NZ report comments by NZC level (1–4)

How NZC levels and year levels fit together

The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) has eight levels spanning Years 1–13. Levels are progressive, not lock-step: a student can be working within a level, towards the end of it, or between two levels. In the primary and intermediate years the usual alignment is:

• Level 1 — typically Years 1–2 (including New Entrants)
• Level 2 — typically Years 3–4
• Level 3 — typically Years 5–6
• Level 4 — typically Years 7–8
• Level 5 — typically Years 9–10, before senior secondary qualifications begin

Report what you evidence

• A Year 6 student can legitimately be working at Level 2 or Level 4 — the year level is a guide, the evidence decides the level.
• Say where the student is working in plain language (for example, “working within Level 3 of the curriculum”) rather than quoting achievement objective codes.
• Follow your school’s reporting policy on how prominently to state levels; some schools describe progress without naming the level.

The achievement wording that anchors every level

Most NZ schools describe achievement relative to the expected curriculum level for the student’s year group. Three phrases cover most situations, and they map to the wording this app’s NZ comment generator uses:

• Towards the expected level: “is building confidence towards the expected NZC level” or “is developing foundational skills within their current NZC level”.
• At the expected level: “is working at the expected NZC level”.
• Above the expected level: “is progressing above the expected NZC level” or “is achieving at a high level within NZC expectations”.

NZC Level 1 example comments (typically Years 1–2)

Examples

• English — towards the expected level: “Aria is developing early reading skills and recognises many letter sounds and some common words. She enjoys shared stories and retells the main events in her own words. Aria is building confidence towards the expected NZC level for her second year at school. At home, reading picture books together and talking about the story will help her grow as a reader.”
• Mathematics — at the expected level: “Hōri is working at the expected NZC level in mathematics. He counts forwards and backwards to 20, reads numbers to 20, and joins and splits small sets of objects to solve simple problems. He explains his thinking using materials and drawings. Next step: practising number pairs that make 10 so basic facts become automatic.”

What makes these work at Level 1

• Concrete, observable behaviours (letter sounds, counting to 20, joining sets) rather than curriculum jargon.
• Achievement wording matches the judgement: “developing” and “building confidence” for towards; “working at” for at.
• A next step a whānau can act on at home, in one plain sentence.

NZC Level 2 example comments (typically Years 3–4)

Examples

• English — at the expected level: “Mere is working at the expected NZC level in reading. She reads familiar texts fluently, finds information in the text to answer questions, and is starting to make simple inferences about why characters act the way they do. In writing she plans her ideas first and writes sentences that begin in different ways. Next step: rereading her writing to check full stops and capital letters.”
• Mathematics — above the expected level: “Tane is progressing above the expected NZC level in mathematics. He uses tidy numbers and doubles strategies to solve addition and subtraction problems, explains which strategy he chose and why, and applies basic facts to problems about money and time. Next step: extending his fraction thinking to placing fractions with different denominators on a number line.”

What makes these work at Level 2

• The strategy is named (tidy numbers, doubles), which is evidence — not just “good at maths”.
• Above-level comments still get a genuine next step; extension is not a reason to skip one.
• Reading and writing sit in one English comment, matching how the NZC English strands are often reported together.

NZC Level 3 example comments (typically Years 5–6)

Examples

• English — at the expected level: “Wiremu is working at the expected NZC level in English. He reads for meaning across fiction and non-fiction, summarises the main ideas, and supports his opinions with evidence from the text. His informational writing groups ideas into paragraphs and uses topic-specific vocabulary. Next step: varying sentence length to make his narrative writing more engaging.”
• Mathematics — towards the expected level: “Anahera is building confidence towards the expected NZC level in mathematics. She solves multiplication problems using arrays and repeated addition, and is secure with her 2, 5 and 10 times tables. She is still developing confidence with division and with fractions of sets. Next step: using known multiplication facts to solve division problems, with small-group practice each week.”

What makes these work at Level 3

• Towards-level comments stay strengths-based: what she is secure in comes first, the gap is described honestly, and the support plan is named.
• Evidence spans what the NZC Level 3 achievement objectives expect: multiplicative thinking, fractions, reading for meaning, paragraphed writing.
• No unexplained codes — “NZC level” is the only technical term, and it is used consistently.

NZC Level 4 example comments (typically Years 7–8)

Examples

• English — above the expected level: “Hine is achieving at a high level within NZC expectations in English. She analyses how authors use language and structure for effect, compares themes across texts, and argues her interpretation with well-chosen evidence. Her formal writing is organised, persuasive and accurately punctuated, including complex sentences. Next step: experimenting with voice and register to suit different audiences in her speech writing.”
• Mathematics — at the expected level: “Mikaere is working at the expected NZC level in mathematics. He solves problems involving fractions, decimals and percentages, finds perimeters, areas and volumes of everyday shapes, and describes location using coordinates. He checks whether an answer is reasonable and explains his reasoning clearly. Next step: converting between fractions, decimals and percentages with larger numbers to strengthen proportional thinking.”

What makes these work at Level 4

• Level 4 evidence is about reasoning and application (analysing effect, checking reasonableness), not just computation.
• The strands show through naturally: number and algebra, geometry and measurement in the maths comment; both English strands in the English comment.
• Above-level wording (“achieving at a high level within NZC expectations”) avoids over-claiming a level the student has not finished.

ESOL learners and students with IEPs

• For English language learners, describe progress against the English Language Learning Progressions (ELLP) alongside curriculum learning — acknowledge the language-learning journey, not just the NZC level.
• For students working towards individualised goals, describe progress against their Individual Education Plan (IEP) goals and maintain connection to the NZC where appropriate.
• Keep the same structure in both cases: evidence, achievement wording, next step.

What about the curriculum refresh and NCEA changes?

The NZ Curriculum is being refreshed (Te Mātaiaho) and senior secondary assessment is changing as NCEA transitions to new certificates with an A–E grading model. Levels remain the reporting anchor across Years 1–13 in the meantime.

• Check the curriculum refresh site for the latest status of learning-area changes before referencing refreshed content in reports.
• For Years 11–13, report against the standards and grades your students are entered for, and use A–E wording only where your school’s reporting policy applies it.