School leavers’ progression to bachelors-level study

Publication Details

This study looks at the likelihood of people leaving school for bachelors level study. It considered school leavers who had gained the University Entrance standard. The study investigated how the decision to go on to bachelors-level study was affected by the students’ standard of performance in NCEA, their ethnic group and gender, the socio-economic ranking (decile) of the school they attended, and whether or not they progressed directly to tertiary study after leaving school. The study used a method of reporting ethnicity that allowed for comparisons both within and between ethnic groups.

The report finds that those students with higher levels of success in NCEA were significantly more likely to go on to bachelors-level study. The decile of the school attended made no difference to this likelihood for Asian and European students, but Māori and some Pasifika students, with higher levels of academic ability, and who came from lower-decile schools, were significantly less likely to go on to bachelors study than similar students from higher-decile schools.

Author(s): Ralf Engler, Tertiary Sector Performance Analysis and Reporting [Ministry of Education]

Date Published: March 2010