Grade three students in Papua New Guinea had mixed performance in the PILNA subjects compared with PILNA 2018. These students scored lower in numeracy, higher in reading, and higher in writing than students in PILNA 2018. Average scores in numeracy (483), reading (455), and writing (506) were higher than the scores across the region (numeracy, 479; reading, 444; writing, 484).

Writing scores for grade three students saw a significant increase from the previous PILNA cycle.  The average writing score in 2018 was 445, which rose to 506 in the 2021 PILNA cycle.

Nearly three quarters of grade three students are meeting minimum expected proficiency standards in numeracy but less than half are meeting expected proficiency standards in reading; 73% of students were at or above minimum expected proficiency levels in numeracy and 45% were at or above minimum expected proficiency levels in reading. Minimum expected proficiency levels for writing have not yet been established but writing performance is increasing.

In grade three, girls tended to score about the same as boys in numeracy (girls, 485; boys, 484), reading (girls, 458; boys, 453) and writing (girls, 507; boys, 504). Also, slightly more girls were meeting the minimum expected proficiency level than boys in reading (girls, 47%; boys, 43%), but a similar proportion were meeting the minimum expected proficiency level in numeracy (girls, 74%; boys, 73%).

Grade three students in non-government schools tended to score similarly in numeracy (government, 485; non-government, 482), reading (government, 455; non-government, 456), and writing (government, 505; non-government, 506) when compared to students in government schools.

Grade three students in urban schools tended to score similarly in numeracy (Urban, 488; Non-urban, 483), reading (Urban, 455; Non-urban, 455), and writing (Urban, 506; Non-urban, 505) when compared to students in non-urban schools.

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