Reading is a struggle for quarter of our teenagers, NAPLAN 2021 testing reveals

One in four teenagers cannot read at the minimum standard as high schools fail to provide remedial teaching, damning new test ­results reveal.

Reading experts are calling for literacy screening at the start of high school. Picture: istock

One in four teenagers cannot read at the minimum standard as high schools fail to provide remedial teaching, damning new test ­results reveal.

Data from the 2021 NAPLAN (National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy) tests of 1.2 million children reveals that a quarter of year 9 students and nearly one in five year 7 students failed to meet the minimum standard for reading.

High school students are twice as likely as primary school students to have problems reading at their year level. In primary schools, 11 per cent of year 3 students and 12.5 per cent of year 5 students failed to read properly.

The data will be presented at the Learning Difficulties Australia conference this weekend by Five from Five project founder Jennifer Buckingham, who promotes evidence-based reading instruction for children.

Dr Buckingham’s research shows 57,000 teenagers started high school this year semi­literate. She warned that schools were failing to get struggling readers back on track – one in three students who failed to read well in primary school also failed to meet minimum literacy standards in high school. “High school students with low literacy and numeracy need intensive ­intervention as soon as possible,’’ she said. “A significant number of students do not meet minimum standards, year after year.’’

Dr Buckingham, who has ­advised the NSW, Victorian, South Australian and federal governments on the need to re­introduce explicit instruction and phonics, said most students who struggled to read were the “casualties’’ of poor methods.

She said 85 per cent of students with reading difficulties did not hail from disadvantaged groups eligible for extra funding.

“The majority of kids who are struggling with literacy are not necessarily kids with a disability, low SES (socio-economic status) or Indigenous backgrounds,’’ she said. “They are just instructional casualties; garden-variety learners who haven’t learned to read. This is a problem affecting all children.’’

The data has sparked ­demands for teenagers’ reading and writing to be tested at the start of high school, so teachers can intervene with remedial reading strategies.

Anne Castles, scientific director of the Macquarie University Centre for Reading, warned that 40 per cent of 15-year-olds “are not reading at a functional level’’.

She said poor literacy could ­affect student results in other subjects, such as history, maths and science, as students could not comprehend lessons or understand questions.

“If you can’t read in high school, your self-esteem is affected and there is a loss of motivation,’’ she said. “It’s a failure of the system to ­acknowledge that basic reading still needs to be taught and ­assessed in high school.’’

Professor Castles has been awarded a $3.2m Australian Laureate Fellowship via the Australian Research Council to improve literacy standards in high schools. In an interview with The Weekend Australian, she said testing the ­literacy of students starting high school would be a “good idea’’.

The Productivity Commission’s review of the national school reform agreement – which sets out funding priorities for governments – revealed that one third of children who struggle to read in year 3 fail to improve by year 5. And 28 per cent of those with reading problems in year 7 remain semiliterate in year 9.