Conclusions for numeracy performance
Minimum proficiency levels
The performance of the grade five students in Palau is notably higher than similarly educated students in the region and in Small Island States; 98% of the students in Palau performed at or above the expected minimum proficiency level compared to 67% in the region and 63% in Small Island States.
In grade seven, 97% of students in Palau performed at or above the expected minimum proficiency level compared to 72% of similarly educated students in the region and 73% in Small Island States. No students in grade seven performed at the lower proficiency levels (0–1).
Gender
In grade five, a similar proportion of girls and boys performed at or above the expected minimum proficiency level: 97% of girls and 98% of boys. However, a slightly higher proportion of girls achieved level eight (46.77%), the highest proficiency level, than did boys (41.94%). On average, girls and boys in grade five performed at about the same level.
In grade seven, a similar proportion of girls and boys performed at or above the expected minimum proficiency level: 98% of girls and 94% of boys. However, higher proportions of girls scored in levels 8a (girls, 44%; boys, 34%) and 8b (girls, 30%; boys, 25%) compared to boys. On average, girls (604) also performed slightly higher than boys (588).
Coding
The coding data for numeracy showed that the grade five and grade seven students were persistent in attempting the questions, with a low proportion of students leaving questions blank. However, for both grade five and grade seven, students struggled with questions involving fractions, place values, and telling time differences. The most difficultly was experienced with questions involving complex problems.
Trend performance
Over the four cycles of PILNA, the percentage of grade five students who performed at or above the expected minimum proficiency levels has been stable, above 98%. The drop in performance in 2021 is minimal.
In grade seven, the percentage of students at or above the expected minimum proficiency level increased over the first three cycles – 95% in 2012, 96% in 2015, and 98% in 2018 – but this dropped to 96% in 2021.
