Year six students in Niue are performing well across all PILNA subjects compared with PILNA 2018. The 2021 students scored higher in numeracy, higher in reading, and higher in writing than did PILNA 2018 students. Larger increases were seen in numeracy and reading than in writing. Average scores in all these areas were also higher in 2021 than in any other PILNA cycle. Average scores in numeracy (572), reading (579), and writing (541) were also higher than the scores across the region (numeracy, 531; reading, 492; writing, 507).

Most year six students are also meeting the minimum expected proficiency standards in numeracy and reading; 93% of students were at or above the levels in numeracy and 90% were at or above the levels in reading. Minimum expected proficiency levels for writing have not yet been established but writing performance is increasing.

In year six, girls tended to score higher than boys in numeracy (girls, 581; boys, 564) reading (girls, 605; boys, 547) and writing (girls, 552; boys, 527). Also, more girls were meeting the minimum expected proficiency levels than boys in numeracy (girls, 97%; boys, 87%) and reading (girls, 94%; boys, 84%).

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