Figure CNF6.2 shows the average numeracy scores of this group and of the year six students in Cook Islands in previous PILNA cycles. The average overall numeracy score for the students in 2021 was comparable to the 2018 cycle and higher than the 2015 cycle. The standard deviation for the 2021 cycle was similar to the standard deviation in the 2018 PILNA cycle; the 2015 PILNA cycle had a smaller standard deviation. This means that the spread of year six overall numeracy scores in 2021 was similar to previous PILNA cycles. More analysis needs to be done to understand whether these differences in scores are statistically significant.

Standard deviation shows how close data points are to the average. A lower standard deviation means that data points are, overall, closer to the average; a higher standard deviation means that data points are, overall, further away from the average.