NCEA 91946: interpret and apply mathematical and statistical information (Level 1 Maths)

What NCEA 91946 assesses

The standard asks you to make an informed judgement or decision using information from mathematical and statistical media, such as graphs, infographics, tables and articles. "In context" means a real-world situation, and an informed judgement means using the information together with your own knowledge or worldview. NZQA's grades read like this:

• Achieved: make an informed judgement or decision using information extracted from the media.
• Merit: relational thinking. Explain variation in the extracted information, and explain how you reached your judgement.
• Excellence: extended abstract thinking. Evaluate the effects of variation, considering assumptions and limitations, and evaluate how valid your judgement is.

NZQA's 2026 and 2027 specifications say the resource booklet holds a range of data representations (infographics, displays and media articles) and the question booklet has three questions with several parts each. The questions focus on identifying information, relating findings to the evidence, and critically engaging with the quality, validity and limitations of what is presented.

The NCEA 91946 exam in 2026 and 2027

NZQA's 2026 timetable puts Level 1 Mathematics and Statistics on Tuesday 10 November, in the morning session. The 2027 timetable is not out yet: NZQA says exams run from 9 November to 3 December 2027 and the subject timetable is due in December 2026. You need an approved calculator and a ruler.

The format changed in 2025. NZQA's 2025 report says the assessment moved "from a submitted report to a written examination", so only 2025 results describe the exam you will sit.

How NCEA 91946 is marked: grade score marking

The 2025 exam scores each of three questions N0 to E8 for a total out of 24, with one opportunity at each grade per question.

NCEA 91946 cut scores

These are NZQA's cut scores, the grade boundaries for the total. The 2026 cut scores will appear in NZQA's 2026 schedule once the exam has been marked. The 2024 row is from the old report format, so it is marked out of 8 and cannot be compared with 2025.

Worked examples at each grade

A resource booklet is not released, so here is an original mini-resource. A survey asked random samples of Year 11 students in 2019 and in 2024 how many hours a week they spend on screens outside lessons. A news site says "teenagers are glued to screens more than ever".

Achieved: make a judgement from the evidence

Use numbers from the resource. The median rose from 21 to 27 hours, which is 6 more hours a week, or 6 ÷ 21 = 28.6% more. So the evidence supports the claim that typical screen time is higher in 2024 than in 2019.

Merit: explain the variation and how you decided

The two samples contain different students, so some difference between them is expected even if nothing has changed. Here the whole middle 50% has shifted up: the lower quartile rose by 4 hours and the upper quartile by 6, and the spreads are similar (the interquartile ranges are 12 and 14 hours). A shift in the median, the lower quartile and the upper quartile together is stronger evidence than one number alone, so I judge that screen time has probably increased.

Excellence: evaluate the limits of the judgement

The boxes overlap: the 2024 lower quartile (19) is below the 2019 upper quartile (27), so many 2024 students use screens less than many in 2019, and the median shift (6 hours) is smaller than the interquartile range (12 to 14 hours). The data are self-reported, may come from one region, and "glued to screens" is not measured. Assuming the two surveys were run the same way, I judge the claim "more than ever" is not supported: a rise is likely, but the evidence cannot show how large it is for all teenagers.

Check your reading with a question on the page:

Exam answers

The answers and a worked mark scheme come with today's paper once it is marked. We do not publish official or past paper answers. Every question on the daily paper is our own.

Use the daily paper as a practice exam

Uni-Sine publishes a free daily paper on the NCEA Level 1 Maths track. It is a short timed paper of 8 questions worth 25 to 35 marks, not a full NCEA exam, and it is not written by NZQA. It has no resource booklet, so it will not rehearse reading a news article, but it does include histograms and cumulative frequency and probability, which feed the statistical side of 91946. For the other external, see NCEA 91947 and for the whole subject the NCEA Level 1 Maths guide.

Common mistakes in NCEA 91946

• Ignoring the resource. NZQA's 2025 report says some candidates did not use information from the booklet to guide their answers. Quote numbers from it.
• Comparing only point estimates. The report lists comparing single values, instead of features such as shift, spread and shape, as a reason for Not Achieved.
• Skipping the worldview parts. The report says many candidates did not know how to respond when a personal worldview was requested.

Read next

New Zealand · NCEA Level 1NCEA Level 1 Maths: standards, exam date and practiceNCEA Level 1 Maths explained: the four standards, what the exam covers, the 2026 date, 2027 dates, the numeracy co-requisite and worked examples.