Highlights from the OECD's 2004 edition of Education at a Glance

Last month the OECD released its mammoth, annual compendium of education statistics - Education at a Glance. We highlight some key findings for New Zealand.

More freedom for schools to decide how they want to teach

Decision-making in schools is becoming more decentralised.

In New Zealand, 75 percent of educational decisions are made at the school level, compared to 24 percent in Australia, 100 percent in the Netherlands, and 85 percent in England.

Decisions on how teaching is organised are now mainly taken by schools in all OECD countries, rather than by authorities. Decisions on planning and structures remain mostly with centralised government.

On average, about half of all decisions relating to lower secondary education are now taken by schools, notably higher than five years ago.

NZ spending on education

During 2001, the Labour government spent 5.5 percent of GDP on educational institutions, compared to the OECD mean of 5.0 per cent - ranking New Zealand 11th out of 30 countries.

Gaps in NZ achievement

New Zealand has the largest gap between girls' and boys' educational achievement, according to Education at a Glance.

The report highlights a 27-point gap between the reading literacy skills of 10-year-old boys and girls, the highest of the 16 countries measured.

Graduation rates

New Zealanders have high rates of graduation from secondary education, with 76 percent of 25-64 year olds having at least an upper secondary education compared to 65 percent for the whole OECD.

In tertiary type B programmes (those that have a practical, technical or occupational focus) some 15 percent of New Zealanders aged 25-64 have a qualification compared to eight percent for the OECD, placing New Zealand fourth equal.

More people than ever in tertiary education

More people around the world are completing university courses and other forms of tertiary education than ever before.

Half of today's young adults, on average, now enter universities or other institutions offering similar qualifications at some stage during their life. However, progress has been uneven across countries and some have significantly fallen behind.

In general, people with tertiary qualifications have significantly higher salaries. For example, in the US, earnings for tertiary graduates are on average 86 percent higher than those for people with only secondary education. New Zealand has one of the lowest differentials at only 28 percent.

Education at a Glance is at this web page.