Issues that matter – education

Another series of graphs for those think the election should be focused on policy. All is from data.govt.nz and compiled by me.

I thought we should look at all four sectors from pre-school to tertiary.

ECE

The proportion of new school entrants who did not have early childhood has halved from 6.4% to 3.1%.

ece2

 

And where have the greatest gains been made? The ECE non participation rate for decile 1 school students was 19.2% in 2010 and has dropped to 12.5%. That is what makes a difference to equality of opportunity.

The non participation rate has dropped from 10.7% to 7.1% ad for Pasifika from 14.1% to 9.7%. Real gains there.

nat standards

 

In just two years, there have been significant increases in the number of primary students making the national standards for reading, maths and writing. National standards have allowed schools to better identify which students are struggling, allow the to give more assistance to schools that are struggling, and given parents much clearer information on how their kids are doing.

ncea

 

If someone leaves school without at least NCEA Level 2, their future and prospects are bleak. National has lifted the achievement rate from 68% to 79%. The gain is even greater for Maori and Pasfika students. The Maori achievement rate is up from 45% to 63% and Pasifika from 51% to 71%. Not bad for just five years.

Maori tert

 

Then at tertiary level, we have almost 50% more Maori gaining a tertiary qualification than in 2008. Again this is how you reduce inequality – rather than increasing taxes.

doctorates

 

And in case you think not enough people are graduating at the top end, the number of doctorates granted has increased from around 800 to 1,100.

tertiary

 

And possibly the most important tertiary indicator – the completion rates. This has gone up from 75.6% in 2008 to 82.95 in 2014. The tertiary system is now better incentivised for people to actually complete their degrees and diplomas.

All these improvements despite inheriting an economy rocked by the Global Financial Crisis, and serious funding constraints.

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