The NAPLAN performance of Australian students remains broadly stable at a national level, new data from the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) shows.
Two out of every three Australian students met the “Strong” or “Exceeding” proficiency level for their reading, numeracy and writing skills, and just one in 10 students fall within the “Needs additional support” level across all year groups and domains.
The data also found that participation rates across all years and domains have rebounded to pre-COVID levels, reaching 93.8% – the highest level since 2017.
Years 3 and 5 hit their highest rates in over a decade, while the Year 7 national participation rate reached its highest level since 2017. However, the most remarkable finding was that the Year 9 national participation rate exceeded the 90% mark for the first time since 2019.
Encouragingly, there was a marked increase, from 2023 to 2025, in the percentage of Indigenous students achieving “Exceeding” in writing and numeracy at both Years 7 and 9.
While the percentage changes may be small, the increases represent an additional 20,000 Australian students performing at the highest proficiency level – “Exceeding” – in 2025 compared to 2024.
ACARA CEO, Stephen Gniel, said the latest results continue to highlight areas that need collective attention, such as supporting students from regional and remote areas, those from a disadvantaged background, and Indigenous students.
“It’s encouraging to see higher NAPLAN scores on average across Years 5, 7 and 9 in numeracy, particularly among the stronger students,” he said.
“Another emerging trend is the increase since 2023 in the percentage of Indigenous students achieving ‘Exceeding’ in writing and numeracy at both Years 7 and 9. Hopefully, these gains – and others like them – can be consolidated in 2026 and beyond.”
Gniel said that for Queensland in particular, the jump in that state’s participation results should be lauded.
“The [results] are a testament to the efforts of its education community, who at the same time as preparing for the NAPLAN tests, along with the NSW education authorities, were also dealing with the impact of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred,” he said.
“When you consider this, the fact that Queensland achieved its highest participation rate across all year levels since 2019 at 89.7% is an impressive achievement. This also demonstrates the adaptability of the NAPLAN program schedule to support schools impacted by circumstances beyond their control to take part in this important national assessment.”