The following is a list of the A.C.E. Certificates available in New Zealand:
- Certificate of Academic Achievement New Zealand Year 11(level 1) 34 credits
- Certificate of Academic Achievement New Zealand Year 12 ( level 2) 46 credits
- Certificate of Academic Achievement New Zealand Year 13 ( Level 3) 58 credits
- Certificate of Academic Achievement New Zealand Year 13 ( Level 3) with honours 58 credits
- NZ Certificate of Achievement ( min 5 credits +)
Description of the NZ ACE Certificates
- NZ ACE Certificate of Achievement The Level 1, 2 and 3 Academic Certificates are necessary for the student who may be wanting to pursue tertiary levels of study and therefore require tertiary entrance qualifications. The Certificate of Achievement is designed to cater for those students who do not meet the strict criteria of the ACE NZ Level 1, 2 and 3 Certificates. It is linked to levels of work as determined by the PACE numbers and the equivalent year of work in the NZ school system.
- The NZ ACE Certificate of Achievement may have any number of credits. However, all credits must be at secondary level, (i.e. PACE 1085 and above), and certificates with more than five credits must include at least one credit in ACE Christian Studies.
- We recommend that all students initially work towards NZ ACE Certificate Level 1 before considering an Achievement Certificate.
- NZ ACE Certificate Level 1 (Yr 11) (34 credits) Students who have gained this certificate have demonstrated their ability to achieve Level 1 (i.e. Year 11) mastery in various core subjects. It is expected that students who have gained this certificate would have the ability to perform at least at the same level as students who have achieved NCEA Level 1.
- NZ ACE Certificate Level 2 (Yr 12) (46 credits) Students achieving this certificate will have added 6 more credits to their Level 1 Certificate. At least 3 of these credits must be in subjects designated Level 2 or higher. It is expected that students who have gained this certificate would have the ability to perform at least at the same level as students who have achieved NCEA Level 2. Universities New Zealand – Te Pōkai Tara states: “Universities New Zealand – Te Pōkai Tara advises that a student with a Level 2 Certificate is eligible to be considered for discretionary entrance by a New Zealand university.”
- NZ ACE Certificate Level 3 (Yr 13) (58 credits) Students with this certificate will have added 6 more credits to their Level 2 Certificate. At least 4 of these credits must be in subjects designated Level 3. Universities New Zealand – Te Pōkai Tara states: “This is to certify that the Year 13 Certificate of the Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) is accepted by the New Zealand universities for admission ad eundem statum at entrance level. This means that for the purpose of entrance to a university the qualification is deemed to be equivalent to the officially-established common entrance standard in this country.”
- NZ ACE Certificate Level 3 (Yr 13) with Honours (58 credits) Students who achieve a Level 3 Academic Certificate with 5 credits at Level 3, with an average PACE test score of at least 93% in each of those 5 credits, will be awarded this certificate with Honours. The ACE Academic Council of New Zealand considers this level of performance to be outstanding. ACE CERTIFICATES
ACE certificate guidelines
To read most of these documents, you need a PDF viewing program. Contact Principal to gain more information about this
In some cases a student may include a non ACE subject to add to their academic transcripts for ACE academic certificates.
Please make contact with the CHELCA NZ Principal for more information about these oiptions.
A.C.E. Certificate Recognition
Certificate of Academic Achievement NZ Year 13 ( Level 3) : 58 credits
A letter from the Chair of the New Zealand Vice-chancellor’s Committee ‘s Subcommittee on Entrance states:
“That students who have obtained the A.C.E. Year 13 Certificate of Academic Achievement, including 4 subjects designated Year 13/Seventh Form level, may be granted admission ad eundem statum at entrance level”
Students who achieve a Year 13 Academic Certificate with 5 subjects at the year 13 Level and with a minimum average of 93% in those 5 subjects will be awarded this certificate with honours. The A.C.E. Academic council of New Zealand considers this to be at least at an A Bursary level.
Certificate of Academic Achievement NZ Year 12 ( Level 2) : 46 credits
Another letter from the Academic Officer of the New Zealand Vice-chancellor’s Committee states:
“If any of your home-schooling families are using the Accelerated Christian Education Programme, I am happy to advise you that this has already been assessed by the NZVCC and a student achieving a Year 12 Certificate is eligible to be considered for provisional entrance by a New Zealand university.”
Institutions of Higher Learning Who Have Accepted Students With A.C.E. Certificates
Many students have also gained entrance into a number of overseas institutes of higher learning.
Parent training
CHELCA NZ supports ongoing ACE home education training and the below requirements for all ACE certificate training. This is where we can help parents gain the best success opportunities to see their children learn. The ongoing training is an absolute must for all Home educators and we support this with both in-house training and parent training protocols. We are a registered SCEE training and service provider and operate affiliated as an approved service provider through FACENZ ( The ACE academic council of NZ)
Safeguarding University Recognition
This is crucial. The New Zealand Academic Council has worked hard to promote these certificates and provide students with a viable and credible series of qualifications. The recognition of the New Zealand Level 2 and 3 Certificates by all the universities in New Zealand is something that is essential to safeguard. Given the nature of the ACE curriculum with score keys, tests and test keys unchanging for many years and relatively accessible, it would not be difficult for a student to undermine the integrity of the programme where learning centre or homeschooling security has been inadequate. In order to protect the integrity of the ACE Certificates and to ensure that all work has been completed according to the correct procedures, ACE Certificates will only be issued when the following criteria have been met:
All students must be continuously enrolled with an “accredited” ACE school or home education/schooling service provider, while completing the certificate requirements.
Student scoring must be kept to a high standard to eliminate cheating.
Tests and test keys to be stored in secure places, and not be accessible to students.
All PACE tests must be completed on a separate day following the Self Test.
PACE Tests must be completed under authorized, adult supervision.
All students must complete the original PACE in each subject, and submit the original PACE Test for moderation. In the case of home educated/schooled student this is to be as soon as practically possible.
Marking of PACE Tests by the supervisor/parent must be of a high standard. This is particularly important at secondary level.
For audit purposes, completed tests are be retained by the school and kept secure for twelve months after completion.
Students should not, generally speaking, be in a school learning centre unless staff are present.
All schools and home educating/schooling agencies must keep accurate records of the student’s achievements. A NZ ACE Certificate Progress Chart, or its equivalent, is a minimum requirement. This must be submitted when applying for an ACE Certificate and be made available when a student transfers to another ACE service provider.
All staff of an ACE school or ACE home schooling agency must attend and complete the FIVE day ACE Training when required, and repeat this every five years.
All supervising parents of CHELCA NZ home educated/schooled students must complete the CHELCA NZ in house ongoing training program whilst affiliated to CHELCA NZ
. Student training
The CHELCA learning Centre and Distance support environment enables students to learn and operate the ACE program from home. This ongoing training ensures all procedures are mastered and full success can be achieved by the student.
. Ongoing training and support – Through regular visits to the CHELCA Learning Centre or through Distance Education support you and your children can gain ideas and opportunities to ensure that full success is gained. We work as a team and parents affiliated with our centres work together sharing and gleaning ideas and suggestions to help each other in their Christian Home Education journeys .