Performance » Writing » Year 4 Writing:

Benchmarking Year 4 writing performance: Are standards being met?

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, however, currently available, although one will be created and the PILNA 2021 writing results will be compared to it.

For now, average writing performance in PILNA 2021 is compared to writing performance over previous PILNA cycles (Figure CWF4.2). 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 year four writing performance section, the average writing score for year four students in Tonga was lowest at 454.31 (SD = 93.35) in 2015, rose to 501.20 (SD = 63.44) in 2018, then fell to 488.97 (SD = 37.76) in 2021.

With year four girls scoring higher on average than year four boys in writing performance in 2015, 2018 and 2021, girls are more likely to be meeting writing performance expectations than are boys.

Tonga performed at about the same level in writing as the region. On average, year four students in Tonga scored 489 in writing, as compared to 484 scored by year four students in the region (Figure CWF4.9).

Year 4 Writing scores relative to the region

Mean performance of Grade 5 students relative to the region, Tonga, PILNA 2021