Around 10 per cent of students across Australia need additional support in literacy and numeracy to meet higher NAPLAN expectations, according to the data released by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) in the new-look 2023 NAPLAN national results.

Under the new approach, students are assessed against 4 levels of proficiency based on previous years of schooling: Exceeding, Strong, Developing and Needs additional support. The new reporting system more clearly and simply shows NAPLAN achievement, identifying where expectations are being met.

Key highlights from this year’s NAPLAN national results include:

• Across year level groups on average, 65 per cent of students in Year 3, 68 per cent in Year 5, 67 per cent in Year 7 and 62 per cent in Year 9 met the higher expectations (were in the ‘Exceeding’ and ‘Strong’ levels) for literacy and numeracy.
• In numeracy, on average, the proportion of students who achieved at ‘Exceeding’ and ‘Strong’ levels in 2023 increases from Year 3 (64.7 per cent) to Year 5 (67.7 per cent) and Year 7 (67.2 per cent) and then drops in Year 9 (63.9 per cent), apart from Western Australia (69.4 per cent).
• In writing, primary students were more likely to achieve at ‘Exceeding’ or ‘Strong’ levels than secondary students, with 76.0 per cent of Year 3 students and 66.2 per cent of Year 5 students meeting expectations compared to 62.5 per cent in Year 7 and 58.0 per cent in Year 9.
• Nationally, participation rates have bounced back. For primary years, it increased from 93.8 per cent to 95.1 per cent. For secondary years, it increased from 88.9 per cent to 91.6 per cent.