The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual literacy and numeracy assessment for Australian students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9. It is a point-in-time assessment to see how each child is progressing against national standards in literacy and numeracy and over time.
NAPLAN assessment scores
Compare NAPLAN numeracy scores across Australia for girls and boys in different schooling year levels, and see trends in mean scores over time.
Source: Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) 2022
Note: NAPLAN testing did not take place in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Data insights
Numeracy
In 2022, girls’ and boys’ mean numeracy scores decreased for all year levels compared to 2021.
The decreases were similar between girls and boys, especially in years 5 and 7. Mean scores decreased slightly more for girls in year 3 and boys in year 9.
Mean numeracy scores in 2022 were closest in Tasmania, with boys scoring 6 points higher than girls when averaged across all year levels. They were furthest apart in Victoria, where boys scored 14 points higher than girls when averaged across all year levels.
Between 93% and 96% of girls at each year level scored at or above the minimum standard in numeracy in 2022. These proportions were 2 percentage points higher than boys in years 7 and 9, and the same as boys in years 3 and 5.
Across all year levels, a smaller percentage of girls than boys achieved at or above the highest band usually achieved in their year group. This is consistent with the 2021 NAPLAN numeracy results.
Literacy
Girls’ mean literacy scores were an average of 18 points higher than boys’ mean scores. This is the same as 2021.
Across all year levels, girls outperformed boys in every literacy assessment area. These areas are:
- grammar and punctuation
- reading
- writing
- spelling.
In each of the literacy assessment areas:
- A greater proportion of girls than boys scored at or above the minimum standard.
- A greater proportion of girls than boys scored at or above the highest band usually achieved in their year group.
See full NAPLAN literacy results on the National Assessment Program website.
About the data
Each of the NAPLAN assessment scales describes student achievement from year 3 to year 9 on a 10‑band scale.
Using a common scale through years 3, 5, 7 and 9 lets us monitor the results of all students. The scale is divided into 10 bands to cover the full range of student achievement in the tests. These bands map the increasing complexity of the skills NAPLAN assesses.
NAPLAN reporting uses 6 bands at each year level. Student achievement usually falls between these ranges:
- Year 3: bands 1 to 6
- Year 5: bands 3 to 8
- Year 7: bands 4 to 9
- Year 9: bands 5 to 10.
Read about our methodology.