Secondary schools' NCEA and Scholarship exams start today and go through until December 14.
They are beginning two weeks later than originally planned to take account of the disruption the pandemic has caused in many schools this year.
And students in Auckland, Waikato and Northland are eligible for an unexpected event grade, a derived grade based on their year's work, if they miss their exams for Covid-19-related reasons.
Auckland Principals Chris Allen, from Carmel College, and Steven Hargreaves, from Macleans College, spoke to Morning Report's Corin Dann.