Less than half of all year 3 students in Western Australia met proficiency standards in grammar and punctuation, the latest NAPLAN data has revealed, with just under 20 per cent needing additional support.
And while results have declined across all testing areas for the state’s year 3s when compared to scores in 2023, writing and numeracy have taken the biggest hit.
The latest data for 2026 testing was released by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority late on Tuesday night.
To meet proficiency in each area, students must score in the top two NAPLAN bands – exceeding and strong.
Scores in the bottom two bands – developing and needs additional support – means students are not yet working at the expected level for their year group.
Changes to how NAPLAN results are measured were introduced after 2022, and testing was moved from May to March.
Nationally, one-in-three Australian students are failing to meet national numeracy and literacy benchmarks with WA students sitting in a similar position.
ACARA chief-executive Stephen Gniel said a nationwide drop in results for year 3 students in numeracy was “clearly concerning”.
In WA, nearly 40 per cent of year 3 students did not reach proficiency standards.
“Education ministers are addressing this through a range of measures including the rollout of the national year 1 numeracy check,” Gniel said.
“ACARA is also playing its part by reviewing the Foundation to Year 2 Mathematics curriculum at the direction of education ministers to ensure our youngest learners get the strong grounding in mathematics and numeracy they need to succeed in their education and later in life.”
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said it was good news for year 5 and high school but “year 3 maths is a different story.”
“That’s why we are fixing the maths curriculum for the first three years of school,” Clare said.
WA’s year 9 students excelled in numeracy, with 71.3 per cent meeting proficiency standards – the highest nationally and on par with students in the ACT.
WA Education Minister Sabine Winton said it was encouraging to see WA students’ participation in NAPLAN remained stable, with results showing the majority of students were progressing well.
“It is particularly pleasing to see that our year 9 students maintained strong and exceeding proficiency across all assessment areas, with results above the national average in reading, writing and numeracy,” she said.
“These results reinforce that our year 9 students are well-prepared as they head into years 10, 11 and 12 and complete their schooling.
“Critically, Western Australian students also recorded gains across all test areas, our year 7 cohort improved from their year 5 results, with their average scores in numeracy, spelling and writing showing the greatest growth.”
Gniel said there was a continued improvement in national numeracy, with higher NAPLAN scores on average across years 5, 7 and 9, especially among the stronger students.
“Around 29,000 more Australian students are performing at ‘exceeding’ – the highest proficiency level – in 2026 compared to 2023,” he said.
“All these improvements are testament to the exceptional work and commitment of our amazing teachers, principals and school staff around the country, as well as parents and carers and the students themselves.”
Winton said it was important to remember NAPLAN was only one part of the broader picture of a student’s learning.
“I encourage parents and carers to speak with their child’s school or teacher to understand their child’s overall progress,” she said.
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