Figure CRF6.2 shows the average reading scores for this group and for year six Cook Island students in previous PILNA cycles. The average reading score for year six students in 2021 was slightly higher than in 2018 and 2015. The standard deviation for these reading scores in 2021 (SD = 89.79) was slightly higher than in 2018 (SD = 77.76) and moderately higher than in 2015 (SD = 37.53). This shows that the spread of year six reading scores in PILNA 2021 was wider than in previous years.

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.