Calculators

University Entrance rank score, and an indicative GPA

Turn NCEA credits into the two numbers people need from them.

The asked-for number is a GPA, because a scholarship form or an overseas university wants one and NZQA issues none. The widely used weighting is Excellence 4, Merit 3, Achieved 2, credit-weighted, and that is returned as indicative_gpa_4_point with gpa_is_unofficial set, because there is no authoritative conversion and pretending otherwise would be the error.

The number that decides things is rank_score. Every New Zealand university uses the University Entrance rank score to select for limited-entry programmes: medicine, law, engineering, design. It is the BEST 80 credits at Level 3 or above, weighted the same way, capped at 320. Almost nobody asks for it by name, which is why it is returned unasked.

credits_ignored is the field that changes behaviour. Credits are counted Excellence first, then Merit, then Achieved, until 80 are used, so a student with 80 Excellence and 40 Achieved scores exactly the same as one with 80 Excellence alone. Collecting more Achieved credits is worth nothing; lifting an existing subject to Merit is worth a great deal. next_step says which case this student is in.

Not Achieved credits are excluded from the rank score entirely and do drag the indicative GPA down, because that is a mean over everything attempted.

post/v1/ncea-rank-score

Request

  • Base URL: https://api.calculate.co.nz
  • URL: https://api.calculate.co.nz/v1/ncea-rank-score
  • Auth: API key in header X-API-Key

Request body

excellence_creditsinteger

Level 3 or above credits achieved with Excellence.

merit_creditsinteger

Level 3 or above credits achieved with Merit.

achieved_creditsinteger

Level 3 or above credits achieved.

not_achieved_creditsinteger

Credits attempted and not achieved. They do NOT affect the rank score and they do lower the indicative GPA.

Example request

{
  "achieved_credits": 20,
  "excellence_credits": 40,
  "merit_credits": 40,
  "not_achieved_credits": 0
}

Response

The rank score out of 320, the credits that counted, and an unofficial 4-point GPA.

disclaimerstring required

Scope and limits of this calculation.

Example response

{
  "disclaimer": "The rank score follows the NZQA University Entrance method: best 80 credits at Level 3 or above. The 4-point GPA is an unofficial conversion, since NZQA issues no GPA. Some programmes use their own selection measures, so confirm requirements with the university.",
  "result": {
    "achieved_credits": 20,
    "credits_counted": 80,
    "credits_ignored": 20,
    "excellence_credits": 40,
    "excludes": [
      "NZQA issues no GPA. The 4-point figure is the widely used Excellence 4, Merit 3, Achieved 2 weighting and is indicative only.",
      "Credits below Level 3 do not count towards the University Entrance rank score and should not be entered here.",
      "Some programmes use their own selection measures on top of the rank score, so confirm entry requirements with the university."
    ],
    "gpa_is_unofficial": true,
    "indicative_gpa_4_point": 3.2,
    "merit_credits": 40,
    "next_step": "20 credit(s) fell outside the best 80 and count for nothing. Lifting an existing subject from Achieved to Merit or Excellence raises the score; collecting more Achieved credits does not.",
    "not_achieved_credits": 0,
    "rank_score": 280,
    "rank_score_max": 320,
    "rank_score_working": "40 excellence x 4 = 160, 40 merit x 3 = 120, total 280 out of 320",
    "total_credits": 100
  }
}

Changes

No recorded changes to this operation across all 1 revision of this API.