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One in three Australian students are failing to meet national numeracy and literacy benchmarks, but NAPLAN data shows Victorian schools are outperforming those in other states.
Nationwide NAPLAN results released on Wednesday show little or no improvement on last year, with large numbers of children still struggling with the basics of learning, despite a federal push to reshape how reading and maths are taught and tested.
The results of tests sat by more than 1.2 million children around the nation in March show nearly 30 per cent were “not achieving the learning outcomes that are expected” or “working towards expectations” in numeracy, reading, writing and spelling. More than 40 per cent of participants did not reach benchmarks in grammar.
The Centre for Independent Studies education researcher Trisha Jha said if NAPLAN was a “health check” of the education system, longer-term data provided the best insight.
“On the other hand, it is important to be vigilant when there is a bit of a negative trend,” she said.
Year 5, 7 and 9 students’ 2026 numeracy score improved slightly compared to 2025, while Year 3 students’ average numeracy score was lower than in all four comparable years. Changes were introduced after 2022 to how NAPLAN results are measured, and testing was moved from May to March.
National reading scores and writing scores were lower across all year levels in 2026 compared to 2025. In reading, the students who received the lowest score, “Needs additional support”, was 10.2 per cent, compared to 9.3 per cent in 2025.
Victorian students scored higher than the national average across all disciplines for a second consecutive year and outperformed students in all other states in writing and numeracy.
Jha said Victoria had a “geographical advantage” which often saw students perform better academically than those in other states.
“Victoria has something that other states don’t have, and that is to say, they have no remote and very remote communities,” Jha said.
Students from urban areas performed better than those from remote regions across the disciplines and higher results tended to align with students from the highest socio-educational backgrounds.
In reading, 23.1 per cent of students from very remote schools were rated as “strong” or “exceeding”, compared to 70 per cent of students from major city schools.
In numeracy, 23.1 per cent of students from very remote schools were in the top two categories, compared to 70.8 per cent of students from major city schools.
Female students outperformed male students in writing, achieving average NAPLAN scores above male students in every year group. Male students generally outperformed female students in numeracy.
Sunshine Primary School principal Lyn Read said her “little country school in the suburbs” had seen big improvements in grade five reading and numeracy.
Read said Sunshine introduced phonics in 2019, before it was mandated in Victoria, which has helped lift its reading results.
“We’ve got the proof in the pudding that we’re on the right track and doing the right things,” she said.
“The main thing for us is that I have exceptional teaching staff who are passionate about education, passionate about kids, and very collaborative.”
NAPLAN participation in 2026 was slightly down on 2025 due to disruptions caused by teachers taking industrial action over wages and conditions in Tasmania and flooding in the Northern Territory.
Some students were forced to sit NAPLAN writing exams twice after the online platform crashed on day one of testing.
The Australian Curriculum and Reporting Authority, which oversees the tests, said the disruption only impacted students in years 5, 7 and 9. Those impacted did not receive mark adjustments, but their results came with a caveat detailing the disruption.
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare pointed to Highvale Primary School and Burwood Heights Primary School in Victoria as examples of how mandating evidence-based teaching practices had paid off.
Highvale Primary saw a 25 per cent increase in students exceeding at reading in year 3 and an 11.3 per cent increase in year 5 since 2023.
Burwood Heights saw a 6.8 per cent increase in the proportion of students exceeding at reading in year 3 and 10.7 per cent in year 5 since 2023.
Clare mandated literacy and numeracy screening as a condition for $20 billion in school funding to the states. In response, year 1 numeracy checks will be compulsory in all Victorian public primary schools from next year.
“This year’s results show that in schools using explicit teaching methods, including phonics, and small-group tutoring to give kids who are struggling extra intensive help, results are going up and up,” he said.
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