The 2021 Pacific Islands Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (PILNA) was undertaken in fifteen countries through the concerted effort of many individuals and organisations.

The Pacific Community’s Educational Quality and Assessment Programme (EQAP) is grateful to the Pacific ministers for education for their ongoing support of PILNA and for allowing the monitoring of student achievement in literacy (reading and writing) and numeracy at the end of four and six years of primary schooling.

EQAP wishes to thank the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade for their financial and logistical support of the PILNA programme. We also thank the Australian Council for Educational Research for providing technical assistance in data analysis and reporting, as well as the assessment enhancements adopted in this fourth cycle of PILNA.

We extend our sincere gratitude to the ministries and departments of education in the participating countries: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. We thank your PILNA national coordinators, school heads, teachers and pupils for their part in carrying out the PILNA 2021 programme.

We are grateful for all your contributions to PILNA 2021.

The EQAP PILNA Team