The stubborn gap between literacy and numeracy test results of rich and poor children has highlighted the failure of the $319 billion spent under the Gonski reforms to overcome disadvantage, with the education system instead entrenching the status quo.

Results from the 2024 National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy, better known as NAPLAN, show that one in three children is not performing at a baseline national standard. Children from high-income families are over-represented in the highest performing groups, while those from poor families rarely make the grade.