The number of 18 year olds with at least an NCEA Level 2 qualification dipped last year.

Education Ministry figures showed 51,562 or 82 per cent of the more than 60,000 teenagers who turned 18 last year reached the benchmark, a drop of nearly two percentage points.

The ministry says Level 2 is regarded as the base qualification for further study or getting a job and Covid-19 has affected students' schooling.

The figures showed just more than 78 per cent of last year's 18 year olds achieved Level 2 at school, and a further four per cent got it, or an equivalent qualification, after leaving.

The total, just over 82 per cent, is the lowest since 2014 and follows three years in which the achievement rate was nudging 84 per cent. The highest achievement rate was 85 per cent in 2018.

The difference between last year's achievement rate and those recorded in the preceding three years was about 1.5 per cent, meaning the lower achievement rate was caused by about 940 fewer 18 year olds reaching the benchmark.

The figures show Māori students, students from poor communities and boys have the lowest achievement rates.

Considered by region, achievement rates ranged from a low of 78 per cent in Tai Tokerau to 87 per cent in Wellington.

The achievement rate for 18 year olds who attended decile 1 schools, meaning the 10 per cent of schools with the highest concentration of students from poor communities, was 69 per cent, while for those who attended a decile 10 school it was 95 per cent.

Girls had an achievement rate of 84 per cent compared with boys' rate of 81 per cent.

The Level 2 achievement rate was 70 per cent among Māori 18 year olds, 78 per cent for Pacific 18 year olds, 85 per cent for Pākehā, and 91 per cent for Asian 18 year olds.

"For most individuals, attainment of at least NCEA Level 2 is the minimum qualification for successful labour-market participation," an Education Ministry report accompanying the figures says.

The report says staying at school was strongly linked to achieving Level 2.

"Staying in school until the end of Year 12, when most students are 17 years old, is critical to the attainment of NCEA Level 2 for most students. Students who stay in school past their 17th birthday are twice as likely to attain NCEA Level 2 (90.3 per cent) as students who leave when they are 15 or 16 years old (44.9 per cent)."

The report says Covid-19 and natural disasters had affected students' schooling and the Education Review Office had found that the effect of the pandemic on schools had accumulated.

"ERO's research also found that Covid-19 has affected different groups of learners differently but has had more of an adverse effect on Māori and Pacific learners and learners from low socio-economic backgrounds. Compared to 2019, attainment and engagement in schooling for these learner groups have been generally lower."

-RNZ.