Embargo to Sunday 22 July 2007 Media Statement

School leavers report shows good progress

The 2006 School Leavers Report shows that students are leaving school with more and higher qualifications across school years, NCEA levels and ethnicities, says Education Minister Steve Maharey.

"The latest report shows that achievement is continuing to improve across the board. It's further proof that NCEA is a world-class qualifications system that is consistently raising achievement."

The School Leavers Report shows that more students are achieving University Entrance and NCEA Level 3, fewer are leaving school with no qualification and more students are staying at school for longer. However, there are still some groups not achieving as well as they could, so there is still more work to do.

"Students leaving school with at least NCEA Level 2 has reached a milestone of 60 per cent in 2006, after barely exceeding 40 per cent under the old system in the 1990s. The report also shows that around one in ten students (11.1 per cent) now leave school with little or no formal attainment, compared with nearly one in five in 1999 (17.2 per cent).

"Maori students are also showing significant improvements, with more now achieving qualifications (56 per cent), than not getting any formal qualification (44 per cent). Maori boys leaving school without a qualification is down from 53 per cent in 2005 to 46 per cent – continuing a trend of improvement.

"A second report being released by the Ministry of Education, the Senior Secondary Student Achievement Fact Sheet 2004-06, also shows that more students are getting qualifications each year.

"Under NCEA, achievement has risen consistently and fewer students are leaving school with no qualifications. Further improvements to NCEA were announced this year, which boost motivation and make it even more flexible and reliable.

"The Labour-led government is delivering a better education system, with more qualified teachers, better resources in schools, and more students staying at school longer. Investment in schools has increased from $3.9 billion in 1999 to $5.8 billion this year.

"There is still work underway to support students to do better, including a crackdown on early leaving exemptions and work on improving truancy rates. A Maori education strategy will be launched shortly – Ka Hikitia will focus on initiatives that we know improve Maori achievement."

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