Help and FAQ
The questions students and whānau ask most are below. Search or jump to a topic. If yours is not here, use Contact support and we will reply by email.
Accounts and sign-in
What is Whetū?
- Whetū is an online study workspace for NCEA Level 1. You practise exam-style questions, get an estimated grade against that question's marking schedule, and use Whetū Tutor to work out what to improve. It is a study aid, not an official assessment.
How do I create an account and sign in?
- Open Sign up and create a username, email and password, or continue with Google. After you confirm your email you finish a short setup and land in the practice workspace. Return later through Log in. You can stay signed in on two trusted devices, and only one of those can be studying at a time.
Do I need an account to try it?
- No. You can try one marked question part as a guest. Saving progress across devices, choosing subjects, and the daily free marking and tutor allowances need a signed-in account.
Password reset
How do I reset my password?
- On the log-in page choose Forgot password and enter the email on the account. We send a reset link to that address. Open it, choose a new password, then sign in. If the email does not arrive, check spam and make sure you used the same address you signed up with.
Can I change my password while I am signed in?
- Yes. Open Manage account from your profile menu and use the password fields there. You will stay signed in on this device; other sessions are signed out so an old password cannot keep working.
Subscriptions and billing
What plans are there, and who pays?
- There is a Free plan, and one paid Whetū plan at $14.99/month or $129.99/year (NZD). Monthly and yearly give the same access; yearly is the better value. Payments must be made by an adult. Card details go to our payment provider; Whetū never stores the card number. Open Pricing for the current list, and manage a paid plan from Manage account.
How do I upgrade, change, or cancel a subscription?
- Signed-in students open Pricing and choose monthly or yearly billing. Checkout runs with our payment provider. Cancel, or switch monthly and yearly, from Manage account; you keep access until the end of the paid period. Billing questions can also go through Contact support with the billing category.
Marking
Are the grades official NCEA results?
- No. Every grade here is an estimate produced by AI against that question's NCEA-style marking schedule. Your teacher's judgement is final, and nothing in the app is an NZQA result.
Is Whetū affiliated with NZQA?
- No. Whetū is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority. The questions and marking schedules are original practice material.
How does marking work?
- You write an answer, then mark a completed part. The model compares your writing with that part's schedule and returns an estimated grade plus feedback. A guest can mark one part. A signed-in free account can mark 5 parts a day. Paid plans raise that allowance. Re-marking the same part uses the schedule again; it is still an estimate.
Tutor and model answers
What does Whetū Tutor do?
- Whetū Tutor helps you think through the question you are on. It explains ideas, asks you to try the next step, and will not hand you a finished answer to paste back onto the paper. A signed-in free account can send 10 tutor messages a day.
When do I see a model answer?
- Model answers and worked examples are included with the paid Whetū plan, and they are there to compare after you have tried the question — not as a substitute for writing your own response. Free accounts still get estimated grades and Whetū Tutor.
Supported subjects
Which subjects can I practise?
- Whetū covers NCEA Level 1: Science; Physics, Earth and Space Science; Chemistry and Biology; English; History; Physical Education; Geography; Commerce; and Health Studies. After you create an account you choose the subjects you are taking. Maths is listed as coming soon. There is no GCSE, A-level, IB or overseas curriculum here.
What are Learn, Practise and Exam?
- Learn is the TextBook: the ideas for that standard. Practise is short, stable questions for the parts you are still shaky on. Exam is the full paper, marked against the schedule. Those three tabs are the whole journey — understand it, work on what is weak, then sit it.
Privacy and data
What happens to my answers?
- Signed-in answers and estimated grades are saved so your progress works across devices. When you mark work or ask the tutor, the question and your text are sent to our AI providers so they can mark or reply. We do not send your email, password, or payment details to those providers, and we do not sell your data.
How do I see, correct, or delete my data?
- You or a parent/caregiver can ask to see, correct, or delete the personal information we hold. Email hello@kiakura.nz or use the support form. Whetū follows the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020. The Privacy page has the full notice.
Common errors
Why was marking or the tutor refused?
- A free account has a daily cap (5 marked parts and 10 tutor messages). Guests get one marked part. If you hit the cap, wait until tomorrow or look at Pricing. A second device that is already studying will also be asked to wait — only one study session can run at a time.
I cannot sign in or confirm my email.
- Check you are using the same email you signed up with, and that the confirmation or reset link has not expired. Request a new email from the sign-in or forgot-password screen. Google sign-in needs pop-ups allowed. If a page still fails, copy the short trace id from the error (it starts with kk_) and send it through Contact support.
A button did nothing, or the page looked wrong.
- Refresh once and try again. If it still fails, note which screen and mode you were in (Learn, Practise or Exam) and any trace id shown on the error. Do not paste your answer, chat, or a screenshot of a mark scheme into the support form — we already log the trace id.
How to get support
How do I get support?
- Use Contact support from Help, or open the Support page. Choose a category (accounts, billing, marking, a technical issue, or a general question), write a short message, and include a trace id if you have one. We reply to the email on your account, or to the address you enter on the public form. Privacy and deletion requests can also go to hello@kiakura.nz.
20 help articles covering accounts, billing, marking and support.