Results in Naplan schools tests have remained stable in the past year but Indigenous students have recorded significant gains since 2008.
The National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy results, released on Tuesday, show better results in all content areas, except writing, since the test was first conducted in 2008.
Results improved in year 3 and 5 reading, year 3 spelling, grammar and punctuation, and year 5 numeracy since 2008. But there was “no significant improvement” in the past year on any of the measures. The report confirms preliminary Naplan data, released in August.
The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority said there had been “significant cumulative gains” in some domains and year levels for Indigenous students including reading (years 3 and 5), numeracy (year 5), spelling (year 3), grammar and punctuation (years 3, 5 and 7).
There has also been a significant increase in the percentage of students performing at or above the national minimum standard in writing at year 7.
There were significant gains in some domains in each state and territory, with Western Australia and Queensland registering the biggest improvements. The Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Victoria continue to have the highest average achievement.
Two weeks ago the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study showed Australia’s performance in maths and science had flatlined for the past 20 years and slipped relative to comparable countries.
The Program for International Student Assessment, released last Tuesday, showed a long-term decline in year 9 students’ results in maths, science and reading literacy.
The chief executive of the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, Robert Randall, said the Naplan results since 2008 were welcome, but there was room for more improvement.
“At a national level Naplan results have shown no significant improvement across the domains and year levels in the last few years. We should expect more for our children,” Randall said.
“As we have also seen recently with Australia’s performance in international assessments, there is broad scope for improvement in achievement. We need to raise our expectations and strive for improved results across the board.”
The federal education minister, Simon Birmingham, said the Naplan results were the latest to show that “while strong levels of investment in schools are important, it’s more important to ensure that funding is being used on initiatives proven to boost student results”.
The shadow education minister, Tanya Plibersek, said: “The results of three major school tests have been released in the past couple of weeks, and all three show disadvantaged Australian kids are still struggling at school.
“That’s why Labor supports extra needs-based funding for schools – so every Australian school gets the money it needs to achieve great results.”
