There's a view that NCEA has impacted how Universities grade their students.

A report by the New Zealand Initiative has found the proportion of A grades has increased from 22% to 35% since 2006.

It shows a dramatic rise during Covid - and can't be explained by academic improvement.

Auckland University Sociologist of Education, Elizabeth Rata told Ryan Bridge students now expect to get high marks.

She says it's what they've encountered at high school, where a high mark is guaranteed from certain subjects.

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