Guide

What the Equity Index means

The EQI replaced deciles in 2023. It is widely misread as a school rating. It is not one.

Every state and state-integrated school in New Zealand has an Equity Index number, currently ranging from 344 to 569 across the 2,483 schools that have one. It replaced the decile system in 2023.

What it measures

The EQI estimates the extent to which a school's students face socio-economic barriers to achievement, using anonymised data about the households its students come from — things like household income, parental qualifications and benefit receipt. A higher number means the school's community faces greater barriers, and the school receives more equity funding.

What it does not measure

It says nothing about teaching, leadership, facilities or results. A school with a high EQI can be an excellent school; a school with a low EQI can be a poor one. The index describes the community a school serves, not the job it does. Deciles were misread the same way for thirty years, which is part of why they were replaced.

Why this site never ranks schools by it

You will not find an EQI column in any list on this site, and no list here can be sorted by it. An EQI league table would be a table of household incomes wearing a school's name, and publishing one would mislead every parent who read it. EQI appears only on a school's own page, beside this explanation.

What to read instead

For an independent judgement of a school, read its ERO review reports. ERO evaluates the school itself. Then visit — nothing in any dataset replaces an hour on site.