NAPLAN results: One-in-10 need extra support, girls outperformed boys in literacy, boys better in numeracy

West Australian

2 days ago

One-in-10 Australian students need more help to meet basic education standards despite 'encouraging' signs that kids are getting better at maths.
Two-thirds of students performed strongly or exceeded expectations on NAPLAN testing, but geographic location, parent education levels and family background continue to be a major factor impacting results.
Almost one-in-three Indigenous students fell below minimum standards and needed extra support, compared to less than one-in-ten non-Indigenous students.
There was also a regional divide, with just one-in-five students in very remote areas considered strong or exceeding expectations - far below 70 per cent of students in major cities.
Girls again outperformed boys in literacy but boys did better in numeracy, with the gaps emerging in early secondary and late primary school.
Some 71.1 per cent of year 7 girls achieved strong or 'exceeding' - the highest proficiency level - writing results, compared to 57 per cent of boys.
In numeracy, by year 3 there were 6.1 per cent fewer girls achieving 'exceeding' results than boys, which increased to eight per cent by year 5.
Children from higher socio-economic backgrounds in urban areas also tended to score better.
Results in all subjects were relatively stable across the board but Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority chief executive Stephen Gniel called for 'collective action' to help those left behind.
'Such as supporting students from our regional and remote areas, those from a disadvantaged background, and Indigenous students,' he said.
The curriculum boss was buoyed by more Indigenous students in years 7 and 9 achieving 'exceeding' results in writing and numeracy, as well as an overall better maths results.
'It's encouraging to see higher NAPLAN scores on average across years 5, 7 and 9 in numeracy, particularly among the stronger students,' he said.
'These may be small percentage changes, but the increases represent an additional 20,000 Australian students performing at the highest proficiency level - exceeding - in 2025 compared to 2024'.
Year 3 and year 5 students recorded better reading and numeracy results compared to last year, however there was a jump in year 7 and 9 students classified as needing extra support in both subject areas.
NAPLAN results released on Wednesday did not give reasons behind the trends and a school-by-school breakdown will be released later in the year.
Participation rates have rebounded to pre-pandemic levels as some 1.3 million students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sat the tests in early March - equivalent to 93.8 per cent of students.
That includes students in Queensland, who did their exams in the days after Cyclone Alfred struck and still managed the highest participation rates since 2019.