Each standard’s cut scores are printed at the end of its own assessment schedule, which is linked beside it.
Source: NZQA assessment schedule, 91472 November 2022 (opens nzqa.govt.nz in a new tab)
Use these on your question decks: keep them in your account, then choose them on any deck's Grade boundaries page to see your predicted grade against them.
November 2021 NZQA NCEA Level 3 English grade boundaries
| Standard | Max mark | Grade: lowest score, and % of max | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade Excellence | Grade Merit | Grade Achieved | |||
| Respond critically to specified aspect(s) of studied written text(s), supported by evidence91472 | 8 | 787.5% | 562.5% | 337.5% | Schedule Assessment schedule 91472 (opens nzqa.govt.nz in a new tab) |
| Respond critically to specified aspect(s) of studied visual or oral text(s), supported by evidence91473 | 8 | 787.5% | 562.5% | 337.5% | Schedule Assessment schedule 91473 (opens nzqa.govt.nz in a new tab) |
| Respond critically to significant aspects of unfamiliar written texts through close reading, supported by evidence91474 | 24 | 1979.2% | 1354.2% | 833.3% | Schedule Assessment schedule 91474 (opens nzqa.govt.nz in a new tab) |
- Cut scores are the lowest mark for each grade in the examination for each achievement standard. Below the Achieved cut score the result is Not Achieved.
- Each standard’s cut scores are printed at the end of its own assessment schedule, which is linked beside it.
Source: NZQA assessment schedule, 91472 November 2021 (opens nzqa.govt.nz in a new tab)
Use these on your question decks: keep them in your account, then choose them on any deck's Grade boundaries page to see your predicted grade against them.
Common questions
What were the English grade boundaries in November 2025?
In November 2025, Excellence needed 7 out of 8 and Achieved needed 3 on Respond critically to specified aspect(s) of studied written text(s), supported by evidence. On Respond critically to specified aspect(s) of studied visual or oral text(s), supported by evidence, Excellence needed 7 out of 8 and Achieved needed 3. On Respond critically to significant aspects of unfamiliar written texts through close reading, supported by evidence, Excellence needed 19 out of 24 and Achieved needed 8. The full table, with the boundaries for each paper, is at the top of this page.
Where do these NZQA NCEA Level 3 English grade boundaries come from?
Every number is copied from NZQA's own published grade boundary document for that series, which is linked under each table. We lay them out by course so you don't have to search a document covering every subject, and nothing is changed or estimated.
Why do grade boundaries change every year?
Boundaries are set after each exam has been marked, so that a grade means the same standard even when one year's paper is harder than another's. A harder paper usually has lower boundaries. That is why an old paper is best marked against its own year's boundaries, which is what the tables here are for.
When are new English grade boundaries published?
NZQA sets the cut scores when the exams are marked and publishes them with the assessment schedules early the following year. We add them here after that.
More grade boundaries: every NZQA course or every board.
cookie is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any exam board. Every paper here is a link to the board's own copy on its own website, and the papers belong to the boards that set them. If a link has stopped working, the board's own past paper page is linked on each course. The grade boundaries are copied from the boards’ own published documents, each linked under its table.