This document was added or updated on 19/03/2015.

APPARENT RETENTION RATES


COMMENTARY ON APPARENT RETENTION RATES

In 2014, the apparent retention rate for all students from Year 7/8 to Year 12 was 83.6%, an increase of 2.0 percentage points over the 2013 figure. The rate was 87.4% for females, and 80.0% for males. The difference of 7.4 percentage points is slightly less than the previous year’s difference of 7.8 percentage points. This continues the long-term trend which has seen the gap narrow between males and females. In 2004, the gap stood at 11.0 percentage points.

Across the states and territories, the largest increase in the Year 7/8 to Year 12 retention rate was in Western Australia, with a rise of 7.1 percentage points, followed by South Australia with a rise of 3.8 percentage points. When interpreting apparent retention rates for sub-populations such as states/territories, it should be noted that these rates are a simple calculation based on the number of students at the start and finish of the period in question. These indicators do not take account of population growth or student movements, whether geographical or across affiliations. For example, in the period 2009 to 2014, the Estimated Resident Population series shows that the number of persons aged 14 to 18 years increased by 5% in Western Australia, and fell by 2.4% in South Australia. See Explanatory Notes, paragraphs 33-38, for more information.

At the affiliation level, the rates were 81.0% for students at government schools, 84.4% for Catholic schools, and 91.5% for Independent schools. When compared with the 2013 figures, these rates increased by 2.7 percentage points, 1.3 percentage points and 0.3 percentage points respectively.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, the rate also increased over this period; from 55.1% in 2013 to 59.4% in 2014. Over the past 10 years the rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students has risen by 19.6 percentage points.

As was the case with all students, the rate for female Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students exceeded that for their male counterparts; 63.8% compared with 55.1%. However unlike the situation with all students, the gap between the rates for male and female Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students is not narrowing.