Period 16 year-olds are expected to remain in education

The average period 16 year-olds are expected to remain in education is calculated for all 16 year-olds in the population, including those who are no longer in education. It is estimated by adding together the education participation rates per age (for all ages). So: if in a school-year all people of a certain age participate in education, this counts as one whole participation year. If only one quarter of people of a certain age are in education, this gives one quarter of a participation year, etc. This technique is not based on longitudinal observation of real birth cohorts, but is an estimation based on a cross section of the population in one specific school-year.