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Cook Islands students take part in healthy eating project. Photo: supplied
An education researcher says NCEA pass rates in the Cook Islands and Niue will "fall through the floor" if literacy and numeracy tests become compulsory in 2026.
The New Zealand government is considering extending the 2026 deadline for the tests and allowing students to use other ways of proving they are literate and numerate.
The decision has huge implications for the realm nations where more than eighty percent of students failed one of the three tests in June.