5.1 School retention at 16 years
5.2 School retention at 17 years
5.3 School retention at 18 years
Ministry of Education (2005) Student participation: retention of students in secondary schools. www.educationcounts.edcentre.govt.nz Accessed 25 October 2006
5.4 Percentage of school leavers qualified to attend university by ethnic group, 1993-2005
| 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | |
| Māori | 7.5 | 7.9 | 7.5 | 7.9 | 8.2 | 8.9 | 8.5 | 7.3 | 7.4 | 7.7 | 8.9 | 11.7 | 11.9 |
| Pacific | 9.1 | 10 | 11 | 9.9 | 10.3 | 11 | 9.1 | 9.5 | 9.7 | 8.5 | 9.4 | 14 | 14.5 |
| Asian | 46.8 | 48.1 | 46.9 | 52.2 | 54 | 56.3 | 54.1 | 52.2 | 53.6 | 52.2 | 54.1 | 56.2 | 58.5 |
| Other | 28 | 32.1 | 25.5 | 26.4 | 37.2 | 35.6 | 30.4 | 30.4 | 25.1 | 30.1 | 27.7 | 30.2 | 31.5 |
| NZ Euro | 29.8 | 31.3 | 31.4 | 32.7 | 34 | 33.8 | 31.5 | 30.4 | 29.9 | 31.2 | 33.2 | 37.1 | 38.1 |
| Total | 25.1 | 26.6 | 26.4 | 27.7 | 29.3 | 29.3 | 27.5 | 26.7 | 26 | 27 | 28.7 | 32.1 | 32.9 |
Ministry of Education, School leavers with a university entrance standard qualification. www.educationcounts.edcentre.govt.nz Accessed 26 October 2006