A breakdown of NAPLAN results by state electorate shows the worst-performing areas are about seven academic years behind the top-achieving schools by the time children reach year 9.
The analysis of public, private and Catholic school data shows the academic achievement gap between the least and most socially advantaged enclaves of NSW widens between primary school and high school.
It comes as Education Minister Prue Car has scrapped plans to give schools NAPLAN targets, a move critics say will dilute accountability and make it harder for parents to track how schools are performing.
In year 3, the gap between the average NAPLAN achievement scores in reading for the top and bottom scoring electorates was 114, but that difference blew out to 138 for students in year 9, the analysis conducted by the NSW Parliamentary Research Service found.
University of Queensland literacy education expert Dr Damon Thomas said that the difference between electorates was the equivalent of two years and six months of schooling. By year 9, it blew out to seven years and 11 months of schooling.
“Even at the same school, the gap between higher- and lower-performing students widens across the school years,” he said.
The gap between the top performing and worst electorates in NAPLAN grows.Credit: Simon Schluter
Across the board, he said the gap widened as students from poorer homes were less likely to have learning resources at home, while their parents might also have lower schooling outcomes so may be less adept at helping with homework.
In year 3, the top achieving electorate is North Shore, but by year 9 it is the electorate of Sydney – which has a high concentration of top-achieving private high schools, including Sydney Grammar. The lowest-scoring electorate was Barwon in the state’s far north-west, which covers about 44 per cent of NSW.
Thomas pointed to recent advancements in how reading was taught in primary school years, which would improve NAPLAN results for primary school aged children, but said one of the biggest factors for literacy success was reading books.
“It’s probably hard for books to compete with extremely stimulating leisure activities like video games and Netflix watching. Fewer adults are reading too. It’s so common for children to see their parents and adults basically everywhere glued to their smartphones for much of the day,” he said.
The results were based on Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority data from 2023.
The number of electorates where students are substantially above the Australian average for reading shrinks over six years of schooling, while the number of electorates with average scores below the Australian average was higher in year 9.
NSW opposition education spokeswoman Sarah Mitchell said the comparatively stronger performance of year 3 students may be reflective of the former government’s introduction of the mandatory phonics check (the ability for students to decode letters to produce sounds) rolled out for year 1 students in 2021.
“This data also highlights the importance of having tangible, evidence-based outcomes measures for all schools so that students improve across the board,” she said.
“The decision of the NSW Labor government to scrap system-wide targets means there will be no consistent way of measuring how students are performing or if outcomes are improving.”
UTS Professor Rachel Wilson, who studies educational systems, called for more detailed reporting every year to highlight equity issues in schools.
“So when we can see inequity getting worse, we can address it and not just let it happen and have the seven-year gap in ability, as is evident in this data,” she said.
“We need better, more transparent, public reporting, and we need [it] writ large so everyone knows what’s going on. Only then will we mobilise the political will to make the necessary changes.”
A 2023 NSW auditor-general’s report found the rural, regional and remote schooling strategy devised by the department to lift the outcomes of students living outside major cities had largely failed.
A NSW Department of Education spokesman said it was now focussed on initiatives that would have the most impact on schooling outcomes.
“Given the failings identified by the auditor-general, the department’s priority is on successfully delivering the implementation plan in a way that will deliver meaningful change for our rural and remote schools,” he said.
Across the board, he said other measures were in place to lift outcomes.
“The NSW Department of Education is implementing explicit teaching and is delivering evidence-based and targeted support to guide teachers in how to explicitly teach reading and numeracy skills through the curriculum.”
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