Figure CNF5.2 shows the average numeracy scores of this group and of grade five students in Federated States of Micronesia in previous PILNA cycles. The average overall numeracy score for Federated States of Micronesia’s grade five students in 2021 was lower than in all previous PILNA cycles but 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. This aligns with the regional results, which also saw a lower average overall numeracy score, and greater deviation in results for similarly educated students.  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.