NCEA exams are under way as figures from New Zealand Qualifications Authority's investigations into students who broke the rules have been released for the last two years. (File photo)

Education officials are urging students sitting their NCEA exams not to roll the dice by attempting to cheat, despite the "high stakes" involved.

Last year, New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) formally investigated 338 students for breaking the rules, with 33 of them studying at high schools in the Wellington region.

Of those investigations, 326 breaches were confirmed, up from the 290 seen during the 2015 exam period.

FIONA GOODALL/STUFF Secondary Principals' Association president Michael Williams. (File photo)

Among the most common rules broken was when students were caught with a cellphone (123 cases), while eight used a cellphone dishonestly. A further 65 cases involved a student with notes.

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Nine students were also investigated over "authenticity issues", which includes plagiarism and impersonations.

SUPPLIED Wainuiomata High School principal Martin Isberg. (File photo)

However, NZQA deputy chief executive assessment, Kristine Kilkelly, pointed out that breaching the rules did not always mean a student was cheating.

"Students are not allowed to take cellphones or notes into an examination, but it cannot be assumed that every student with a cellphone or notes intended to cheat.

"The majority of breaches related to students failing to follow instructions."

Wainuiomata High School principal Martin Isberg said he was not sure why breach investigation numbers had risen in the past year, but said all students were briefed on the rules.

"They are national exams, so it doesn't matter where you sit the exams, the rules are the same."

When NZQA receives a report of a possible breach, a letter is sent to the student involved. The student is then asked to make a written comment to the authority.

An independent contractor will recommend a decision once the investigation is carried out.

"Depending on the gravity and seriousness of the offending, students may either receive a written warning, or if the integrity of the student's result has been compromised, it is withheld," Kilkelly said.

Darfield High School principal James Morris said that, because assessments were spread out over the course of a year, there was "less temptation" to cheat.

"Actual verified examples of notes stuffed into pockets or put in other places, and things like that, are actually fairly infrequent.

"Even cases of people trying to use someone else's identity, which can be quite common overseas, is actually quite rare in New Zealand really."

Secondary Principals' Association president Michael Williams said there could be a number of reasons why a student could be driven to consider cheating.

"For some of them, perhaps you would label it as dumb behaviour, and some it might be quite a deliberate attempt to cheat.

"But I think the deliberate attempts to cheat are quite small numbers, and the others are just being stupid and using their phone and not thinking. Using their phones when they shouldn't have done."

Williams warned all students who were contemplating cheating to "stop and think" and urged them "not to be stupid".

Results for this year's final exams were due to be published in mid-January.