NAPLAN results reveal 47pc of Australian year 9 boys are failing grammar and punctuation

Teenage boys are falling behind girls in two crucial subject areas, deep analysis of 2025 NAPLAN results has revealed. Infographic: Compare student performance in each state.

Behavioural issues and disability rates are fuelling a crisis in boys’ education, with an alarming gender gap widening for every NAPLAN literacy subject.

New analysis of 2025 NAPLAN data shows twice as many boys as girls are seriously failing in writing at every level – years 3, 5, 7 and 9.

Nationally, the worst subject for boys is year 9 grammar, with 47.1 per cent of boys compared to 36.4 per cent of girls failing to meet standards.

The Northern Territory has the highest percentage of boys not meeting standards in that subject (69.9 per cent), followed by Tasmania (55.5 per cent) and South Australia (52.7 per cent).

The next worst subject for boys is year 7 writing, where the gender gap is 13 per cent and 40.9 boys are failing to meet standards. In year 9 writing, the gap is 14.3 per cent with 44 per cent of boys not meeting standards.

Other problem areas include year 3 grammar and punctuation, where 46.1 per cent of boys are not meeting standards compared to 41.6 per cent of girls.

The state with the biggest gender gap of 17.1 per cent is Tasmania in year 7 writing (50.6 per cent of boys not meeting standards compared to 33.5 per cent of girls).

A national investigation by Catholic Schools NSW found Australia is facing a “growing crisis in boys’ education, with boys struggling in literacy and overrepresented among the most academically vulnerable school students”.

Proposed factors include “biological differences, behavioural issues and cultural stereotypes”, along with the overrepresentation of boys in disability groups.

The Echoes of Disparity Report calls the underperformance of boys an “overlooked crisis” and “the social justice issue nobody is talking about”.

Dallas McInerney, CEO of Catholic Schools NSW, said the underperformance of boys was “a persistent problem”.

“Boys’ opportunities will melt away if they come out of school well behind,” he said. “Literacy is the big issue, and we’re talking about half the school population, not a minority cohort.”

Disability is also a factor, with boys more likely to be classified with a disability, particularly at more severe levels than girls.

The national gender gap which has long seen boys excelling at maths is also disappearing, with almost as many males as females seriously failing the NAPLAN numeracy test at every grade level.

In 2025, 28 per cent of boys are now not meeting maths standards compared to 34 per cent of girls.

The 2025 national NAPLAN data can be compared with the same cohort’s 2023 results, showing how boys’ results are worsening over time.

Nationally, 42.7 per cent boys who started high school in year 7 in 2023 failed to meet writing standards. Two years later, in 2025, when they had reached year 9, 44 per cent of boys were failing to meet standards.

Similarly, 27.2 per cent of boys in year 3 in 2023 failed writing standards, but by year 5 in 2025 the percentage had increased to 38.2 per cent.

Veteran educator Selina Samuels said contributing factors to the lower academic performance of male students included increasing classroom misbehaviour, especially by boys in earlier year levels.

“The compounding effect of large class sizes means that behavioural problems don’t just affect those who are misbehaving, but others trying to learn are also distracted as well,” Dr Samuels said.

“In higher grades there are growing mental health challenges including school refusal affecting boys’ results.”

The latest NAPLAN results reveal a worsening gender gap between the results of boys and girls, particularly in writing and grammar.

RESULTS AROUND THE NATION

New South Wales

The NSW gender gap between boys and girls is more than 10 per cent in high school writing, with 44.5 per cent of boys failing to meet standards in basic grammar at year 9.

This compares to 34.3 per cent of girls and reflects students’ struggle to put basic punctuation such as commas in a sentence. The gap in grammar has widened in high school, with 37.3 per cent of boys in year 7 not meeting standards.

In writing at year 9, 42.1 per cent of boys are not meeting standards compared to 29.3 per cent of girls, which means they are unable to respond appropriately to a basic prompt.

The gap between boys and girls also exists in reading, with 35.4 per cent of boys unable to read a text and answer basic questions in year 9 compared to 28.3 per cent of girls.

Victoria

The Victorian gender gap is 13 per cent in year 9 writing, with 37.6 per cent of boys compared to 24.6 per cent of girls failing to meet standards and unable to respond appropriately to a basic written prompt.

However, boys are struggling the most in year 9 grammar, with 44.1 per cent unable to use basic punctuation compared to 34.2 per cent of girls. The outcomes in year 9 grammar are lower than in year 7, when 37.2 per cent of boys did not meet standards.

The gap between boys and girls also exists in reading, with 32.5 per cent of boys in year 9 unable to read a text and answer basic questions compared to 25.1 per cent of girls.

South Australia

More than half of all boys in South Australia – 52.7 per cent – are failing to meet basic standards such as putting basic punctuation in a sentence in the year 9 grammar exam, compared to 40.4 per cent of girls.

The gap is wider in year 9 than in year 7, which had 45.5 per cent of boys unable to use punctuation properly compared to 34.6 per cent of girls.

There is also a substantial gender gap of more than 14 per cent in writing, with 44.6 per cent of year 7 boys and 46.6 per cent of year 9 boys unable to respond appropriately to a written prompt.

The gender gap is also marked in spelling and reading, with 42.6 per cent of SA boys struggling to read a text and answer basic questions compared to 33.9 per cent of girls.

Queensland

More than half of all boys in Queensland – 52.6 per cent – are failing to meet basic standards in year 9 writing compared to 36 per cent of girls. This means they are unable to respond appropriately to a written prompt.

It’s the same in year 9 grammar, where 52.5 per cent of boys compared to 40.5 per cent of girls are failing standards and unable to put basic punctuation in a sentence.

The gender gap also exists across spelling and reading, with 44.1 per cent of boys in year 9 reading struggling to read a text and answer basic questions, compared to 35.1 per cent of girls.

Originally published as NAPLAN results reveal 47pc of Australian year 9 boys are failing grammar and punctuation