NAPLAN 2022 results: Girls out-perform boys in every subject

One NSW year group has recorded its worst-ever performance in NAPLAN testing of grammar and punctuation, with one in six failing to meet national minimum standards.

The state’s Year 9 boys have returned their worst results for grammar and punctuation in NAPLAN examinations since the tests began more than a decade ago, while the latest annual snapshot of student learning reveals a growing crisis in our regional and remote schools.

NAPLAN test results released on Monday reveal one in six Year 9 boys in NSW did not reach the national minimum standard when it came to grammar, meaning they could not identify a verb in a sentence, could not recognise the tense of a short piece of writing, and were unable to locate commas.

One in 10 of their cohort did not meet the minimum standard in spelling, while one in five failed to make the grade in writing.

More than 12 per cent of Year 9 boys struggled with reading.

The average NAPLAN scores for Year 9 boys lagged behind girls in all test domains, and when it came to average scores in reading, spelling and numeracy their scores were worse than when tests began 14 years ago, with just 83.5 per cent reaching the minimum standard.

Neo Siu, 13, and Selina Huang, 14, are working hard to prepare for NAPLAN next year. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Centre for Independent Studies education expert Glenn Fahey said students who did not make the minimum standard were going to struggle.

“The minimum standards are intended to be the minimum skills required to functionally operate at school,” he said.

Mr Fahey said while the focus had been on improving girls’ performance in maths, there was not nearly the same level of effort going into fixing up boys’ literacy, with the latest test results showing they underachieved by 19 months of schooling compared to girls.

“It remains the case that being a boy is one of the most significant predictors of disadvantage in our school system,” he said.

Hoping to buck the trend is Neo Siu, a Year 8 student at German International School in Terrey Hills. The 13-year-old said he would probably dedicate a few hours a week to studying for NAPLAN ahead of the exams next year.

“I’d rather do well in a normal school test than NAPLAN, but I’d still take NAPLAN seriously,” he said.

Pymble Ladies College student Selina Huang, who receives tutoring alongside Neo at The Primary Way in Chatswood, said she found the exam rooms intimidating.

“It’s a bit worrying when you walk into the room, but overall it’s not too bad,” she said.

The latest results also show things are getting worse outside of major cities, with a record 30.5 per cent of Year 9 students in remote areas failing to reach the national benchmark in reading.

Writing results for that cohort increased marginally last year, but still 46.1 per cent of remote students could not reach the minimum standard.

Secondary Principals Council president Craig Petersen said regional schools faced growing challenges.

“Principals are finding it really hard to get any teacher in front of a class ... but in a secondary school, it is particularly (hard) in maths and science,” he said.

“But now even in English we’re finding it difficult getting teachers in every school, and that’s in schools in some parts of Sydney.”

The good news for NSW is that primary school students are faring significantly better, with the percentage of students passing the minimum standard over 90 per cent in all test domains in Year 3 and Year 5.

Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said the government would move to review older boys’ sliding results while also looking at how we are failing our regional and remote high school students.

“As a regional minister, I am particularly focused on doing everything we can to help our regional students match their metropolitan counterparts,” she said.

“That’s why we will be reviewing the Regional Rural and Remote Education Strategy to ensure it is responding to these latest NAPLAN results.

“We have to make sure our country kids have the support they need.”

Ms Mitchell said she was pleased NSW primary school students performed above the national average in each test domain, underlining the importance of the government’s mandatory phonics screening check.

“NSW students are among Australia’s best spellers, ranking first or equal first out of all jurisdictions for all year levels,” she said.

Cherrybrook’s Tangara School for Girls principal Rita Sakr could not be more proud of her students’ literacy results in NAPLAN this year, something she attributes to a focus on phonics when teaching children how to read.

“In Year 3 we’ve performed at historically high levels this year,” Ms Sakr said.

The method of teaching to read has paid off for Year 3 student Jacinta Curro.

“I enjoy reading books, it gives me a chance to learn new words and lots of information. I prefer reading heart-warming stories like Snugglepot and Cuddlepie,”she said.

Her classmate Madeleine Righetti said she was reading the fifth Harry Potter book The Order of the Phoenix.

“Sometimes it’s really dramatic,” she said.

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