Although a third of Australian students are not meeting basic literacy and numeracy standards, the ACT is performing well above the average, according to the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) results released today.
NAPLAN captures reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy levels for Year 3, 5, 7, and 9 students.
The testing “provides a snapshot of a student’s progress at a point in time, and assists the school system understand learning progress across the whole system,” an ACT Education Directorate spokesperson said.
Nearly 23,000 ACT students were tested. Across all years and subjects, the ACT was either the highest or among the top three. It consistently topped the country in reading (Years 5, 7, and 9), and also recorded the highest results for spelling (Year 9); grammar & punctuation (Years 3 and 9); and numeracy (Year 5).
However, nearly 10 per cent of Year 9 students struggle with reading, writing, and numeracy.
(The results are towards the end of this article.)
“The ACT has continued to deliver a very stable performance,” the Education Directorate spokesperson said. “The proportion of ACT students in the strong or above proficiency category [is] similar to or above the national proportion for all year levels and domains. The ACT had the highest or equal highest performance across jurisdictions, based on mean scores, across all 20 domains. ACT mean scores were statistically similar to the national mean scores for all year levels and domains.”
More teachers needed
But education experts and politicians believe the ACT can still do better.
“It’s disheartening that there has been no significant improvement for the ACT across all areas in the most recent NAPLAN results,” Canberra Liberals leader and shadow education minister Elizabeth Lee said.
Angela Burroughs, president of the Australian Education Union (AEU) ACT branch, said: “The 2024 NAPLAN results reinforce what we already know – that the ACT is a high performing education system. That doesn’t mean we can’t improve. We can, and we want to do better.”
The ACT, like other jurisdictions, does not have enough teachers, and thousands of students go without a dedicated teacher every day, Ms Burroughs said.
“The elephant in the room is that there continues to be a critical shortage of teachers. That is the case here in the ACT and across the country. How many of your readers’ children come home and say, ‘split again today?’ Only a few short years ago, parents would have had no idea what ‘split’ meant. Now it is so commonplace, parents have come to understand the strain our schooling system is under. Despite this, teachers continue to give their all to provide the best learning possible for all students.
“It is frustrating to hear some media outlets report that schools are failing students when teachers are doing their very best with inadequate resources. It is frustrating to expect us to improve outcomes when the system cannot guarantee a teacher for every class.”
Strong Foundations
NAPLAN 2024 results will be used to monitor the ACT Government’s Strong Foundation reforms, a suite of system-wide literacy and numeracy initiatives announced earlier this year – a recommendation of the Literacy and Numeracy Education Expert Panel.
The Canberra Liberals, however, claim that government funding to implement the recommendations of the ACT Literacy and Numeracy Education Expert Panel is inadequate.
“Despite the Labor-Greens Government saying they will accept all recommendations from the ACT Literacy and Numeracy Education Expert Panel, they have failed to fully fund the necessary reforms, with only $1.7 million in new funding allocated in this year’s budget,” Ms Lee said.
“This is grossly inadequate and will not provide our teachers and schools with the necessary tools and resources needed for these significant reforms.”
Education minister Yvette Berry said the ACT Government had invested $24.9 million in Strong Foundations.
“Some of this is a reprioritisation of existing Education Directorate resources because there is no greater priority in education than teaching children foundational literacy and numeracy skills,” Ms Berry said.
“[AEU] ACT members want to see Strong Foundations succeed,” Ms Burroughs said. “It is the program for implementing the recommendations of the ACT Literacy and Numeracy Review. The currently identified funding is clearly inadequate, but we understand it is a first tranche. Some of our members are actively engaged in work on the detailed implementation plan. It is true that there is a desire for more detail. Equally importantly, we want to get this important reform right.”
Ms Lee said that Ms Berry’s refusal to release a detailed implementation plan causes uncertainty for teachers and parents.
Ms Berry said the Implementation Plan would be released before the end of the year. The ACT Government is working closely with principals, the AEU, and the P&C Council on its development.
Ms Lee said that Ms Berry had also failed to implement measures such as explicit instruction and Year 1 phonic tests, “despite the overwhelming evidence”. “Our children have suffered as a result of her inaction.”
Ms Berry said that the ACT Government has accepted all the recommendations of the Expert Panel’s Final Report. Several ACT public primary schools will trial the Year 1 Phonics Check later this term, and it will be rolled out in all ACT public primary schools next year.
NAPLAN scores
Year 3
- Reading: 415 (2nd highest; above national average 404)
- 23.5% exceeding
- 47.7% strong = 71.2%
- 18.5% developing
- 9% need additional support
- Writing: 418.2 (3rd highest; above national average 415.9)
- 6.5% exceeding
- 73.4% strong = 79.9%
- 15.4% developing
- 3.3% need additional support
- Spelling: 403.2 (3rd highest; above national average of 401.4)
- 15.1% exceeding
- 46% strong = 61.1 %
- 27.9% developing
- 9.8% need additional support
- Grammar and punctuation: 420.6 (highest; above national average of 408.8)
- 11.7% exceeding
- 48% strong = 59.7%
- 26.8% developing
- 12.3% need additional support
- Numeracy: 412 (2nd highest; above national average of 403.8)
- 10.9% exceeding
- 5.9% strong = 68.8%
- 23% developing
- 7.1% need additional support
Year 5
- Reading: 505.2 (highest; above national average of 492.1)
- 25.4% exceeding
- 52.5% strong = 77.9%
- 15.4% developing
- 5.4% need additional support
- Writing: 486.3 (3rd highest; above national average of 484.8)
- 8.7% exceeding
- 61.2% strong = 69.9%
- 23% developing
- 5.8% need additional support
- Spelling: 491.3 (3rd highest; above national average of 486.5)
- 20.8% exceeding
- 49.6% strong = 70.4%
- 20.9% developing
- 7.3% need additional support
- Grammar and punctuation: 504.2 (3rd highest; above national average of 498.4)
- 12.2% exceeding
- 57.4% strong = 69.6%
- 22.7% developing
- 6.4% need additional support
- Numeracy: 497.4 (highest; above national average of 489.1)
- 11.8% exceeding
- 62.9% strong = 74.7%
- 18.9% developing
- 5% need additional support
Year 7
- Reading: 549.2 (highest; above national average of 535)
- 25.6% exceeding
- 48.7% strong = 74.3%
- 16.9% developing
- 7.7% need additional support
- Writing: 547.4 (3rd; above national average of 540.2)
- 17.7% exceeding
- 52.3% strong = 70%
- 21.3% developing
- 7.5% need additional support
- Spelling: 544.3 (2nd; above national average of 540)
- 24.5% exceeding
- 50.5% strong = 75%
- 17.3% developing
- 6.6% need additional support
- Grammar and punctuation: 544.5 (2nd; above national average of 536.7)
- 16.1% exceeding
- 51% strong = 67.7%
- 21.8% developing
- 10.1% need additional support
- Numeracy: 546.1 (2nd; above national average of 539.8)
- 13.5% exceeding
- 59% strong = 72.5%
- 19.5% developing
- 6.9% need additional support
Year 9
- Reading: 579.5 (highest; above national average of 565)
- 23.4% exceeding
- 47.1% strong = 70.5%
- 19.4% developing
- 8.8% need additional support
- Writing: 578 (4th; above national average of 573.9)
- 19.8% exceeding
- 43.9% strong = 63.7%
- 25.8% developing
- 9.2% need additional support
- Spelling: 574 (highest; above national average of 566.9)
- 18.4% exceeding
- 58% strong = 76.4%
- 16.4% developing
- 5.8% need additional support
- Grammar and punctuation: 566.7 (highest; above national average of 555.3)
- 17.4% exceeding
- 43.7% strong = 61.1%
- 25.9% developing
- 11.5% need additional support
- Numeracy: 570.4 (4th; above national average of 565.3)
- 8% exceeding
- 60.3% strong = 68.3%
- 21.8% developing
- 8.6% need additional support
A message from the minister
“When it comes to NAPLAN, I have said several times it isn’t the be all and end all,” Ms Berry said. “The wellbeing of our young people, and the quality of their life as they leave school and become adults, is just as important to me.
“Learning growth measured by a set of tests at one point in time is one of many tools teachers use to understand where a student is in their learning however student learning doesn’t end with year 9 NAPLAN. 91 percent of the 2022 ACT year 10 public school students proceed to an ACT public college in 2023. Of all the 2023 students that were enrolled in year 12 in the ACT, both public and non-government, 88 percent received a year 12 certificate, and 55 percent of those achieve a tertiary entry score.
“The ACT has a very strong record of students progressing on to employment and to higher education. Our post school survey shows that 93 percent of responding 2022 year 12 graduates were employed and/or studying in 2023, compared with 84 percent of 2022 school leavers. 61 percent of 2022 year 12 graduates were studying in 2023, and of those not studying, 59 percent intended to start some study in the next two years.
“Our public schools are reflective of all people in our community, and our teachers respond to the diversity of all leaners across ACT public schools – every school, every classroom, every day.
“The best way for families to understand the learning progress of their child is to visit their local school and meet teachers and school leaders to discuss the progress of their child.”
