Conclusions for writing performance
The writing proficiency scale is yet to be developed so writing performance cannot be compared against stakeholder expectations. Comparisons with PILNA 2012 are also unavailable as these data were analysed differently in previous years.
The average writing performance has increased for year four students and stayed the same for year six students compared with PILNA 2018.
The average year four writing performance has increased substantially over time: 442 in PILNA 2015, 463 in PILNA 2018, and 484 in PILNA 2021.
The average year six writing performance increased substantially between PILNA 2015 (471) and PILNA 2018 (508) but stayed about the same between PILNA 2018 (508) and PILNA 2021 (507).
Notably, the standard deviations for the average writing performance of year four and year six students were much smaller than in previous PILNA cycles.
Girls scored higher than boys in average writing performance in PILNA 2021 across both year levels. This was consistent with what was found in PILNA 2015 and PILNA 2018, when girls scored higher than boys in average writing performance in both cycles.
However, across both year levels, the overall differences between girls' average writing scores and boys' average writing scores were smaller in 2021 than in previous PILNA cycles (2015, 2018).
These scores show that, at face value, the average writing performance has increased for year four students, while it stayed the same for year six students, and also that girls are scoring higher in average writing performance than are boys.
