The New Zealand National Qualifications Framework (NQF) is a new qualifications, credit, and assessment system. This report explores the difference the NQF makes for young people. It is the first report of a longitudinal study that will follow two cohorts of students in seven North Island (New Zealand) high schools to see the impact the NQF has on them. This research suggests that the NQF is likely to be followed as if it were the old set of practices it was designed to replace. On the basis of responses from 49 interviews with sixth-form students, interviews with 10 teachers, and a study of documentation during 1996, research findings show the following: most students had heard of the NQF and standards-based assessment, but no student could describe the structure in any detail; about three-quarters of students could describe something about the unit standards, but none had seen an actual standards document; most students could not describe the functions of the credits in the new system, nor did they know how many they had earned nor how they related to their futures; only four students knew anything about the proposed new national certificate; most students were interested in the structure of the NQF when it was explained to them; teachers, however, were sure that students understood the new system; students had some experience with assessment under the new system, but few understood anything about the competency-based subset of standards-based assessment; nearly all students referred to assessment as synonymous with written tests; most students thought that examinations, rather than the new unit standards, would allow employers and tertiary educational institutions to identify more accurately what they knew; and most students did not see a correspondence between the unit standards they were assessed on and their future employment plans. Many changes will be required for the NQF to be implemented fully, and better communication of its aims and methods will be a necessity. (Contains 29 references.) (SLD)