School Leavers: 2006

Introduction

The monitoring of the highest attainment of school leavers is based on the annual 1 March survey of secondary and composite schools. These statistics include all full-time regular students, full-time adult students and special education class students who left school during the period 1 March 2006 - 28 February 2007, to go on to further education, training, the workforce or other activities.

The school leaver statistics in recent years have reflected a qualifications system that is in transition due to the phased rollout of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) between 2002 and 2004.

From 2004, all school leaver highest attainment statistics were based on the NQF/NCEA but the methodology necessarily involved mapping some attainment under the previous examination system to the NCEA context.

School leavers are defined as full-time, regular, year 9 to year 15 students and special education class students who have finished their schooling and last attended school on or after 1 March 2006 and before 1 March 2007. Also included are full-time, regular adult students and regular students who have turned 15 years of age and have been granted an exemption fr om enrolment and who have finished their schooling.

School Leavers do not include:

• Regular students who left school to transfer to another secondary school, become home schooled or went overseas permanently
• Returning adult students
• Alternative education students
• NZAID funded students
• Foreign feepaying students
• Exchange students
• Suspended students
• External students
• Part-time students
• Students aged under the age of 16 whose destination is unknown or
• Students aged under the age of 16 in a Children, Youth and Family Service residence or programme.

Results

Total School Leavers

• In the period 1 March 2006 to 28 February 2007 , there were 501 schools which had students leave school.
• The number of students who left school during this period was 56,895 which is 559 fewer than in 2005. This decline reverses the trend that occurred between 2002 and 2005 where the number of leavers had been increasing. Over the same period, the number of full-time students aged 16 years and over in schools has continued to increase.

The following Table is titled: Table 1 - School Leavers and Full-Time Students aged 16 years and over 2000-2006

Year	School leavers during Year	Full-time students aged 16 and over (at July)
2006	56,895	98,442
2005	57,454	96,401
2004	55,634	95,753
2003	53,471	93,584
2002	52,546	89,919
2001	53,517	86,590
2000	54,633	86,846

 

Highest Attainment for All Leavers

• The attainment levels of school leavers are improving.
• Between 2005 and 2006, the proportion of leavers with UE or a Level 3 qualification or higher increased by three per cent and the proportion leaving with little or no formal attainment decreased by two per cent.

The following Table is titled: Table 2 - Highest Attainment of School Leavers 2005-2006

Highest attainment of school leavers	Year
	2005 (%)	2006 (%)
UE, Level 3 qualification or higher1	33	36
Half-way to a Level 3 qualification	9	8
Level 2 qualification	16	16
Sub-total NCEA Level 2 or above	58	60
Half-way to a Level 2 qualification2	9	9
Level 1 qualification	7	7
Half-way to a Level 1 qualification3	9	8
Less than half-way to a Level 1 qualification	6	5
Little or no formal attainment	13	11
Total	100	100
Leavers with UE (included in total above)	29	32

 

Highest Attainment by Ethnic Group

All ethnic groups show an increase in the proportion of leavers with UE or a Level 3 qualification or higher and a decrease in the proportion leaving with little or no formal attainment.

The following Table is titled: Table 3 - Highest Attainment of School Leavers by Ethnic Group 2005-2006

Highest attainment of school leavers	NZ European /Pākehā		Māori		Pasifika
	2005 (%)	2006 (%)	2005 (%)	2006 (%)	2005 (%)	2006 (%)
UE, Level 3 qualification or higher1	38	41	12	15	14	17
Half-way to a Level 3 qualification	8	8	7	7	13	14
Level 2 qualification	17	16	13	14	18	19
Sub-total NCEA Level 2 or above	63	65	32	36	45	50
Half-way to a Level 2 qualification2	8	7	10	11	14	13
Level 1 qualification	8	7	8	9	5	5
Half-way to a Level 1 qualification3	8	7	13	13	12	12
Less than half-way to a Level 1 qualification	4	4	10	10	10	8
Little or no formal attainment	10	9	25	22	15	12
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100
Leavers with UE (included in total above)	34	37	9	12	11	12

 

The following Table is titled: Table 3 continued - Highest Attainment of School Leavers by Ethnic Group 2005-2006

Highest attainment of school leavers	Asian		Other		Total
	2005 (%)	2006 (%)	2005 (%)	2006 (%)	2005 (%)	2006 (%)
UE, Level 3 qualification or higher1	58	63	32	41	33	36
Half-way to a Level 3 qualification	11	10	11	9	9	8
Level 2 qualification	11	9	13	14	16	16
Sub-total NCEA Level 2 or above	80	82	56	64	58	60
Half-way to a Level 2 qualification2	7	6	9	12	9	9
Level 1 qualification	3	2	4	4	7	7
Half-way to a Level 1 qualification3	4	3	9	7	9	8
Less than half-way to a Level 1 qualification	2	2	6	5	6	5
Little or no formal attainment	5	4	16	9	13	11
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100
Leavers with UE (included in total above)	55	58	27	35	29	32

The recent improvements shown above can be seen more clearly in the following graphs. (Tables containing the actual figures can be found in the Appendix to this report.)

The percentage of leavers with UE or a Level 3 qualification or higher has been increasing for all ethnic groups since 2002. Similarly the percentage of leavers with no or low formal attainment has been decreasing since 2002.

Figure 1 - Percentage of school leavers with UE, Level 3 qualification or higher, by ethnic group (1993 to 2006)

Figure 2 - Percentage of school leavers with NCEA Level 2 or above, by ethnic group (1993-2006)

Note:

Due to methodological changes in the allocation of attainment levels in 2004, for leavers achieving a qualification between little or no formal attainment and UE standard, the percentages of leavers with at least NCEA Level 2 in 2004 is not comparable with other years, and has been omitted. Due to changes in the qualification structure, a direct comparison cannot be made between rates up to and including 2002 with rates from 2003

Figure 3 - Percentage of school leavers with little or no formal attainment, by ethnic group (1993-2006)

Attainment of Maori school leavers

The changes in attainment of Māori school leavers show a similar pattern to other ethnic groups.

Māori school leavers are under-represented in the group that has UE or a Level 3 qualification or higher, but have shown a similar level of improvement to the other ethnic groups. Only 15 per cent of Māori leavers were at this level (compared to 36 per cent of total school leavers). For Māori this is an increase of three per cent from 2005. Māori have shown continuous improvement since 2000.

Māori school leavers are over-represented in the group that has little or no formal attainment with 22 per cent of Māori leavers at this level (compared with 11 per cent for total school leavers). For Māori this is a decrease of three per cent from 2005. The percentage of Māori leavers in this group has been declining since 2002.

The proportion of Māori school leavers who left school without reaching a Level 1 qualification dropped from 48 per cent in 2005 to 45 per cent in 2006. A similar drop (from 28 per cent to 24 per cent) was experienced for the total school leavers.

Attainment of Pasifika school leavers

The attainment of Pasifika school leavers has improved between 2005 and 2006.

Pasifika school leavers are under-represented in the group that has UE or a Level 3 qualification or higher, but have shown improvement between 2005 and 2006. Only 17 per cent of Pasifika leavers were at this level (compared to 36 per cent of total school leavers). For Pasifika this has increased from 14 per cent in 2005. Pasifika leavers have been improving since 2002.

For school leavers with little or no formal attainment, Pasifika school leavers have dropped from 15 per cent in 2005 to 12 per cent in 2006, which is slightly higher than the 11 per cent for total school leavers. The percentage of Pasifika leavers in this group has been declining since 2002.

The proportion of Pasifika school leavers who left school without reaching a Level 1 qualification dropped from 37 per cent in 2005 to 32 per cent in 2006.

Highest Attainment by Gender

Female leavers are still doing better than males.

While the proportion of both male and female leavers with UE or a Level 3 qualification or higher has increased between 2005 and 2006, the large gap between males and females at this levels continues. There is a 10 percentage point difference: 41 per cent for females and 31 per cent for males. This difference between the genders at this level is unchanged from 2005 (38 per cent for females and 28 per cent for males).

The gender differential is not as marked for leavers with little or no formal attainment, although males (12 per cent) are still higher than females (10 per cent) in 2006.

The following Table is titled: Table 4 - Highest Attainment of School Leavers by Gender 2005-2006

Highest attainment of school leavers	Male		Female		Total
	2005 (%)	2006 (%)	2005 (%)	2006 (%)	2005 (%)	2006 (%)
UE, Level 3 qualification or higher1	28	31	38	41	33	36
Half-way to a Level 3 qualification	8	8	9	9	9	8
Level 2 qualification	15	16	16	15	16	16
Sub-total NCEA Level 2 or above	51	55	63	65	58	60
Half-way to a Level 2 qualification2	10	10	7	7	9	9
Level 1 qualification	8	7	6	6	7	7
Half-way to a Level 1 qualification3	10	9	7	7	9	8
Less than half-way to a Level 1 qualification	6	6	5	5	6	5
Little or no formal attainment	14	12	12	10	13	11
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100

 

Highest Attainment by Ethnic Group and Gender

Females have better attainment across all ethnic groups.

For each ethnic group there is a greater proportion of females with UE or a Level 3 qualification or higher, and the proportion of female leavers with little or no formal attainment is lower than the males.

Māori male leaver attainment levels are improving but are still below all other groups.

Year 11

Over recent years, there has been a slight increase in the proportion of students leaving from Year 13. This has been complemented by a slight decrease in students leaving at Year 12. In 2006, there was also a slight decrease in students leaving at Year 11.

Year 13 was the last year of schooling for 62 per cent of leavers in 2006 compared with 59 per cent in 2005 (and 58 per cent in 2004).

Year 12 was the final year of schooling for 23 per cent of students in 2006. It was the final year for 24 per cent of students in both 2005 and 2004.

Year 11 was the final year of schooling for 12 per cent of students in 2006. It was the final year for 13 per cent of students in both 2005 and in 2004.

 

The following Table is titled: Table 5 - School Leavers by Year Level 2004-2006

MOE Year Level	2004 (%)	2005 (%)	2006 (%)
Year 9	0	0	0
Year 10	2	2	2
Year 11	13	13	12
Year 12	24	24	23
Year 13	58	59	62
Year 14	3	2	1
Year 15	0	0	0
Total	100	100	100

 

Year Level by Gender

Females are tending to stay at school longer with 65 per cent leaving from Year 13 in 2006 compared to 58 per cent of males. For both genders, these proportions have increased from 2005.

More males left in Year 11 (14 per cent compared to 11 per cent of females) and in Year 12 (24 per cent of males compared to 22 per cent of females).

The following Table is titled: Table 6 - School leavers by Year Level and Gender 2004-2006

MOE Year Level	Male			Female
	2004 (%)	2005 (%)	2006 (%)	2004 (%)	2005 (%)	2006 (%)
Year 9	0	0	0	0	0	0
Year 10	3	2	2	2	1	1
Year 11	15	15	14	11	11	11
Year 12	26	25	24	22	22	22
Year 13	54	55	58	62	62	65
Year 14	3	2	1	2	2	1
Year 15	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100

 

Year Level by Ethnic Group

The following Table is titled: School leavers by MOE Year Level and Ethnic Group 2006

MOE Year Level	Ethnic Group of Leavers 2006
	NZ European /Pākehā (%)	Māori (%)	Pasifika (%)	Asian (%)	Other (%)	Total (%)
Year 9	0	0	0	0	0	0
Year 10	1	3	1	0	1	2
Year 11	12	22	11	3	6	12
Year 12	23	30	20	11	15	23
Year 13	63	43	66	85	75	62
Year 14	1	1	1	1	2	1
Year 15	0	0	1	0	1	0
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100

 

Year Level of Maori leavers

Māori students leave school with lower levels of education than other ethnic groups:

• Three per cent of Māori leavers left in Year 10 compared with two per cent of total leavers.
• Twenty two per cent left in Year 11 (compared with 12 per cent overall).
• Thirty per cent left in Year 12 (compared with 23 per cent overall) and
• Only 43 per cent left in Year 13 (compared with 62 per cent overall)

Year Level of Pasifika leavers

• Pasifika students are staying at school longer than total students.
• Only 32 per cent of Pasifika leavers left school before Year 13 in 2006 (compared with 37 per cent of total students). In Years 11 and 12 the percentage of Pasifika leavers is slightly lower than for the total leavers, while in Year 13 the proportion of Pasifika leavers are four percentage points higher than the total.

SES Decile

• Students who leave from a high decile school are much more likely to leave school with UE or a Level 3 qualification or higher, while low decile schools are more likely to have students leave with little or no formal attainment.
• In Decile 10 schools, 64 per cent of the school leavers left with UE or a Level 3 qualification or higher, while only three per cent left with little or no formal attainment.
• In Decile 1 schools, 14 per cent of the school leavers left with UE or a Level 3 qualification or higher, while 20 per cent left with little or no formal attainment.

Figure 4 - Highest Attainment of School Leavers by SES Decile of School, 2006

Non-NQF Qualifications

(These figures are included in the earlier totals.)

• In 2006, 27 schools had leavers with non-NQF qualifications as their highest attainment, c om pared to 28 in 2005. For 15 of these schools, all leavers had non-NQF qualifications as their highest attainment (c om pared to 13 schools in 2005).
• The number of leavers with a non-NQF qualification as their highest attainment has increased fr om 972 in 2005 to 1,190 in 2006.

The following Table is titled: Table 8 - Leavers whose Highest Attainment was a Non-NQF qualification 2005, 2006

Highest Non-NQF Attainment	2005	2006
Year 13: Cambridge International Exams, International Baccalaureate, Accelerated Chris tian Education, or Other Overseas Awards	843	1,027
Year 12: Cambridge International Exams, International Baccalaureate, Accelerated Chris tian Education, or other Overseas Awards	80	127
Year 11: Cambridge International Exams, International Baccalaureate (prep year), Accelerated Chris tian Education, or other Overseas Awards	49	36
Sub-Total	972	1,190
No formal attainment 4	22	60
TOTAL	994	1,250

 

Footnotes

1. Categories collected in 2005 and 2006 were different to 2004 and earlier years. This figure has been derived in recent years.
2. Includes leavers with year 12 Cambridge International, International Baccalaureate, Accelerated Chris tian Education or any other overseas awards
3. Includes leavers with year 11 Cambridge International, International Baccalaureate, Accelerated Chris tian Education or any other overseas awards
4. Only includes leavers with no attainment fr om schools where all other leavers had a non-NQF qualification as their highest attainment

Related Education Counts Pages

The School Leavers statistics index page.