Grade five students in Marshall Islands had mixed performance in the PILNA subjects compared with PILNA 2018. The 2021 students scored lower in numeracy, lower in reading, and higher in writing than the PILNA 2018 students. Across the region, average scores (numeracy, 531; reading, 492; writing, 507) were higher than the Marshall Island scores for numeracy (464), reading (439), and writing (492). Over half the grade five students (58%) are meeting the minimum expected proficiency standards in numeracy but only two out of five (40%) are meeting them in reading. Minimum expected proficiency levels for writing have not yet been established but writing performance is increasing.

In grade five, girls tended to score higher than boys in numeracy (girls, 470; boys, 458), reading (girls, 456; boys, 422) and writing (girls, 500; boys, 483). Also, more girls were meeting the minimum expected proficiency level than boys in reading (girls, 47%; boys, 34%) and numeracy (girls, 62%; boys, 53%).

Grade five students in non-government schools scored higher on average in numeracy (government, 456; non-government, 501), reading (government, 428; non-government, 486), and writing (government, 486; non-government, 514) than did students in government schools.

Grade five students in non-urban schools tended to score higher on average in numeracy (urban, 456; non-urban, 492) and reading (urban, 431; non-urban, 465), and writing (urban, 491; non-urban, 495), than did students in urban schools.

Experiential and environmental data, as outlined in the contextual sections, may provide some insights into the reasons for these performance trends.