Context
This indicator presents rates of graduation from secondary school. This is a central component of assessing the performance of the education systems, and it is also often seen as an indicator of access to education. More indirectly, it is considered a measure of student achievement. A comparison of secondary graduation rates shows the extent to which school systems succeed in helping students attain what is universally recognized as an important educational milestone.
Upper secondary graduation serves as a base for further education, but it also prepares students for direct entry into the labour market. With the increase in the level of qualifications in OECD countries, secondary school graduation is currently, in terms of qualification, the minimum requirement that young people must have to successfully enter working life. It is a valuable academic qualification, since young people who leave school without obtaining their diploma generally have more difficulty finding a job.
Graduation rates are influenced by a number of factors, such as the conditions for graduation and in- and out-migration. They can also be affected by economic conditions. For example, a robust labour market that offers many opportunities can attract young people who have passed the age of compulsory school attendance but have not yet completed their secondary education. However, in a sluggish market, young people who expect to have difficulty finding a job are sometimes more inclined to complete their secondary education.
Observations
Upper secondary graduation is becoming the norm in most OECD countries, since it largely represents the minimum requirement with respect to qualification for more advanced education or entry into the labour market. In 22 of the 25 OECD countries with comparable data, the upper secondary graduation rate exceeded 70% (Table A.2.1, column 1). Although Canada is part of this group with a rate of 78%, this figure is nevertheless 4 percentage points below the OECD average of 82% (Chart A.2.1).
Canada, along with the United States (78%), placed 17th among the OECD countries.
Luxembourg (75%), New Zealand (74%), Spain (74%), Sweden (74%), Portugal (65%), Turkey (58%) and Mexico (43%) had rates below that of Canada. Upper secondary graduation rates varied greatly from one province or territory to another, from 91%
in Quebec to 28% in Nunavut.
Upper secondary graduation rates for females were higher than those for males in 23 of the 25 OECD countries (Table A.2.1, columns 3 and 2, respectively).
Exceptions to this pattern were Switzerland and Turkey, where rates for males were higher. In Canada, the rate for females was 83%; the rate for males, 74%—a relatively
Education Indicators in Canada: An International Perspective, 2009
large gender gap of 9 percentage points. Germany, the United States, and Japan all had male-female differences of 2 percentage points or less, revealing a more desirable situation.
Upper secondary graduation rates for females were also higher than those for males in all provinces and territories. While a gap of 14 percentage points was observed in Quebec, gaps similar to that observed at the national level (9 percentage points) were registered in Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, the Northwest Territories, and British Columbia. Smaller gaps (5 percentage points or less) were recorded for Nova Scotia, Yukon, and Prince Edward Island. Among the OECD countries for which data are comparable, only the Czech Republic (4 percentage points), Korea (3), Japan (2), the United States (1) and Germany (1) posted gaps of this size.
With an 8% rate, Canada was well below the OECD average upper secondary graduation rate (16%) for ISCED 3C long programmes (vocational education at the secondary level) (Table A.2.1, column 8). However, the Canadian rate is entirely determined by the vocational education system in Quebec, since no other province (or territory) reported such graduates in 2006. Quebec has a rather extensive vocational sector at the secondary level, yielding a vocational secondary graduation rate (39%) that suggests the sector may be comparable in size with that in Australia, Iceland, and Norway. When the concept of calculating the rate based solely on the first secondary programme completed is applied in Quebec, the influence of vocational secondary diplomas on the overall rate (Table A.2.1, column 1) is considerably diminished by the fact that 60% of vocational secondary graduates have already graduated from a general secondary programme.
Chart A.2.1
Upper secondary graduation rates, 2007
100
DEU FIN JPN Que. CHE UKM Sask. P.E.I. N.B.
80
Note: International codes (e.g., AUS for Australia) are used here to label OECD member countries. See the “Notes to readers” for a complete list of these abbreviations and the corresponding country names.
Source: Table A.2.1.
Upper secondar y graduation A2
Definitions, sources and methodology
This indicator addresses upper secondary graduation. It presents secondary graduation rates with and without duplication according to programme destination, programme orientation and sex. Rates with duplication are calculated by dividing the number of individuals who, regardless of their age, have graduated by the total population at typical age of graduation. Rates without duplication are obtained by subtracting those individuals who have already graduated from another upper secondary programme from the total number of upper secondary graduates.3 In general, a graduate of upper secondary education is considered to have successfully completed the last year of education at this level, regardless of his or her age. Graduation is often conditional on success in a final examination, but not in all countries.
The data reflect the 2006/2007 school year (the 2005/2006 school year for Canada) and are obtained from the UOE collection of statistical data on education, carried out jointly by three international organizations, UNESCO, the OECD and Eurostat, and conducted in 2008 by the OECD. The typical age of graduation for Canada was determined to be between 17 and 18. The values used in the denominator for calculating the graduation rate are based on the average of the demographic estimates for these two ages.4
The data on graduates are drawn from the Elementary-Secondary Education Statistics Project (ESESP), an administrative survey that collects data from the provincial and territorial ministries/departments of education.5 To ensure comparability with other OECD countries, Statistics Canada estimated the number of graduates of private schools using the most recent data available for this sector (enrolments in 1999/2000). The number of private school graduates obtained in this way was then added to the number of public school graduates and included in the calculation of the secondary graduation rates presented.
Note: The corresponding OECD indicator is A2, How many students finish secondary education and access tertiary education?.
3. The methodology used to produce the numbers for Canada and the provinces/territories may differ from that used in a particular province/territory; consequently, the numbers in this report may differ slightly from those published by the provinces/territories.
4. Upper secondary graduation rates may exceed 100% because they are calculated by dividing (1) the number of individuals who, regardless of their age, have graduated, by (2) the total population at typical age of graduation These rates should not be used to discuss upper secondary drop-outs.
5. Data on graduations from some secondary programs are not uniformly available across jurisdictions, and general education diplomas (GED), adult basic upgrading and education, and graduation from adult day school, which take place outside regular secondary school programs, are, in most instances, not included.