The numeracy and reading sections compare student performance to proficiency scales that describe expected student performance based on the number of years of schooling. A proficiency scale for writing ability is not currently available, although one will be created and the PILNA 2021 writing results will be compared with it.

For now, the average writing performance in PILNA 2021 is compared to writing performance over previous PILNA cycles. This gives an indication of how writing performance is trending over time, but it does not show whether writing performance is at the level Pacific stakeholders expect it to be.

As shown in the grade five writing performancesection above, the average writing score for grade five students in Papua New Guinea in 2021 appears to be higher than in both 2015 and 2018. The average writing score for a grade five student in 2015 was 453.74 (SD = 60.76), in 2018 it was 497.91 (SD = 73.56), and in 2021 it was 541.24 (SD = 34.82). With grade five girls scoring slightly higher on average than grade five boys in writing performance in 2015, 2018 and 2021, girls are marginally more likely to be meeting writing expectations than boys.