Table CRT6.1 shows the Niue distribution of year six 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 six students is proficiency level five. Pacific stakeholders expect these students to reach or exceed this proficiency level.

The average performance of year six students in Niue in reading was 578.92 (SD = 64.73). This corresponds to proficiency level seven on the PILNA reading proficiency scale (level seven is assigned to scores 537.5–587.5). On average, year six students in Niue are exceeding the minimum expected standard in reading (Figure CRF6.5).

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. This is shown in Table CRT6.1. Approximately 90% of year six students in Niue were performing at or above the minimum expected level in reading (levels 5–8). About 10% of year six students in Niue did not meet this level (levels 0–4). This shows that most year six students are meeting the minimum expected standard and only a small number are not. Table CRT6.1 also shows that about half of the students scored in level eight (49%), the highest level on the reading proficiency scale.

Niue is performing well in reading, not only against the PILNA proficiency level benchmarks, but against the regional and Small Island States performance in PILNA 2021 (Table CRT6.2). On average, year six students in Niue (579) are scoring higher in reading than year six students in the region (492). Further, about 90% of year six students met or exceeded the expected minimum reading proficiency levels in Niue, compared with 53% across the region and 73% in Small Island States