How derived grade applications work
Students complete a derived grade application form and give it to their school.
In the application form, students indicate if their application is for a medical reason, because of an event or because they have been selected for national representation.
Download a derived grade application form [PDF, 121 KB]
Students give completed application forms to their school鈥檚 Principal鈥檚 Nominee. The Principal鈥檚 Nominee lodges each application online in the Applications section of the My色诱直播 school portal.
We review all derived grade applications and approve or decline them based on the eligibility criteria.
Students, try to take your exams whenever possible. If we approve your application for a derived grade but you still take the exam, you will receive the higher of the 2 grades.
On this page
When derived grade applications are due
Derived grade applications are due no more than 2 weeks after the student鈥檚 last affected exam or assessment.
Students selected for national representations must apply for pre-approval. Pre-approval applications are due by 1 November.
Students who have pre-approval must also provide evidence that they attended the event, such as a photo of them there. Principal鈥檚 Nominees then share this evidence with us.
Make sure an application meets the eligibility criteria
Supporting evidence
All applications for derived grades must include supporting evidence.
For medical and event applications, this evidence will show why, for circumstances beyond their control, the student:
- couldn鈥檛 attend an examination or assessment
- submitted an incomplete portfolio
- attended an examination but their performance was significantly impaired.
For national representation applications, this evidence will show:
- that the student has been selected
- the national body that selected them
- the dates the student is unable to attend assessments.
Examples of supporting evidence for a medical application include:
- a doctor鈥檚 certificate or report from a registered professional like a psychologist
- a hospital admission or discharge notice
- a statement from the school鈥檚 Principal鈥檚 Nominee or Exam Centre Manager confirming the student fell ill during an exam.
Students applying for a medical reason must ask an independent, New Zealand-registered professional to fill out the medical section of the application form.
Examples of supporting evidence for an event application include:
- a report from the school nurse or guidance counsellor
- a police or traffic report
- a funeral service order or death notice
- confirmation from the school鈥檚 Principal鈥檚 Nominee that the student experienced a significant event or trauma that negatively affected them
- a newspaper report about an event that directly impacted the student, such as a house fire or major traffic accident.
If an event happened before an exam or assessment, the student鈥檚 evidence must show that they were under continuous care from a registered professional.
Examples of supporting evidence for a national representation application include:
- the letter from the national body verifying the student鈥檚 national selection for the team or event
- the dates of the competition or event
- a copy of the student鈥檚 planned travel arrangements.
We allow for reasonable travel time to and from the event. But if a candidate chooses to go early or stay longer for leisure reasons, the examinations or assessments they missed in this time aren鈥檛 eligible for a derived grade
Derived grades can鈥檛 be used to compensate for missed study or preparation time.
Principal鈥檚 Nominees, if you鈥檙e not sure if supporting evidence meets the eligibility criteria, please contact us for advice:
derivedgrades@nzqa.govt.nz
What schools need to do
When lodging an application for a student, schools need to:
- consider the information in the student鈥檚 application against the derived grade criteria
- decide if the provided information meets the criteria
- make sure enough information is included in a student鈥檚 application so we can evaluate it
- make sure the student鈥檚 application only covers the affected dates (identified by the medical practitioner or professional)
- give us additional information promptly if we ask for it
- use the online application tool in My色诱直播 to tell us if they support or do not support the student鈥檚 application based on the eligibility criteria.
The derived grade application tools has changed
We've released an updated tool for derived grade applications. You'll now lodge student applications in the My色诱直播 school portal. Read about the changes:
Successful applications
Students are not notified if their application is approved. If a student鈥檚 derived grade application is approved, the derived grade or grades will appear on their results notice when it鈥檚 released in January. They won't be labelled as derived grades.
Unsuccessful applications
If a student鈥檚 derived grade application doesn鈥檛 meet the eligibility criteria, we can鈥檛 approve it. Declined applications are carefully peer reviewed by our derived grades team.
We tell the student and their school鈥檚 Principal鈥檚 Nominee in writing when an application is declined.
Students can appeal an unsuccessful application.
Appealing an unsuccessful application
A student can appeal an unsuccessful application no more than 15 days after hearing from us by:
- telling us in writing they want to appeal the decision
- providing additional information or evidence to support their original application.
Our reply to your application tells you how to appeal.
Unsuccessful appeals
If an appeal is declined and a student doesn鈥檛 agree with the outcome, they can write to our Chief Executive and ask for a review of the appeal decision:
Students must do this no more than 15 days after hearing that an appeal was declined.
The Chief Executive鈥檚 decision is final.