Students will be offered bonus credits in this year's senior school assessments to compensate for lost classroom time during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Education Minister Chris Hipkins says students will get one extra credit for every five that they earn in this year's National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) up to a maximum of 10 bonus points at Level 1 and eight at Levels 2 and 3.
The total number of credits required for University Entrance and merit endorsements will also be reduced:
• University Entrance will require 12 credits, reduced from 14, in each of three approved subjects at level 3.
• Merit endorsement for an NCEA level will be reduced from 50 credits with merit to 46.