"I missed out on two internal exams which were the difference between getting UE and not getting UE," she said.
She is trying to catch up by doing two units in biology and statistics in an online summer school run by the Correspondence School Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu (Te Kura), which the Government has made free this year for up to 4000 students who need up to six extra credits to achieve UE or NCEA at any level.
Tayeb, 18, who plans a career in theatre, said she caught up with most of her courses after the first lockdown, but the second lockdown was "exponentially worse".
"It was at a point where we were finishing most of our internals and starting to get into exam revision. I just couldn't do it. It was really difficult," she said.
"When I did go back to school I was able to figure out a game plan with my teachers for how to manage the rest of the year. My teachers were all helpful and I'm very thankful to them.
"I had to work for my internals in lunchtimes and during periods and after schools, whenever I could. I got quite a few extensions, which I imagine must have been a very big stress for the teachers as well.
"I avoided two exams because it had got to the point where I was so focused on catching up that I didn't get a chance to revise."
Coco Green-Lovatt, who was in Year 13 at Avondale College, said she found it difficult to learn when she had to email questions to teachers during the lockdowns, getting replies that were "maybe a couple of sentences".
"My grades really fell through the year, and I lost a lot of motivation for school. Compared with my Year 12 results, I know that they are not going to be great," she said.
"I used to love sciences, but I lost so much motivation because I just couldn't keep up with the workload because I couldn't understand the things we were learning."
In a normal year, students need 80 credits to get NCEA level 1, 60 credits at level 2 or above plus 20 at any level to get NCEA level 2, and 60 credits at level 3 plus 20 from level 2 or above to get NCEA level 3.
To compensate for the Covid lockdowns, students getting their results tomorrow will get one bonus credit for every four credits they achieve in Auckland, and one bonus credit for every five they achieve outside Auckland, up to maximums of 16 bonus credits at level 1 and 12 at levels 2 and 3 in Auckland or 10 at level 1 and eight at levels 2 and 3 elsewhere.
University Entrance requirements have been reduced from 14 to 12 credits in three approved UE subjects.
Universities have said that they will be "open to considering a recommendation" from schools to admit students who still miss out on UE because of Covid disruptions.
NZQA has extended its call centre opening hours until 8pm tomorrow, with extra staff ready to answer specific queries students may have about their NCEA results.
The NZQA call centre can be contacted on 0800 697 296 or helpdesk@nzqa.govt.nz.
NZQA returns marked papers to students from late January, after which students can apply for a review or reconsideration.
Results for Scholarship exams are due to be released on February 4.
