Attainment of 18-year-olds
Overview of 18-year-old attainment
In 2020, eighty-three percent of all 18-year-olds attained the equivalent of NCEA Level 2 or above. Of those who turned 18 in 2020, 79.0% of them attained at least NCEA Level 2 or above in school, and 4.3% of them attained at least NCEA Level 2 or above post-school in a tertiary or vocational setting.
Figure 1: 18-year-olds with NCEA Level 2 or above declined in 2019 and 2020
This index page provides data on the number of 18-Year-olds with a Level 2 Qualification or above from 2011 to 2020.
Cohort numbers are identified through the Ministry's ENROL database and based on New Zealand Domestic Students who turned 18 within a calendar year. Attainment details are sourced from the Ministry of Education School Leaver dataset, New Zealand Qualifications Authority, and Tertiary Single Data Returns (SDRs).
To find out more about 18-year-old attainment, refer to the following indicator report:
- 18-year-olds with NCEA Level 2 or Above [MS Excel 163.8 kB]
Time Series Data
This spreadsheet provides numbers and percentages of 18-year-olds with NCEA Level 2 or above across time in a simple, easy to use format.
This spreadsheet allows you to create your tables by any combination of variables. It has the option of displaying number of 18-Year olds by Student Gender, Ethnicity, Leaving Age, the pathway through which they first attained a Level 2 Qualification or above, and by school type variables (such as decile or affiliation) and regional type variables.
Please note: use of this spreadsheet requires MS Excel version 2007 or later.
- Pivot Table: 18-Year-Olds (2011-2020)[MS Excel 2.6mB]
18-Year-Old Attainment Technical Notes
A Level 2 qualification gives people opportunities in terms of further education and employment, contributing to better health outcomes and a better quality of life. The attainment of an upper secondary school qualification is linked to labour force status and incomes. In 2014, New Zealand adults without a qualification at level 2 or higher had an unemployment rate 45% higher than those with such a qualification (Statistics New Zealand 2014).
Indicator Definition: 18-year-olds with NCEA Level 2 or above
(Data Sources: Ministry of Education: School Leaver Data | NZQA and NZQF attainment | SSR: Tertiary student enrolment & completions)
The total number of 18-year-olds who attained:
- National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) at Level 2 or 3; or
- Any qualification on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF) at level 2 or higher or;
- NZ Scholarship; or
- Any schooling qualification not on the NZQF but recognised to be equivalent to a NZQF level 2 or higher qualification. These qualifications are often collectively referred to as non-NZQF qualifications, and in the schooling sector include:
- Cambridge International Exams;
- International Baccalaureate;
- Accelerated Christian Education;
- 30 credits at level 3 or higher
- Any qualification at Level 2 or higher from the tertiary Single Data Return
as at the end of the calendar year.
The highest NCEA/NZQF and non-NZQF attainment is obtained from Ministry of Education: School Leaver Data and New Zealand Qualification Authority (at the end of the calendar year that learners turned 18).
The highest attainment in provider-based education is obtained from the Single Data Return.
The total number of 18-year-olds in a given year that had attended school in New Zealand.
(Data Source: Ministry of Education: ENROL)
Inclusions and exclusion criteria
Eighteen-year-olds who attended New Zealand schools have been defined as a cohort born in a specific year. For example, those born in 2002 are the 2020 18-year-olds included.
Eighteen-year-olds are counted in the region of the last school they attended, not by school.
The “Not Applicable” group for education region, regional council and territorial authority relates to students whose last school has multiple campuses in more than one of the geographic region, or learning institutions that do not have a geographic location status.
Total Response Ethnicity
Total response ethnicity has been used for all analysis in this indicator.
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 overall total each student is counted once only.
For this indicator 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:
The calendar year in which students turned 18 - for example, the '2020' cohort are all students identified in ENROL who turned 18 in 2020, or born in 2002. Information is not available for cohort years prior to 2011.
The gender of the students as recorded in ENROL.
The ethnic group the student belongs to, for example, Māori, Asian. The ethnic group data is presented at level 1 and total response. That is, leavers are counted for each level 1 ethnic group they have indicated they belong to. While a student may be represented in more than one ethnic group, they are only counted once in the ethnic group "Total".
The age (in years) on the last day of attendance at a New Zealand school before student's entry in tertiary study or the workplace.
The type of the school the student was attending at 18-years-old, or the last school the student attended before entry in tertiary study or the workplace, for example Composite (Year 1-15).
The ownership of the school the student was attending at 18-years-old, or the last school the student attended before entry in tertiary study or the workplace, for example State, State-Integrated and Private.
The decile assigned to the school the student was attending at 18-years-old, or the last school the student attended before entry in tertiary study or the workplace. Decile 1 schools draw the greatest proportion of their students from low socio-economic areas. Schools are assigned a socio-economic score based on five census derived socio-economic factors. The 10 percent of schools with the lowest scores are considered decile 1 schools; the next 10 percent of schools are considered decile 2 schools, etc.
The Education Region of the school the student was attending at 18-years-old, or the last school student attended before entering tertiary study or the workplace. These four administrative regions are created by the Ministry of Education and are aligned with the Ministry’s four regional offices. This may not correspond to where the qualifications were gained or the location of the student in year of cohort.
The Regional Council of the school the student was attending at 18-years-old, or the last school the student attended before entry into tertiary study or the workplace. Regional council boundaries are defined by Statistics New Zealand. This may not correspond to where the qualifications were gained or the location of the student in year of cohort.
The Territorial Authority of the school the student was attending at 18-years-old, or the last school student attended before entry in tertiary study or the workplace. Territorial authority boundaries are defined by Statistics New Zealand. Auckland super city has been subdivided into local board. For more information on Auckland city local boards visit the Auckland Council website.