Completion of upper secondary education is associated with a range of economic and social benefits both in New Zealand and across the OECD. Retention to senior secondary schooling is linked to higher levels of skills and knowledge required for participation in our increasingly knowledge-based society and the wider global community.
The retention data presented here is calculated from school leaver data, that is, it is the age that a school leaver completed their schooling. The Ministry convention is to consider the proportion of students that remain at school until at least their 17th birthday; this is a year after compulsory education and the average age for a student completing their upper secondary qualifications.
Alternatively a large amount of retention data is available from our statistical pages. See School Leavers.
Table 1: Percentage of school leavers staying at school until at least their 17th birthday (2016-2018)
Group
Left before 17th birthday
Stayed until at least 17th birthday
Percentage staying until at least 17th birthday
2016
2017
2018
2016
2017
2018
2016
2017
2018
Female
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Male
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Māori
x
1
2
x
4
7
x
80.0
77.8
Pacific
0
0
x
0
0
x
na
na
x
Asian
0
0
0
0
0
0
na
na
na
MELAA
0
0
0
0
0
0
na
na
na
Other
0
0
0
0
0
0
na
na
na
European/Pākehā
0
0
x
0
0
x
na
na
x
Total
x
1
2
x
4
7
x
80.0
77.8
Notes:
‘x’ = data has been suppressed where there are between 0 and 5 students in the denominator for a specific group, for example Asian students. Where one gender has been suppressed the corresponding gender has also been suppressed. ‘na’ = not applicable.
Ethnicity is multiple response, that is, students who affiliated in more than one ethnic group have been counted in each ethnic group. Students are only counted once in the total, therefore, the ethnic groups may not sum to the total.
International fee-paying students and adult students (age 19+) are excluded.
Table 2: Comparison trend data (2016-2018)
Comparison group
Left before 17th birthday
Stayed until at least 17th birthday
Percentage staying until at least 17th birthday
2016
2017
2018
2016
2017
2018
2016
2017
2018
TKKM o Te Koutu
x
1
2
x
4
7
x
80.0
77.8
Bay of Plenty Region
824
841
1,022
3,067
3,177
3,192
78.8
79.1
75.7
Composite (Year 1-15)
456
569
607
3,538
3,693
3,671
88.6
86.6
85.8
State: Not integrated
8,174
8,764
9,311
38,868
40,158
40,105
82.6
82.1
81.2
Decile 03
980
1,070
1,175
3,837
3,817
3,784
79.7
78.1
76.3
New Zealand
9,397
10,149
10,843
51,121
52,793
52,042
84.5
83.9
82.8
Notes:
‘x’ = data has been suppressed where there are between 0 and 5 students in the denominator for a specific group, for example Asian students. Where one gender has been suppressed the corresponding gender has also been suppressed. ‘na’ = not applicable.
International fee-paying students and adult students (age 19+) are excluded.
The comparison groups selected are based on the profile of the school at the time of the most recent data collection, rather than the school's current profile.
Retention / Trends
Completion of upper secondary education is associated with a range of economic and social benefits both in New Zealand and across the OECD. Retention to senior secondary schooling is linked to higher levels of skills and knowledge required for participation in our increasingly knowledge-based society and the wider global community.
The retention data presented here is calculated from school leaver data, that is, it is the age that a school leaver completed their schooling. The Ministry convention is to consider the proportion of students that remain at school until at least their 17th birthday; this is a year after compulsory education and the average age for a student completing their upper secondary qualifications.
Identical information is available by regional council and territorial local authority through the Know Your Region pages.
Alternatively a large amount of retention data is available from our statistical pages. See School Leavers.
Notes:
Notes: