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Higher Rates of Achievement in Boys’ Schools

Higher Rates of Achievement in Boys’ Schools

A recent study undertaken by the Association of Boys’ School of New Zealand (ABSNZ)

A recent study undertaken by the Association of Boys’ School of New Zealand (ABSNZ), as reported in the NZ Herald (click here to read), has outlined that boys who attend single-sex schools tend to leave school with higher qualifications than their counter-parts at co-educational schools. 

This new study compares the qualifications of all boys who left school between 2017 and 2021. It showed that almost half of boys at single-sex schools left with University Entrance, compared to only 30 per cent of boys at co-educational schools. Moreover, it showed that only 6.3 per cent of boys at single-sex schools left schools with no qualification, compared to 14.3 per cent of boys at co-educational schools.

Broken down by decile, boys at single-sex schools performed significantly better on average than their counterparts across each decile range.

The study also found that the difference in the proportion of students who gained University Entrance was 15-20 per cent higher for students at single-sex schools across all ethnicities. The difference in the percentage of students who left co-educational schools without any qualification was much higher among Māori and Pacific students, suggesting these may benefit the most from a single-sex setting.

These findings back up what was previously found by two earlier studies in 2012 and 2017.

Download the full report here