About the CAAs
The Common Assessment Activities (CAAs), sometimes called the 'co-requisites', are three tests usually sat by Year 10 or Year 11 students in New Zealand:
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Numeracy CAA:
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Literacy (Writing) CAA:
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Literacy (Reading) CAA.
There are two testing rounds in 2026: May (Term 2) and September (Term 3).
Why does my child need to pass the 3 CAAs?
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All 3 CAAs need to be passed by students in order to gain an NCEA qualification at any level.
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In other words, you cannot gain NCEA Level 1, 2 or 3, without achieving all 3 CAAs (there are some exceptions to this).
Will my child get NCEA credits for passing?
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Yes, they will get:
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10 credits for passing the Numeracy CAA.
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5 credits for passing the Literacy (Writing) CAA.
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5 credits for passing the Literacy (Reading) CAA.
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Because these 3 CAAs are all 'Unit Standards', the best that students can get on them is Achieved (you can't get Merit or Excellence credits from them).
What are the test conditions?
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Students will complete the tests on a computer. They will not have access to the internet/AI/notes/etc.
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The tests will be completed on separate days.
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For the Numeracy CAA, students get full use of a calculator.
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If a student is entitled to Special Assessment Conditions (for example if they have Dyslexia), they will also have access to a reader-writer.
What is covered in the tests?
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Numeracy CAA:
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The Numeracy test requires students to master the Mathematics & Statistics skills at Level 4 of the New Zealand curriculum.
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Namely, these are Number, Geometry & Space, Location & Navigation, Measurement, Statistics & Data, and Probability.
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Writing CAA:
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Q1: Essay-style question (usually a letter or email, usually 150-250 words).
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Q2: Essay-style question (usually an article, newsletter, or opinion pieces, usually 250 - 350 words).
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Q3: Multi-choice questions (spelling, grammar, punctuation, and syntax).
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Reading CAA:
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Approx. 6 questions. Each question requires you to read a text and answer 5 - 6 multi-choice questions about the text.
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How long will students be given to complete the tests?
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Each test is designed to be completed in 60 minutes, however, students are allowed as much time as they need (so long as each test is completed in one session).
What happens if students don't pass the one (or more) of the tests?
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If you're a student who came up short, don't beat yourself up. It's a tough test and nearly half of students fail the first time around.
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Students get to re-attempt the CAAs as many times as they like, but they will need to wait until the next testing round to get another go. There are two testing rounds per year: one in May (Term 2) and one in September (Term 3).
How we teach these assessments...
At Trajectory, we've been guiding Year 10, 11, and 12 students to success in the Numeracy and Literacy (Reading and Writing) CAAs since their introduction. Our tutors are specifically trained in the structure, content, and demands of the assessments.
We know the format inside and out, and we've developed a proven approach that gets results. We focus on what works and skip what doesn't.
We're also big on homework and independent learning, between tutorials. Read more about our 1:1 tutoring approach here.
