Figure CWF4.2 shows the average writing scores for this group and for year four students in Small Island States in previous PILNA cycles. The score in 2021 (481.47, SD = 48.23) was higher both in 2015 (458.23, SD = 97.48) and in 2018 (465.54, SD = 100.94), while the standard deviation for the scores (48.23) was lower than in both 2015 (97.48) and 2018 (100.94). This shows that the spread of writing scores in 2021 was narrower than in previous PILNA cycles.

Standard deviation shows how close data points are to the average. A lower standard deviation means that data points are, overall, closer to the average; a higher standard deviation means that data points are, overall, further away from the average.