10. Student Achievement—Public Achievement InformationSARAH DOWIE (National—Invercargill) to the Minister of EducationStudent Achievement—Public Achievement Information10. SARAH DOWIE (National—Invercargill) to the Minister of Education: What reports has she released recently highlighting national and regional educational achievement?Hon HEKIA PARATA (Minister of Education): Tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā otirā ki a tātou e Te Whare kua hoki mai nei.[Acknowledgments to you Mr Speaker but at the same time to us in the House who have returned here.]I was pleased to release today the 2015 Public Achievement Information (PAI). I would like to pay tribute to the students their parents and teachers for the excellent rise in National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) level 2 achievement rates among 18-year-olds. The latest data shows that 51299 18-year-olds achieved NCEA level 2 in 2015. That means that since 2008 around 38000 more young people have achieved the minimum qualification for success than if the achievement rate had remained at the level it was at under the previous administration. For the first time Public Achievement Information data also includes information on school-leavers. This information tells us that in 2015 more school-leavers undertook tertiary study than those who did not and 19270 of those were enrolled in degrees. This is exciting news because it means that more young people are getting better qualifications and much brighter prospects.Sarah Dowie: How does this information assist young New Zealanders in achieving educational success?Hon HEKIA PARATA: Public information about how the education system is serving our young people is vital for students their parents educators and employers. Under our Government student achievement continues to rise. However we can always do better and we strive to ensure that all our students are given the best opportunity to do so. Parents can use PAI to ask their children's school what it is doing to raise achievement. It also helps teachers to give the right support to the right child at the right time and it assists schools employers and training providers to work out what skills are needed to boost local economic performance. We are endeavouring to provide this information in many different formats so that it can be useful to communities to celebrate their success and identify their learning challenges.Chris Hipkins: What confidence can New Zealanders have that increasing rates of NCEA attainment reflect a genuine lift in student achievement given that participation in core subjects like English maths and science has decreased with schools reporting students taking easier subjects to accumulate the necessary credits for an NCEA qualification?Hon HEKIA PARATA: They can have absolute confidence that these numbers are real that young people are achieving because we provide this data in a very transparent way. There are anecdotal stories that some of the things the member is talking about are occurring but more and more we are targeting actual information to actual young people and ensuring that they are getting meaningful qualifications. So I am confident—[Interruption] Yes I use actual" because of course the member is not familiar with that term."