Grade five students in Papua New Guinea had mixed performance in the 2021 PILNA subjects compared to PILNA 2018. The 2021 students scored lower in numeracy, higher in reading, and higher in writing than the PILNA 2018 students. Average scores in reading (510) and writing (541) in Papua New Guinea were higher than the scores across the region (reading, 492; writing, 507), but the numeracy score in Papua New Guinea (529) was similar to the regional score (531).

Over three quarters (77%) of grade five students were at or above the minimum expected proficiency standards in numeracy and more than six out of ten (66%) were at or above them in reading. Minimum expected proficiency levels for writing have not yet been established but writing performance is increasing.

In grade five, girls tended to score about the same as boys in numeracy (girls, 529; boys, 530), but slightly higher than boys in reading (girls, 515; boys, 505) and writing (girls, 544; boys, 539). Also, more girls were meeting the minimum expected proficiency level than boys in reading (girls, 69%; boys, 62%), but a similar proportion were meeting the minimum expected proficiency level in numeracy (girls, 77%; boys, 77%).

Grade five students in non-government schools tended to score similarly in numeracy (government, 532; non-government, 526), reading (government, 512; non-government, 507), and writing (government, 542; non-government, 540) when compared to students in government schools.

Grade five students in urban schools tended to score similarly in numeracy (urban, 533; non-urban, 529) and writing (urban, 544; non-urban, 541), and higher in reading (urban, 518; non-urban, 507) 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.