A government-sourced analysis of National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) results has identified 160 high schools recording the strongest improvements in maths and literacy growth across New South Wales, with structured teaching methods emerging as a common factor among top performers.
The analysis, published by The Sydney Morning Herald, tracked student performance from Year 7 in 2023 to Year 9 in 2025, grouping schools into quartiles based on socio-educational advantage. Data was drawn from the government’s My School website and supplied by the SchoolRank website, which allows parents to search and compare schools.
Ingleburn High School recorded the largest growth in literacy scores among similarly advantaged institutions. The school operates under an explicit direct instruction framework, adapted in 2022 from a Data Works program originally developed in the United States to teach English as a second language. At its core is a two-minute interval system.
“It is quite exhausting,” said Georgina Koskinas, the school’s deputy principal of inclusion and support. “It is all about keeping them on task every two minutes so that you can keep them engaged.”
Teachers set learning intentions and success criteria at the start of each lesson and use mini whiteboards to quickly check for student understanding across the classroom.
“You can visibly see around the room very quickly if the majority of the students understand,” Koskinas said.
Marist College North Shore was among the schools recording some of the greatest numeracy gains and has adopted a similar learning intention model. Every lesson concludes with an exit ticket – a short one- or two-question sheet used to confirm comprehension. Head of mathematics Holly Potvin said the method enables teachers to adapt lessons accordingly.
Head of teaching and learning Daniel Junge said the model helps students connect learning to their own goals. “‘What am I going to get from this?’ And then they can see links to that,” he said.
St Andrew’s Cathedral School posted the biggest overall improvement and was among the strongest performers in writing. Deputy head Brad Swibel attributed the result to a formal, interdisciplinary writing program. “There is no substitute for learning how to punctuate dialogue, develop sensory imagery, and vary their sentence construction from the masters themselves,” he said.
NSW selective schools also posted significant numeracy gains, as did a number of girls’ schools, including Ravenswood School for Girls, Tangara School for Girls, Loreto Kirribilli, and Our Lady of Mercy College Parramatta.