Deciles - questions and answers

What are deciles

A school's decile indicates the extent to which the school draws its students from low socio-economic communities. Decile 1 schools are the 10% of schools with the highest proportion of students from low socio-economic communities, whereas decile 10 schools are the 10% of schools with the lowest proportion of these students. A school's decile does not indicate the overall socio-economic mix of the school.

What are deciles used for

Deciles are used to provide funding to state and state-integrated schools to enable them to overcome the barriers to learning faced by students from lower socio-economic communities. The lower the school’s decile, the more funding they receive.

When and why are deciles reassessed

Deciles are reassessed after each Census to take account of the latest information. The reassessment also ensures that changes in the catchment area for each school are picked up. Each year schools can also request a review of their decile. Reviews are examined on a case by case basis. They are successful where a school can show either significant change in the area since the 2001 Census or that the sample of addresses used did not fairly represent the catchment of the school. Please see Reviews of deciles for more information

How are deciles calculated

Each school provides a random sample of student addresses and these are used to determine which areas each school is drawing its students from. The addresses are assigned to small Census areas called meshblocks. Census information for each meshblock that the school draws from is then used to calculate the decile. For a more detailed description see How the decile is calculated.

What factors are taken into account in calculating deciles

The five factors that make up the decile are:

• Household income – percentage of households with income in the lowest 20% nationally.
• Occupation – percentage of employed parents in the lowest skilled occupational groups.
• Household crowding – number of people in the household divided by the number of bedrooms.
• Educational qualifications – percentage of parents with no tertiary or school qualifications.
• Income support – percentage of parents who received a benefit in the previous year.

Why is my school’s decile different to that of a neighbouring school

Schools in the same general area do not necessarily have the same decile. A school’s decile is based on the specific, small areas where the students live, not on the general area in which the school is situated. Neighbouring schools may draw students from slightly different areas, which will result in different meshblocks. This is particularly the case when comparing a secondary school with a primary school as the secondary school has a much larger catchment area than a primary school.

What resources are affected by deciles

• Targeted Funding for Educational Achievement (TFEA) (deciles 1-9)
• Special Education Grant (SEG) (deciles 1-10)
• Careers Information Grant (CIG) (deciles 1-10)
• Kura Kaupapa Māori Transport (deciles 1-10)
• Priority Teacher Supply Allowance (PTSA) (deciles 1-2)
• National Relocation Grant (NRG) (deciles 1-4)
• Decile Discretionary Funding for Principals (deciles 1-4)
• Resource Teachers of Learning and Behaviour (RTLBs) Learning Support Funding (deciles 1-10)
• RTLBs for years 11-13 (deciles 1-10)
• School Property Financial Assistance scheme (deciles 1-10)
• Study Support Centres (deciles 1-3)
• Social Workers in Schools (deciles 1-5)
• District Truancy Service (deciles 1-10)

What are the per student rates for each decile

The per student rates for each decile can be found in the Funding, Staffing and Allowances Handbook.