By Glenn Fahey and Trisha Jha
New NAPLAN results show that Australia’s education system is stalled in a state of high-spend stagnation — with student performance static, persistent gaps, and learning outcomes that fail to reflect the scale of public investment.
These NAPLAN 2025 results are yet another year of more spending, but the same outcomes.
“Despite encouraging glimpses, the overwhelming evidence is of an education system stuck in neutral — when it needs to be revving up,” said Glenn Fahey, Director of Education at the Centre for Independent Studies.
This is consistent with data from international tests of student achievement over recent years.
“The best that can be said for the education system is that Australia’s results haven’t dipped as badly as peer countries over the past few years, but that’s hardly something to celebrate.
Per student public funding has effectively doubled since 2008 — now over $21,000 per student — with around $90 billion in total public funding for schools this year. But student achievement has not kept pace with investment.
“There is no Gonski dividend. The policy promise was that supercharged funding would lead to better results, especially for disadvantaged students. But the reality is flatlining outcomes across the board — and wide gaps in key areas.
NAPLAN 2025 data shows one in ten students nationally still fail to meet minimum literacy and numeracy benchmarks. Among disadvantaged students, it’s one in three.
While isolated improvements are visible in some year levels and some student groups, the overall picture remains stagnant.
The latest results come as education ministers have recently concluded the Better and Fairer Schools Agreements that see increased contributions from federal governments over the next decade, in exchange for a series of evidence-based reforms.
“Governments have tried spending their way to school improvement,” said Research Fellow Trisha Jha. “But that approach has reached its limits. It’s time to shift the focus to what actually works: a knowledge-rich curriculum, explicit teaching, and better use of classroom time.”
“If we want better results, we need better teaching. That’s where the impact lies — not in the budget papers,” said Fahey.
Glenn Fahey is the Director of Education and Trisha Jha is Research Fellow in Education at the Centre for Independent Studies.