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Early childhood education
ECE Attendance
In Palau, most grade five students (80%) and grade seven students (86%) attended at least one year of ECE. Across both grade levels, slightly more girls (86%) attended at least one year of ECE than boys (81%). There are differences, however, in the amount of time that students spent at ECE prior to their schooling. Table STT1.1 shows these ECE differences by grade five students and grade seven students in Palau in PILNA 2021.
ECE attendance and student performance
Statistical testing was done to learn whether there was a difference in student performance between students who had attended at least one year of ECE and students who had not attended any ECE. This was done at both the grade five and grade seven levels for each PILNA domain – numeracy, reading, and writing. No differences were found in the grade seven comparisons and in most of the grade five comparisons. One difference was, however, found at the grade five level for numeracy. Grade five students who attended at least one year of ECE scored higher in numeracy than grade five students who did not attend any ECE. This difference in performance was small.
What does this mean?
Most students who participated in PILNA 2021 attended ECE for at least one year; this was a similar finding to the regional results. Slightly more grade seven students attended ECE programmes than grade five students; this may show lower ECE attendance rates in Palau over time.
Student performance in numeracy tended to be higher for grade five students who attended ECE than for those who did not. This difference was, however, small and no other associations between ECE attendance and student performance were found. In the region, greater performance across all PILNA subjects was found for grade seven equivalent students who attended ECE but not for grade five equivalent students. The reasons for Palau’s differences to the regional findings are unknown.
