Literacy and numeracy skills at school
Access to education, skills development and learning throughout life
Released 15/09/2025
Metric
Average Year 3 NAPLAN scores for literacy and numeracy
Why this matters
Language, literacy, numeracy and digital skills, as well as general skills like organising, problem solving, and teamwork, are critical to participating in all aspects of life and are required to engage in work and further learning.
Progress
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.
Since 2023, there has been little change in average Year 3 NAPLAN scores for literacy and numeracy across all five testing domains, including reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy.
In 2023, the NAPLAN measurement scale was reset, meaning results from 2023 onwards cannot be compared with earlier years. Data from earlier years is shown on a separate chart below.
Between 2008 and 2022, average Year 3 scores improved across all domains.
- Writing assessment was introduced in 2011.
- NAPLAN was not conducted in 2020 due to COVID-19.
Differences across groups
In 2025, across all five domains, Year 3 students:
- in major cities achieved higher average scores than students in all other remoteness areas
- whose parents hold a bachelor degree or above achieved higher average scores than students whose parents’ highest level of education is a diploma or below.
Gender differences were also identified among Year 3 students:
- girls achieved higher average scores than boys in writing (425 compared with 404)
- boys achieved higher average scores than girls in numeracy (413 compared with 398).
Disaggregation
Further information about average Year 3 NAPLAN scores by student group is available in NAPLAN national results and commentary.
Disaggregation available includes:
- Gender
- Remoteness
- Language background
- Parental education
- Parental occupation
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.