Overview

• National participation in the 2025 NAPLAN tests climbed to 93.8%, the highest rate since 2017, while overall scores remained largely unchanged and numeracy gains produced 20,000 more top-band performers.
• One third of Australian students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 fell into the ‘developing’ or ‘needs additional support’ bands, highlighting ongoing challenges with meeting proficiency benchmarks.
• Indigenous, disadvantaged and remote students continued to lag behind their peers, with proficiency rates especially low in very remote areas.
• Victoria achieved its best-ever results by ranking first or second in 18 of 20 measures, whereas nearly half of Western Australian year-3 students did not meet proficiency standards in grammar and punctuation.
• The federal government’s $16 billion school funding deal mandates year-1 phonics screening, catch-up tutoring and evidence-based teaching practices to help close equity gaps.