Figure CNF4.2 shows the average numeracy scores of this group and of year four students in Cook Islands in previous PILNA cycles. The average overall numeracy score for Cook Islands’ year four students in 2021 was lower than in all previous PILNA cycles. Also, the standard deviation for this group was greater than in all previous PILNA cycles. This means that the distribution of overall numeracy scores in 2021 was more spread out than in previous PILNA cycles. Year four students also had lower overall numeracy scores than the regional average, with 58% of Cook Island students performing at or above the expected level while the regional score was 67%.  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.