Year six students in Tonga had mixed performance across the PILNA subjects compared with previous PILNA cycles. These students scored lower in numeracy and writing compared with 2018, but scores in these areas were still higher than 2015. The average reading score in 2021 was lower than both previous PILNA cycles. The average score in numeracy (557) was higher than for the region, but the average scores for reading (453) and writing (479) were lower than for the region (numeracy, 531; reading, 492; writing, 507).

Most year six students are meeting the minimum expected proficiency level in numeracy but most were not meeting them in reading; 87% of students were at or above the minimum expected proficiency levels in numeracy and only 30% were at or above them in reading. Minimum expected proficiency levels for writing have not yet been established but writing performance decreased compared with 2018.

In year six, girls tended to score higher than boys in numeracy (girls, 565; boys, 550), reading (girls, 472; boys, 437), and writing (girls, 494; boys, 466). Also, more girls were meeting the minimum expected proficiency levels than boys in numeracy (girls, 91%; boys, 83%) and reading (girls, 40%; boys, 21%).

Year six students in government schools tended to score about the same as students in non-government schools in numeracy (government, 557; non-government, 555). However, students in non-government schools scored higher than students in government schools in both reading (government, 446; non-government, 482) and writing (government, 476; non-government, 492).

Year six students in urban schools tended to score higher in numeracy (urban, 567; non-urban, 551), reading (urban, 473; non-urban, 435), and writing (urban, 490; non-urban, 469) than students in non-urban schools.

Experiential and environmental data, as outlined in the contextual sections, may provide some insights into the reasons for these performance trends.