2023 NZ School Leavers’ Data

Alwyn Poole
Founded and was the head of Mt Hobson Middle School in Auckland for 18 years. MH Academy is now an in-person private school for years 11–13. There is now a nationwide online provision called Mt Hobson Academy Connected for years 1–13.

The data on the academic achievements of NZ’s 2023 school leavers is coming out and next week I will have completed a data process that covers every high school. Some sector-wide data is already out.

It is clear that the Hipkins/Tinetti six-year education combination has left a huge amount NZ young people in a deep hole. The state of our literacy and numeracy for children has been well canvassed (although Tinetti tries to say 2/5 doing okay is not so bad. Hipkins just blamed National Standards – a measurement tool – not a teaching one).

As you see below at the high school level the results have been sliding too.

In terms of the top school qualification – Education Counts just released:

In 2023, 37.8 per cent of all school leavers attained UE Standard, a 0.7 percentage points decrease from 2022.
In 2023, UE standard was attained by 17.6 per cent of Māori school leavers overall (in 2020 it was 22%)
UE standard was attained by 21.9 per cent of Pacific school leavers overall.
UE standard was attained by 60.2 per cent of Asian school leavers overall.
UE standard was attained by 41.2 per cent of European/Pākehā school leavers overall.

We are now getting down [to] one in 5.68 Maori students leaving school with UE. It is shameful.

Here is Level 1 NCEA for leavers.

In 2023, 12,048 Māori school leavers (71.7%) attained NCEA Level 1 or above. This was a decrease of 2.5 percentage points from 2022. That is: 28.3 per cent of Māori young people are now leaving school for good without even attaining LEVEL 1 NCEA. Each has been funded for 13,200 hours and our schools have failed to get them over the lowest of hurdles.

To put it even more starkly: During 2023 – 3,410 Māori youth left school for good – with no qualifications.

Tinetti – with Jack Tame on Q&A – offered no answers – just a whole lot of couldn’t care less and don’t cross the unions.

Her only stated plan was to cancel Charter Schools if/when she gets back into power.

– it won’t matter if they are improving outcomes for students – especially Māori. (She simply talked down her nose about Māori organisations applying to run charter schools … she knows much better).
– it won’t matter if parents, students and the teachers working in them love them.
– it won’t matter if underserved communities and towns with no education choice love the new schools in their area.

Tinetti knows best – and only the unions matter to her – and the charters will go!

NB: she espoused no plan to shut down the many state schools that, especially under her watch, were/are demonstrably not working.

I am working with a new charitable company and we have applied for four charter schools. Two in the central city of Auckland where there are no walk-up schools for 57,000 families. One in Epsom, on transport routes, for the range of students who need 1:15 classes and other features of our model. One in Warkworth – with a growing population and huge desire from families for choice. We are also VERY open to working with state schools who see the benefits of operating as charters and will seek to change.

Tinetti takes no responsibility for the disgraceful state of our education system but claims to be highly knowledgeable. I will never attain the heights of being a minister of this important sector – but from my lowly position I extend an open invite to debate the former (and aspiring) minister on cause, effect and solutions to our education crisis.