Year six students in Tuvalu had mixed performance in the PILNA subjects compared with previous PILNA cycles. These students scored lower in numeracy and higher in writing than any previous PILNA cycle. Their scores for reading were lower than 2018 but higher than 2015. Average scores in numeracy (521), reading (471), and writing (500) were also lower than the average scores across the region (numeracy, 531; reading, 492; writing, 507).

Most year six students are meeting the minimum expected proficiency levels in numeracy but not for reading; 69% of students were at or above the minimum expected proficiency levels in numeracy but only 44% were at or above them in reading. Minimum expected proficiency levels for writing have not yet been established but writing performance has substantially increased.

In year six, girls tended to score higher than boys in numeracy (girls, 532; boys, 509), reading (girls, 490; boys, 453), and writing (girls, 510; boys, 491). Also, more girls were meeting the minimum expected proficiency levels than boys in numeracy (girls, 79%; boys, 59%) and reading (girls, 53%; boys, 36%).

Year six students in non-government schools scored slightly higher in reading (government, 466; non-government, 497) and writing (government, 499; non-government, 508) than students in government schools. There were no differences in the numeracy scores of students in government and non-government schools (government, 521; non-government, 516).

Year six students in non-urban schools scored higher in numeracy (urban, 510; non-urban, 532) than students in urban schools. There were no differences in the reading (urban, 474; non-urban, 467) and writing (urban, 500; non-urban, 501) scores of students in urban and non-urban schools.

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