Conclusions for reading performance
Minimum proficiency levels
At year four level, 47% of students met or exceeded the minimum expected proficiency level (level 3–8), compared to 43% at the regional level.
At the year six level, 30% of students are meeting or exceeding the minimum expected proficiency level (level 5–8). This is 23% lower than the regional result, 53%. It is a concern that 70% of the year six students in Tonga are not meeting the minimum expected proficiency level in reading.
Gender
A greater proportion of girls achieved the expected levels of proficiency in reading compared with boys at both year levels. Also, girls achieved higher average reading scores than boys at both year levels.
School authority
There was no difference in the performance of year four students in government and non-government schools. At the year six level, students in non-government schools scored higher than students in government schools.
Coding
The coding of student responses in reading shows that students in Tonga did well in locating information from the text but struggled when asked to identify information when there is competing text in the way. Students at both years four and year six struggled when asked to interpret what they had read, and when asked to think critically about what they had read and form an opinion or give a reason for a response.
Trends
Year four reading performance decreased between 2015 and 2018, as well as between 2018 and 2021. For year six students, there was an increase in the average reading score from 2015 (461 points) to 2018 (470 points), followed by a decrease in 2021 (453 points).
