NAPLAN data reveals single-sex schools outperform co-educational, but experts urge caution
Single-sex schools punched above their weight in NAPLAN performance, but experts warn against “like with like” comparisons. See the comparison and analysis.
NAPLAN schools data is out, and single-sex schools have punched above their weight when it comes to performance.
But experts have warned the data isn’t as black and white as it appears.
On Wednesday, individual schools’ NAPLAN performance data was released to the public, revealing the top performing schools nationally.
An exclusive analysis of the data by this masthead has found of those top secondary schools, a high proportion are single-sex, leading many parents to question which school is the best fit for their child.
Single-sex schools make up around 7 per cent of national enrolments, but 42 of the nation's top NAPLAN performing schools are single sex.
Of the top 25 secondary schools in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia, 26 were all-girls and 16 were all-boys schools.
The top ten national list was dominated by single-sex schools, with five all-boys and three all-girls schools.
Hornsby Girls High School in NSW placed second in the overall rankings, and all-boys Melbourne High School placed fifth overall.
First and third place went to NSW co-educational select-entry schools James Ruse Agricultural High School and Baulkham Hills High School.
The top-performing Queensland school was co-educational select-entry Queensland Academy for Science Mathematics and Technology.
While Brisbane Girls Grammar School edged out its brother Brisbane Grammar School in the single-sex ranking.
The top ranked South Australian school was the all-girls Wilderness School.
While the data may seem to make the case that single-sex schools perform above average academically, experts warn against making simple comparisons.
University of Sydney professor of educational psychology Helen Watt said there were many other factors to consider.
“It would be erroneous to conclude that the single-sex element makes schools better NAPLAN performers,” she said.
“It’s intermixed with other advantages.
“In Australia, many of our single-sex schools are also private or select-entry schools. So they’re advantaged students relative to the general population.
“Sometimes the single-sex element is confounded with other forms of advantages.
“We’re not comparing like with like.”
University of Melbourne learning scientist Dr Gregory Donoghue agreed with Professor Watt.
He added there had been studies which showed a difference in girls confidence in STEM subjects in all-girls classrooms, but “that improvement in confidence does not translate to improvement in academic outcomes”.
“When you do control for variables (such as socio-economic status and advantage), there’s no difference for co-ed versus single-sex schools in terms of academic achievement scores,” he said.
“The main things parents should look for is quality of teaching and improvement in school’s NAPLAN overtime.”
International Coalition of Girls’ Schools regional director Loren Bridge said all-girls schools helped students thrive academically because of a sense of safety and belonging.
“When students feel they belong, when they feel safe – physically and psychologically, and supported – they learn at their best,” she said.
“The research is clear that girls in girls’ schools report a stronger sense of belonging and experience far less bullying than girls in co-educational schools.
“That safety and connection free them to be engaged, ambitious and academically confident.”
Public or private? What the 2025 NAPLAN results tell parents
