One-in-three children underperforming in NAPLAN test

KEY STATS * About one-in-three students scored below the expected average across all subjects * About 1.3 million students from over 9400 schools took the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) test in 2024 * Average scores remained steady but were down slightly in most areas across all year groups compared to 2023, although high school students performed slightly better on average in reading and writing * Participation rates have also remained steady but increased slightly from 2023 to 93.4 per cent DEMOGRAPHICS * Girls outperformed boys in writing with an average score of 426.3 compared to 406 in year 3 and 592.8 compared to 555.8 in year 9 * The reverse was true for numeracy with an average score of 411.8 compared to 395.5 in year 3 and 570 compared to 560.4 in year 9 * Indigenous students' NAPLAN scores were substantially lower than non-Indigenous students across all subjects * Over 30 per cent of Indigenous students were rated as needing additional support, compared to less than 10 per cent of non-Indigenous students * Students who speak a language other than English at home were more likely to be rated in the exceeding proficiency level by about nearly 10 per cent in year 5 * About 70 per cent of students living in major cities had scored at a strong proficiency level or higher compared to just over 20 per cent in the most remote communities * Students with parents who hold a bachelor degree or higher had substantially better results than those whose parents completed year 11 or lower * The same is true for students whose parents work in management or professional expert roles compared to those with parents in unskilled roles RESULTS BY STATE AND TERRITORY * On average the ACT, NSW and Victoria had the highest scores * The NT scored noticeably worse than other states on average across all subjects * Only eight out of 40 average scores were below the national average across all states and territories RESULTS BY YEAR GROUP * 12.9 per cent of year 3 students nationally were in the exceeding proficiency level across all subjects, while 10.8 per cent need additional support * 16 per cent of year 5 students were in the exceeding proficiency level while 9.2 per cent need additional support * Year 7 students had the highest number of students at the exceeding proficiency level at 18.1 per cent while 10.2 per cent need additional support * 15.8 per cent of year 9 students were in the exceeding proficiency level while 10.9 per cent need additional support