NAPLAN results shine

The 2024 national data shows Victorian students are leading the nation on a range of metrics, particularly in the primary years.

Victorian Year 3 students are ahead of the rest of the nation in both reading and numeracy.

This is the third consecutive year this has been achieved.

Victoria achieved the highest or second-highest scores of all jurisdictions in seven out of eight measures in reading and writing and achieved the top results in the country for writing in Years 5, 7 and 9.

Victorian primary school students continue to produce the best results in the country, ranking first or second in eight out of 10 domains — more than any other state or territory.

Victorian students in Years 3, 7 and 9 improved their 2023 reading results, reversing the national trend, which saw the average score for reading decline in Years 3, 5 and 7 and improve only in Year 9.

Victoria’s reading performance improved overall in 2024, with 5000 more students reaching the ‘exceeding’ proficiency level for reading across all year levels compared to 2023.

This year, Victoria’s NAPLAN participation rate was the highest it has been since the first year of testing in 2008.

More than 95 per cent of students in Years 3, 5 and 7 sat the reading test, and more than 91 per cent sat the Year 9 reading test.

In total, 311,000 Victorian students participated across Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 in 2024.

Kialla West Primary School mirrored these statistics, principal Wes Teague said.

“Our school has done pretty well for the last few years, but this year has done really well again,” Mr Teague said.

“We’re really quite pleased with the outcomes the children have received.”

In terms of specifics, Mr Teague highlighted the school’s Year 5 results and commended the teachers for their work.

“NAPLAN gives you a good indication of how your school is trending when you can compare against similar schools,” he said.

“We had 88 per cent of our children in strong or exceeding in reading for Year 5 and similar schools are at 76 per cent.

“It really just comes back to a lot of the work that the teachers have been doing with the kids in the classrooms around some of their teaching and learning practices, really making sure that we’re extending those top kids as well as supporting the children who need some extra help.”

He attributed the school’s success in results to its amount of professional development.

“It’s probably just an indication of our fairly extensive focus around professional learning for our teachers,” Mr Teague said.

“All of our classroom teachers have now completed Leading Literacy, which is really just focused around how you teach literacy to children, and then they’ve been able to put that professional learning into practice in the classroom.”

In Victoria, the introduction of the mandatory use of phonics in primary school from 2025 aims to reduce the number of students who struggle with reading.

While Victorian primary students lead the nation in numeracy, students in Years 7 and 9 placed third.

The Victorian Government has invested more than $20 million to upskill maths teachers with the goal of upskilling teachers into specialists, hoping students will learn from the best in the field.

“Victoria’s NAPLAN results are no accident — they are the product of our record investment in schools and the efforts of our dedicated kids, teachers, principals, parents and carers,” Education Minister Ben Carroll said.

“This year, we had the highest NAPLAN participation rates in 16 years — a testament to the hard work of Victorian school leaders in improving the engagement of our students in their learning.”