Figure CRF7.2 shows the average reading scores for this group and for grade seven students in Marshall Islands in previous PILNA cycles. The score in 2021 was lower than in the 2015 (490) and 2018 (511) PILNA cycles, while the standard deviation (SD = 82.93) was higher than in 2018 (SD = 64.95) and 2015 (SD = 48.33). This shows that the spread of grade seven 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.