Performance » Reading » Year 4 Reading:
Benchmarking Year 4 Reading performance: Are standards being met?
Table CRT4.1 shows the Fiji distribution of year four 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 four students is proficiency level four (Figure CRF4.7). Pacific stakeholders expect these students to reach or exceed this proficiency level.
The average performance of year four students in Fiji in reading was 453.52 (SD = 85.38). This corresponds to proficiency level three on the PILNA reading proficiency scale (level three is assigned to scores 437.5–462.5). On average, year four students in Fiji are not meeting the minimum expected standard in reading.
Figure CRF4.7: PILNA
Overall reading score
- 0
- 363
- 413
- 438
- 463
- 488
- 513
- 538
- 588
- 625+
- 588
Proficiency Scale Levels
Expected minimum performance
- 0
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4 Year 4
- 5 Year 6
- 6
- 7
- 8
Year 4
Mean score: 453.52 (3.57)
Year 6
Mean score: 522.26 (2.93)
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, as this statistic shows how many students are performing at or above the minimum expected level. This is shown in Table CRT4.2. Approximately 48% of year four students in Fiji were performing at or above the minimum expected level in reading (levels 4–8). About half, 52%, were not meeting the minimum expected level (levels 0–3). This includes a significant proportion of year four students scoring at level zero (16%), the lowest level on the reading scale.
On average, year four students in Fiji (454) are scoring slightly higher in reading than are year four students in the region (444). More students in Fiji (48%) are meeting the minimum expected proficiency level than the regional average (43%).
When looking at the distribution of year four reading proficiency scores in 2021 by gender (Table CRT4.3), we can see differences in the scores of girls and boys in Fiji. Approximately 54% of year four girls performed at or above the expected minimum proficiency level, but only about 41% of year four boys did so. A larger proportion of boys also scored at level zero (boys 20%; girls 12%) and level one than girls (boys 21%; girls 15%), the lowest levels of the PILNA reading proficiency scale.
