Stats NZ is encouraging students across Aotearoa New Zealand to take part in the latest CensusAtSchool New Zealand - TataurangaKiTeKura Aotearoa survey.
The 12th biennial survey is part of an international non-profit educational project which encourages our tamariki and rangatahi from the ages of 7 to 18 to explore real-world data about themselves. CensusAtSchool is also an opportunity for these students to experience how data is collected and understand how it is analysed.
The project is run by the Department of Statistics at the University of Auckland and supported by the Ministry of Education and Stats NZ.
"Stats NZ has been a huge supporter of CensusAtSchool since the first survey in 2003," says Kate Satterthwaite, DCE Office of the Chief Executive at Stats NZ.
"This project helps students engage with statistics in a way that's real and meaningful to them. This is a great opportunity for children and young people to learn more about the value of data, while hopefully fostering the next generation of statisticians."
CensusAtSchool 2025 launched on 26 February 2025 and will run until 27 November 2026. The anonymous online survey is conducted during lesson time, and both schools and students can take part voluntarily. After 10,000 students have taken part, the database will be made available for random sampling and statistical investigations. Supporting resource materials will also be provided to teachers, along with online classroom resource packs to complement a variety of data analysis tools.
The survey asks questions that the students themselves have said they would like to discover about their peers. This includes asking them about their hopes and dreams, and what they expect the future will hold for them. Questions cover their hobbies and habits, pets and favourite foods, and the weight of their school bags, as well the importance of their electronic devices, how much sleep they get, and even their usage of ChatGPT.
More than 800 schools and 52,000 students participated in the last survey, and that number is anticipated to be higher this time around.
"Stats NZ is proud to support CensusAtSchool because we know how important data is and how it provides so many benefits to our society. With this project, the students get to be data detectives and see this value for themselves," says Satterthwaite.
Check out the questionnaire, explore the live dashboard, and see which schools are participating at www.censusatschool.org.nz.
CensusAtSchool is run independently of Stats NZ and is not a formal request for data under the Data and Statistics Act 2022. CensusAtSchool New Zealand has carefully considered the issue of privacy and confidentiality of the data. You can find out more about this here: Privacy Statement - CensusAtSchool New Zealand
