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.
2017 data have not been updated in these tables but National and school level data is available in Senior Student Attainment statistics.
Table 1: Percentage of school leavers staying at school until at least their 17th birthday (2014-2016)
Ethnic group
Gender
17 year-old leavers
Total leavers
Percentage staying until at least 17 years-old
2014
2015
2016
2014
2015
2016
2014
2015
2016
Māori
Female
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Māori
Male
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Māori
Total
x
9
x
x
9
x
x
100.0
x
Pacific
Female
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Pacific
Male
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Pacific
Total
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Asian
Female
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Asian
Male
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Asian
Total
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
0.0
MELAA
Female
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
0.0
MELAA
Male
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
0.0
MELAA
Total
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Other
Female
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Other
Male
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Other
Total
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
0.0
European/Pākehā
Female
0
x
0
0
x
0
0.0
x
0.0
European/Pākehā
Male
0
x
0
0
x
0
0.0
x
0.0
European/Pākehā
Total
0
x
0
0
x
0
0.0
x
0.0
Total
Female
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Total
Male
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Total
Total
x
9
x
x
9
x
x
100.0
x
Notes:
‘x’ = data has been suppressed where there are between 0 and 5 students in the denominator for a specific group, for example Asian Females. Where one gender has been suppressed the corresponding gender has also been suppressed.
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 are excluded. Alternative education students are included in National totals, but, not in the school they are funded from.
Table 2: Comparison age trends data (2014-2016)
Comparison group
Gender
17 year-old leavers
Total leavers
Percentage staying until at least 17 years-old
2014
2015
2016
2014
2015
2016
2014
2015
2016
TKKM o Te Koutu
Female
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
TKKM o Te Koutu
Male
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
TKKM o Te Koutu
Total
x
9
x
x
9
x
x
100.0
x
Bay of Plenty Region
Female
1,529
1,560
1,503
1,841
1,877
1,860
83.1
83.1
80.8
Bay of Plenty Region
Male
1,387
1,561
1,574
1,828
2,038
2,080
75.9
76.6
75.7
Bay of Plenty Region
Total
2,916
3,121
3,077
3,669
3,915
3,940
79.5
79.7
78.1
Composite (Year 1-15)
Female
1,911
1,906
2,012
2,102
2,100
2,222
90.9
90.8
90.5
Composite (Year 1-15)
Male
1,435
1,508
1,531
1,711
1,756
1,831
83.9
85.9
83.6
Composite (Year 1-15)
Total
3,346
3,414
3,543
3,813
3,856
4,053
87.8
88.5
87.4
State
Female
20,383
20,953
20,762
23,779
24,305
24,537
85.7
86.2
84.6
State
Male
20,228
20,710
20,396
25,424
25,910
25,814
79.6
79.9
79.0
State
Total
40,611
41,663
41,158
49,203
50,215
50,351
82.5
83.0
81.7
Decile 03
Female
1,991
1,884
1,949
2,359
2,251
2,322
84.4
83.7
83.9
Decile 03
Male
1,660
1,722
1,762
2,140
2,200
2,272
77.6
78.3
77.6
Decile 03
Total
3,651
3,606
3,711
4,499
4,451
4,594
81.2
81.0
80.8
New Zealand
Female
25,239
25,855
25,661
28,944
29,511
29,736
87.2
87.6
86.3
New Zealand
Male
24,712
25,445
25,103
30,358
31,095
31,004
81.4
81.8
81.0
New Zealand
Total
49,951
51,300
50,764
59,302
60,606
60,740
84.2
84.6
83.6
Notes:
‘x’ = data has been suppressed where there are between 0 and 5 students in the denominator for a specific group, for example Asian Females. Where one gender has been suppressed the corresponding gender has also been suppressed.
International fee-paying students are excluded. Alternative education students are included in National totals, but, not in the school they are funded from.
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.
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.
2017 data have not been updated in these tables but National and school level data is available in Senior Student Attainment statistics.
Notes:
Notes: