The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. The test allows parents, teachers, schools and the broader community to determine whether or not students are developing the foundation literacy and numeracy skills.
National NAPLAN results for 2026 show big gaps in basic literacy and numeracy. This has left many worried about the future of our students, and although the trend of low skills during school years is tied to poorer employment and health outcomes in adulthood. Experts say not to panic:
“I would encourage parents not to shy away from it, but not to be too alarmed because it is one snapshot in time. NAPLAN is not a diagnostic test.”
– La Trobe University literacy professor Tanya Serry.
Research from academia and the OECD links untreated low literacy to underemployment, unemployment, lower self-esteem, early school exit, and worse physical and mental health. “Literacy can be considered a gateway to academic success and then to a range of life opportunities,” Professor Serry said.
She advises parents to talk to the school and check if the results match classroom performance.
Scores may be overall lower, but by changing some teaching strategies schools like Ardeer Primary are seeing better results than ever after switching to ‘explicit teaching’ five years ago.
More students are now in the “exceeding” and “strong” bands for reading, writing and numeracy, and the school is outperforming similar schools.
“We are incredibly proud to announce that our students have achieved the best NAPLAN results in our school’s history.
Our Year 3 and Year 5 students outperformed both similar schools and our local network schools across Reading, Writing and Mathematics—a remarkable achievement that reflects the hard work of our students, the dedication of our staff, and the ongoing support of our families.
These results are a testament to our commitment to high-quality teaching, strong partnerships and ensuring every child has the opportunity to succeed.
Congratulations to our amazing students, staff and families. Together, we are truly Igniting Minds. Inspiring Excellence.”
Principal John Mifsud said teachers clearly show students the learning intention and success criteria, then model the skill.
“There’s no ambiguity as to what the students should be aiming to achieve.”
The approach has replaced the discredited whole-language method. Evidence reviews in Australia, the US and UK back explicit instruction, and Education Minister Jason Clare has declared the “reading wars” over.
Teacher Annabelle Juhasz, who learned the method at university, said lessons are broken into small, clear chunks, so students succeed independently. Victoria rolled the model out statewide last year; similar changes are happening nationally.
Australia is looking forward to seeing the results of these changes in two to five years’ time.
As it takes time for schools to adjust, Professor Serry recommends keeping homes “linguistically rich”: lots of talk, reading to and with children, and building vocabulary. “The foundation of being competent as a reader and a writer is in our oral language.”
Waves of teaching reforms are underway across Australia, and schools already using clear methods say they are seeing calmer classrooms, greater engagement and better results.
