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School Leaver's Attainment

This is a comprehensive measure that includes all New Zealand secondary students at a distinct point of time in every student’s schooling life, namely when they finish school. This is the main reporting measure for the Ministry of Education. School leaver data forms the basis of a number of measures, including highest attainment, school leaver destinations (when combined with tertiary data), and retention at school.

Introduction

School leavers is our main measure of secondary student attainment.  This is a comprehensive measure.  It focuses on a distinct point of time in every student’s schooling life, namely when they finish school.  As such this measure in theory captures all students. And while it is based on NCEA results the measure also captures attainment information on students using other assessments including, Cambridge International Assessment, and International Baccalaureate. More information about this collection can be found on the School Leavers Data Collection page.

In 2021 the overall rates of attainment of NCEA decreased, with larger decreases at NCEA Level 3 or above, and University Entrance standard.

The proportion of students who have remained at school until at least 17 years of age decreased from 2020 to 2021. The school leaver retention rate in 2021 is similar to what it was in 2011.

In response to COVID-19, the Ministry and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) continued to provide a range of responses to NCEA to support students in 2021. Additional supports were provided to students in Auckland, Tai Tokerau and Waikato regions in recognition of a higher degree of disruption caused to students from the pandemic in these regions. These responses were designed to support students to engage in and progress with their assessed learning, whilst maintaining the integrity and credibility of the qualification. Alongside the provision of Learning Recognition Credits, there were significant other supports available for students and schools through the year. These likely complemented the built-in flexibility within NCEA and our secondary education system resulting in a generally positive attainment outcome for 2021.

Indicators

School leaver data forms the basis of a number of measures, including highest attainment, school leaver destinations (when combined with tertiary data), and retention at school. For a simple summary of each of these measures please read the appropriate education sector indicator. Please note that Vocational Pathway 2021 results will be released later in the year.

  • Indicator: School Leavers with NCEA Level 1 or Above (2021) [PDF 530.8kB]
  • Indicator: School Leavers with NCEA Level 2 or Above (2021) [PDF 473.7kB]
  • Indicator: School Leavers with NCEA Level 3 and University Entrance (2021) [PDF 554.4kB]
  • Indicator: School Leaver Destinations (2021) [PDF 481.1kB]
  • Indicator: Vocational Pathway Award (2020) [PDF 363.6kB]
  • Indicator: Retention of students in senior secondary schools (2021) [PDF 469.9kB]

Interactive Dashboard

The buttons at the top of the dashboard control what is on the bottom axis of the graph. To filter the data use any of the Region, School or Student filters on the left. To switch between the filters use the buttons titled "Region", "School" and "Student".  By default the dashboard only shows data from the most recent year. To select other years use the dropdown in the top left (under “Filters”).

Ethnicity shows the ethnic group or groups a student identifies with.  For school leaver data this is total response, that is, leavers are counted in each ethnic group they identify with.  This means that you cannot sum the different ethnic groups to get a total as some students will be counted multiple times.  To avoid this we have added a Total value for ethnicity, where individuals are only counted once.  By default Ethnicity is set to Total.

You can expand the dashboard by pressing the ⤢ icon in the bottom right corner of the dashboard.

Read the instructions (pdf 77kB) for more guidance on using the July School Roll Return dashboard.

Time Series Data

These spreadsheets provide numbers and percentages of students by different highest attainment levels for a range of dimensions (such as Māori medium and English medium education, region, school authority, ethnicity) across time in a simple, easy to use format.

  • Time Series Data: School Leavers with NCEA Level 1 or Above (2011-2021) [MS Excel 60.5kB]
  • Time Series Data: School Leavers with NCEA Level 1 Literacy and Numeracy (2011-2021) [MS Excel 73.3kB]
  • Time Series Data: School Leavers with NCEA Level 2 or Above (2011-2021) [MS Excel 61.8kB]
  • Time Series Data: School Leavers with NCEA Level 3 or Above (2011-2021) [MS Excel 70.8kB]
  • Time Series Data: Retention of students in senior secondary school (2011-2021) [MS Excel 56.5kB]
  • Time Series Data: School Leavers with Highest Attainment (2011-2021) [MS Excel 91.6kB]
  • Time Series Data: Māori School Leavers Attainment (2011-2021) [MS Excel 32.9kB]

Pivot Tables

This pivot table allows you to create your own tables by any combination of variables. Includes the option of displaying number of school leavers by highest attainment for a range of variables, such as, region, school authority, and ethnicity.

  • Pivot Tables: School Leavers (2011-2021) [MS Excel 13.3mB]
  • Pivot Tables: Vocational Pathways (2010-2020) [MS Excel 38.6mB]

Machine Readable Data

The following data have been provided in a format (csv) that can easily be processed by a computer. It contains the same data that are in the school leaver pivot table.

  • Machine Readable: School Leavers (2011-2021) [Zipped File 5.7mB]

School Leaver Data Technical Notes

The Measures

Indicator Definition: School leavers with NCEA level 1 or above

Percentage of school leavers with NCEA level 1 or above

Numerator:

The total number of school leavers who attained:

  • NCEA Level 1 or other Level 1 NQF qualification; or
  • A non-NQF award at the equivalent of  NCEA level 1 including Accelerated Christian Education (ACE), International Baccalaureate ( IB) or Cambridge International exams (CIE),  or another overseas award at Year 11;
  • 30 credits at Level 2 or higher
  • NCEA Level 2 or other Level 2 NQF qualification; or
  • A non-NQF award at the equivalent of  NCEA level 2 including Accelerated Christian Education (ACE), International Baccalaureate ( IB) or Cambridge International exams (CIE),  or another overseas award at Year 12;
  • 30 credits at Level 3 or higher
  • NCEA Level 3 or other Level 3 NQF Qualification; or
  • A non-NQF award at the equivalent of  NCEA level 3 including Accelerated Christian Education (ACE), International Baccalaureate ( IB) or Cambridge International exams (CIE),  or another overseas award at Year 13;
  • NZ Scholarship or National Certificate at Level 4 or above

as at the end of the school leaver year  (ie. 1 March 2022 for the 2021 school leaver year).

The highest qualification status for each student is obtained from NZQA. Where a student achieved a non-NQF qualification, highest attainment information is obtained directly from their school.
(Data Source: Ministry of Education: ENROL)

Denominator:

The total number of school leavers in a given school year.
(Data Source: Ministry of Education: ENROL)

Indicator Definition: School leavers with NCEA level 2 or above

Percentage of school leavers with NCEA level 2 or above

Numerator:

The total number of school leavers who attained:

  • NCEA Level 2 or other Level 2 NQF qualification; or
  • A non-NQF award at the equivalent of NCEA level 2 including Accelerated Christian Education (ACE), International Baccalaureate ( IB) or Cambridge International exams (CIE), or another overseas award at Year 12;
  • National Certificate Level 3 (NCEA level 3); or
  • A non-NQF award at the equivalent of NCEA level 3 including Accelerated Christian Education (ACE), International Baccalaureate ( IB) or Cambridge International exams (CIE),  or another overseas award at Year 13;
  • NZ Scholarship or National Certificate at Level 4 or above
  • 30 credits at Level 3 or higher

as at the end of the school leaver year  (ie. 1 March 2022 for the 2021 school leaver year).

The highest qualification status for each student is obtained from NZQA. Where a student achieved a non-NQF qualification, highest attainment information is obtained directly from their school
(Data Source: Ministry of Education: ENROL)

Denominator:

The total number of school leavers in a given school year.
(Data Source: Ministry of Education: ENROL)

Indicator Definition: School leavers with NCEA level 3 and above

School leavers with at least a level 3 qualification or university entrance award.

Numerator:

The total number of school leavers who attained:

  • A NZQA University Entrance award; or
  • National Certificate Level 3 (NCEA level 3); or
  • A non-NQF award at the equivalent of NCEA level 3 or University Entrance award including Accelerated Christian Education (ACE), International Baccalaureate ( IB) or Cambridge International exams (CIE),  or another overseas award at Year 13;
  • NZ Scholarship or National Certificate Level 4,

as at the time they left school in a given school year.

The highest qualification status for each student is obtained from NZQA. Where a student achieved a non-NQF qualification, highest attainment information is obtained directly from their school.
(Data Source: Ministry of Education: ENROL)

Denominator:

The total number of school leavers in a given school year.
(Data Source: Ministry of Education: ENROL)

Indicator Definition: School leaver destinations

Percentage of school leavers by tertiary destination

Numerator:

The total number of school leavers enrolled in formal provider-based study, industry training, Modern Apprenticeships and targeted training programmes within three years of leaving school.

Denominator:

The total number of domestic school leavers in a given year.
(Data Source: Ministry of Education: ENROL)

Indicator Definition: Vocational Pathway Awards

For this indicator, two different measures are used.  The first is the percentage of school leavers who have achieved one or more Vocational Pathway Award, regardless of award type.  This indicator is used to show trends over time in the proportion of leavers with a Vocational Pathway Award, differences in attainment between groups by student ethnicity, age and gender and by school quintile and location.

The second is the distribution of Vocational Pathway Awards by type, among school leavers who have achieved at least one Vocational Pathway Award.  This is used to show how common each award type is, and to show differences in the award types most common among different groups by ethnicity and gender.

Proportion of all students with one or more Vocational Pathway Awards

Numerator

The total number of school leavers who had attained one or more Vocational Pathway Awards, meaning that they have achieved:

  • NCEA Level Two
  • A minimum of 60 NCEA Level Two credits classified as Recommended for the Vocational Pathway of which at least 20 must be classified as ‘Sector Related’

as at the end of the school leaver year (ie. 1 March 2020 for the 2019 school leaver year).This means that students who do not go through the NCEA qualification system, e.g. a non-NQF award such as Cambridge International exams, cannot meet the criteria for an award. Students who have achieved more than one award are counted against each award type that they have received, but only once in the total.
(Data Source: NZQA Learner Business Data Store)

Denominator:

The total number of school leavers in a given school year.
(Data Source: Ministry of Education: ENROL)

Distribution of Vocational Pathway Awards by type

Numerator:

The total number of school leavers who have attained the Vocational Pathway Awards. e.g. number of school leavers in 2019 who had attained a Creative Industries award.
(Data Source: NZQA Learner Business Data Store)

Denominator:

The total number of school leavers who had attained one or more Vocational Pathway Awards.
(Data Source: NZQA Learner Business Data Store)

Indicator Definition: Retention of students in senior secondary schools

Numerator:

Total number of school leavers aged 17 or above in a given year excluding foreign fee-paying students.
(Data Source: Ministry of Education: ENROL Database)

Denominator:

Total number of school leavers in a given year excluding foreign fee-paying students.
(Data Source: Ministry of Education: ENROL Database)


Inclusive and exclusive criteria

School leavers in 2021 are students that permanently left school to enter the workforce and/or undertake further education and training sometime between 1 March 2021 and the last day of February 2022 (inclusive). School leavers are identified using ENROL. Students counted as school leavers are:

  • Domestic students who were aged less than 19 in their first enrolment in ENROL; including alternative education students, students 16 or over before 1 March 2022 and students attending teen parent units.
  • Students with leave reason; 'end of schooling' or 'early leaving exemption'
  • Students with leave reason 'transferred to another school in New Zealand' or 'transferred to home schooling' but did not reenrol in ENROL
  • Students with leave reason 'gone overseas permanently', who meet the age criteria
  • Students who attend for a period of time at the start of 2022 but leave before 1 March 2022 are counted with 2021 leavers.

This excludes:

  • Returning students (aged 19 or more) with a gap in their attendance
  • Exchange students
  • International fee-paying students
  • Students who successfully transferred to homeschooling or another school in New Zealand
  • Deceased students

Alternative education students are counted with the school that enrolled them in alternative education, this may not be the school that manages their enrolment while they are in alternative education. This is to reflect that the enrolling school is responsible for ensuring the students’ education needs are met.

Interpretation Issues

Literacy and Numeracy: In 2013, students were required to obtain 10 literacy and 10 numeracy credits at level 1 to achieve an NCEA Level 1 qualification. This is an increase on the 8 credits previously required to achieve NCEA Level 1.  No historical adjustment has been made for this change.

University Entrance Award requirements: A change in the requirements for the University Entrance Award came into effect in 2014. This strengthening of the requirements means care needs to be taken when comparing results before 2014 with 2014 onwards.

Ethnicity: Total response ethnicity has been used for school levers.  Total response ethnicity is when people who have been identified in more than one ethnic group have been counted in each ethnic group.  For the New Zealand total, individuals are counted only once.

For this data European/Pākehā refers to people who affiliate as New Zealand European, Other European or European (not further defined).  For example, this includes and is not limited to people who consider themselves as Australian (excluding Australian Aborigines), British and Irish, American, Spanish, and Ukrainian.

School Data Dimension Notes

The dimensions are:


Student Age:

The age of the student (in years) as at their last day of attendance. Students are legally required to attend schooling until age 16, unless they are granted early leaving exemption. However, a number of students are aged 15 on their last day of attendance and turn 16 during school holidays.


Student Gender:

The gender of the students, as recorded in ENROL.


Ethnic Group:

The ethnic group(s) the student identifies with, as recorded in ENROL. The ethnic group data is presented at level 1 and total response. That is, leavers are counted once in each ethnic group they identify with.

Students can be counted in up to three different ethnic groups but only once in the total, therefore the sum of the different ethnic groups will likely exceed the total.  Ethnic groups should not be combined as some students will be counted twice.


School Sector:

Schools are grouped (by school type) into four main sectors of schooling education: Secondary, Composite, Special, and Not Applicable.

Not applicable includes students in Homeschooling, special education leavers from primary schools, and students with no school sector information available.


School Type:

The type of the school, for example, Composite (Year 1 to 15), Secondary (Year 7 to 15), Secondary (Year 9 to 15) the leaver left from.

Not applicable includes students in Homeschooling, special education leavers from primary schools, and students with no school type information available.


School Authority:

The ownership of the school for example State, State-Integrated, and Private.


School Gender:

The gender of the students that a school caters for, for example, co-educational, or single sex. A small number of single sex schools can have some students of the opposite sex on their roll. These students can only access the education they need at these 'opposite sex' schools i.e. adults or special needs students.


Decile:

The decile assigned to the school. Students from low socio-economic communities face more barriers to learning than students from high socio-economic communities. Schools that draw their roll from these low socio-economic communities are given greater funding to combat these barriers. The mechanism used to calculate and allocate this additional funding is most often known as school deciles.

Schools are assigned a socio-economic score based on five census derived socio-economic factors. Decile 1 schools are the 10% of schools with the greatest proportion of students from the most socio-economically deprived areas.  Decile 10 schools are the 10% of schools with the greatest proportion of students from the least socio-economically deprived areas.


Education Region:

The education region the school of the student is located in. These are ten administrative regions created by the Ministry of Education and aligned with the Ministry's ten local offices.

Not Applicable includes students attending homeschooling, students whose school campus covers more than one region, and students with no regional information available.  The Correspondence School is defined as a separate boundary.


Regional Council:

The regional council area the school of the student is located in. Regional council boundaries are defined by Statistics New Zealand. Not Applicable includes students whose school campus covers more than one region, and students with no regional information available. The correspondence school is defined as a separate boundary.


Territorial Authority:

The territorial authority area the school of the student is located in. Territorial authority boundaries are defined by Statistics New Zealand. Please note that Auckland Territorial Authority is further broken down into local board. Not Applicable includes students whose school campus covers more than one region, and students with no regional information available. The correspondence school is defined as a separate boundary.

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