NZ Scholarship Dance

NZQA states that Scholarship assessment is by either a written or spoken examination or by the submission of a portfolio or report of work produced throughout the year. Which mode applies depends on the subject, so confirm the current Dance requirements and assessment criteria on the Scholarship subjects page before planning your year.

You can enter if you are enrolled in a consented New Zealand secondary school. You do not have to be working towards NCEA to enter. Not all schools enter students for Scholarship and some enter only a small number of subjects, so talk to your teacher about whether Dance is offered at your school.

Assessments are designed to be challenging for the most able students in each subject. There are between 3 and 5 parts, each scored 0 to 8, and your scores are added to give a final result. A score of 8 is outstanding in all respects; 1 shows little understanding relevant to the question; 0 is blank or irrelevant.

You need to reach a set score known as a cut score. Students reaching it receive NZ Scholarship, and the very top students receive Outstanding Scholarship. Scripts close to either cut score are re-marked to ensure results are correct. Students below the cut score do not receive Scholarship in that subject.

The number available in a subject is limited to around 3% of the number of students who achieve 14 or more credits in that subject at NCEA Level 3. There is some variation around the 3%, mainly for subjects with few candidates at NCEA Level 3.

NZQA's Scholarship pages describe entry, marking, results and reviews, but the source material does not state a retake policy. Entry is arranged through your school each year, so ask your teacher about entering again in a later year rather than assuming a resit is automatic.

NZ Scholarship results are released in mid-February each year. Soon after results are released, your assessed work will be available through your learner login. If you believe a marking error has been made, you can apply for a reconsideration or review, but there is a limited time window from when your assessed work is available.

There is no charge for domestic student entry for NZ Scholarship. International students pay a fee, so check the secondary education fees information if that applies to you.

Awards range from a one-off $500 payment for a single subject award to $10,000 per year for up to 3 years for premier award winners. To be paid, you must be enrolled in tertiary study at an approved New Zealand provider in a course approved by StudyLink, and multi-year awards require a 'B' grade average each year.

Yes. It is possible to defer the monetary award for up to 4 consecutive years if you are still at school or not planning to enter tertiary study straight away. Confirm the conditions with NZQA before you rely on a deferral.

The marking descriptors point to the risks: answers that show little understanding relevant to the question, or that are accurate but narrow rather than comprehensive, coherent and perceptive. Scholarship rewards integration and synthesis applied to complex situations, so candidates who only reproduce rehearsed material without critical analysis tend to miss the cut score.