Early childhood education: Early childhood education is offered from birth to school entry age at 6 years. This translates to ISCED 2011 levels 0 and 1. The early childhood education curriculum is called Te Whāriki. It is written in both Te Reo Māori (Māori language) and English, supporting education delivery in either or both languages in early childhood education services.  In 2019 there were 4,653 early childhood services. The early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki  – Te Reo Māori and English editions are available here.

Primary education: Primary education is compulsory from 6 to 12 years of age; however, most children start primary school when they turn 5 years old.  This translates to ISCED 2011 levels 1 – 3.  Many children go to school near where they live.

Most schools in New Zealand are owned and funded by the State and known as State schools.  State integrated schools are special character schools with a specific philosophy or religion that are funded by the government and teach the national curriculum. Kura Kaupapa Māori are schools where children are taught some or all curriculum subjects in the Māori language at least 51 per cent of the time. `

The primary curriculum – Te Reo Māori edition is Te Marautanga o Aotearoa and the English edition is The New Zealand Curriculum.

Secondary education: Secondary education is usually from 13 to 17 years of age but is compulsory until 16 years of age. This translates to ISCED level 3. The National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA) are the main national qualification for secondary school students. There are three levels of certificate. At each level students must achieve a certain number of credits to gain a NCEA certificate.  In 2019 there were around 376 secondary schools.

The NCEA is the main national qualification for secondary school learners in New Zealand and is recognized as a robust and credible qualification and accepted for entry into universities across the world. It is a flexible standards-based qualification, meaning students can do multi-level learning in any year of their secondary education.

NCEA covers levels 1 to 3 of the NZQF. The levels depend on the complexity of the standards achieved. Secondary students generally work through NCEA levels 1 to 3 in years 11 to 13 (ages 15 to 18). NCEA standards are assessed and graded as

Excellence (E); Merit (M); Achieved (A); Not achieved (N).

When a student achieves a standard, they gain credits. Students must achieve a certain number of credits to gain an NCEA certificate. High achievement is recognized through NCEA certificates endorsed with Merit or Excellence. NCEA with University Entrance is used for admission to tertiary education in New Zealand and internationally.

Students can download their individual New Zealand Record of Achievement containing their official NCEA results as a secure electronic record and official transcript, to include with admission to higher education applications. The New Zealand Record of Achievement can be verified on the NZQA verification portal.

There are also private primary and secondary schools which receive some government funding but are mostly funded through charging fees. In 2019 there were around 1,946 primary schools.