Table CRT6.1 shows Cook Islands’ distribution of year six reading scores against the PILNA reading proficiency scale. This scale converts a student’s reading performance into a level ranking from zero to eight. The expected minimum reading performance for year six students is proficiency level five. Pacific stakeholders expect these students to reach or exceed this proficiency level.

The average reading performance of year six students in Cook Islands was 557.46 (SD = 89.79). This corresponds to proficiency level seven on the PILNA reading proficiency scale (level seven is assigned to scores 537.5–587.5). On average, year six students in Cook Islands are exceeding the minimum expected standard in reading. They also had a higher average score for reading than the average regional score of 491.87 (SD = 78.28).

The average reading score does not tell us the whole story. The proportion of students who are meeting the minimum expected standard is also important. This is shown in Table CRT6.2. Approximately 82% of year six students in Cook Islands were performing at or above the minimum expected level in reading (levels 5–8), while about 18% of year six students from Cook Islands did not meet this level (levels 0–4). This shows that the majority of year six students assessed in 2021 are meeting the minimum expected standard and a small but significant proportion are not. Also shown in Table CRT6.2, is the significant proportion of year six students who scored at level eight (42%), the highest level on the reading scale.