Senior Student Retention as at 1 July 2004
This report briefly summarises the senior student retention results from the 1 July 2004 school roll returns. Other reports can be found on the Senior Student Retention index page.
Apparent Retention
Retention rates are calculated by taking the number of 14 year olds as a base population and calculating how many of these students are still attending school when they are 15, 16 17 year olds etc. Because this calculation takes no account of migration it is called an ‘apparent’ retention rate and should be treated with caution.
Retention by age and ethnicity
Overall these apparent retention rates suggest that the proportion of students staying on for a fourth year in secondary school has largely remained stable. This can be seen by the levelling off of the percentage of students aged 17 in the table below: 61 per cent in 2004, and 60 per cent in both 2005 and 2006.
Māori retention rates remain much lower than the other ethnic groups. Retention rates for Māori 16 year-olds dropped by two percentage points from 63 per cent in 2005 to 61 per cent in 2006.
Table 3: Apparent Retention Rates* by Age and Ethnicity and Gender
|
2004
|
2005
|
2006
|
||||||||
| Age 16 | Age 17 | Age 18 | Age 16 | Age 17 | Age 18 | Age 16 | Age 17 | Age 18 | ||
| European/Pākehā | Male |
79%
|
56%
|
10%
|
78%
|
55%
|
11%
|
79%
|
56%
|
11%
|
| Female |
86%
|
65%
|
11%
|
86%
|
65%
|
12%
|
86%
|
67%
|
11%
|
|
| Total |
82%
|
60%
|
11%
|
82%
|
60%
|
11%
|
83%
|
61%
|
11%
|
|
| Māori | Male |
60%
|
36%
|
9%
|
59%
|
36%
|
8%
|
58%
|
35%
|
8%
|
| Female |
68%
|
43%
|
9%
|
66%
|
43%
|
8%
|
64%
|
42%
|
7%
|
|
| Total |
64%
|
40%
|
9%
|
63%
|
39%
|
8%
|
61%
|
39%
|
8%
|
|
| Pasifika | Male |
79%
|
62%
|
22%
|
78%
|
62%
|
21%
|
80%
|
62%
|
19%
|
| Female |
86%
|
70%
|
19%
|
90%
|
70%
|
19%
|
88%
|
73%
|
19%
|
|
| Total |
82%
|
66%
|
21%
|
84%
|
66%
|
20%
|
84%
|
67%
|
19%
|
|
| All** | Male |
78%
|
56%
|
13%
|
77%
|
56%
|
13%
|
77%
|
56%
|
13%
|
| Female |
85%
|
65%
|
14%
|
84%
|
65%
|
14%
|
84%
|
65%
|
13%
|
|
| Total |
81%
|
61%
|
14%
|
80%
|
60%
|
13%
|
80%
|
60%
|
13%
|
|
Notes: * No adjustment has been made to account for migration.
** Excludes NZAID and foreign fee-paying students
Retention by age and gender
Within each gender, retention rates have remained relatively stable. However, female retention rates appear substantially higher than males at ages 16 and 17. For example in 2006, 84 per cent of females aged 16 remained at school, while only 77 per cent of males remained at school. This pattern also follows that of enrolments at the higher MoE year levels, where the proportion of females enrolled in schools is higher than males.
Retention by age, ethnicity and gender
Again, retention remains relatively stable across 2004 to 2006 when broken down by age, ethnicity and gender. The trend continues to show that female retention rates are substantially higher than that of males, as seen across ethnicity groups. The retention rates for 16-year-old Māori students, was 64 per cent for female compared to 58 per cent for their male counterparts. The Māori male rate is the lowest of all ethnic groups.
Related Education Counts Documents
Other reports can be found on the Senior Student Retention index page.