: Introduction
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The assessments included 16 tasks that explored how well the students could analyse and use information. The skills assessed included interpreting individual pieces of information, analysing and collating information from more than one source, understanding and describing the structure of a collection of information, and reporting findings.

Ten tasks were identical for both year 4 and year 8 students, one was very similar for year 4 and year 8 students but simplified for year 4 students, and five were attempted only by year 8 students. Four are trend tasks (fully described with data for both 2001 and 2005), five are released tasks (fully described with data for 2005 only) and seven are link tasks (to be used again in 2009, so only partially described here).

The tasks are presented in the following order:

• trend tasks attempted by both year 4 and year 8 students
• trend tasks attempted by only year 8 students
• released tasks attempted by both year 4 and year 8 students
• a released task attempted by only year 8 students
• link tasks attempted by both year 4 and year 8 students
• link tasks attempted by only year 8 students.

Year 8 students enjoyed substantially more success than year 4 students. Averaged across 84 components of 11 tasks attempted by both years, 17 percent more year 8 than year 4 students succeeded well with these components. Year 8 students scored higher on 77 of the 84 components.

Averaged across seven components of two trend tasks attempted by year 4 students in both 2001 and 2005, one percent fewer students succeeded in 2005 than in 2001. This is a negligible decrease, based on a small sample of tasks and components. At year 8 level, with 25 components of four tasks included, on average two percent fewer students succeeded in 2005. This decrease is also too small to be regarded as meaningful.

 
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