Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

501. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students who completed the leaving certificate in a school (details supplied) in 2016; and the number who went on to further education. [26171/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

It is desirable that parents and the public in general have information about schools that is meaningful, fair and fully rounded. Data on school retention and progression to further education in respect of individual schools or local areas are not provided by my Department as these could be used to create statistical comparisons that take account of only one dimension of school performance and outcomes and do not adjust for the varying social and educational background of students entering these schools as well as the range of learning outcomes not captured in measures of examination performance or school completion. In the absence of a broader range of outcomes such comparisons could therefore impact in a negative way for schools in disadvantaged areas.

The most recent data available on retention rates of pupils at post primary level, which contains a breakdown by local authority area is available on my Department's website at . This report refers to the pupils who entered the post-primary system in 2009 and would have sat their Leaving Certificate in 2014 or 2015.

Data on the progression of pupils from post-primary to other destinations including further education is available at .