NAPLAN shows record fall in boys’ literacy, but early phonics succeed
The latest NAPLAN results show boys’ literacy has dropped to the lowest level since national testing began – but improvements in primary years confirm success of old-school teaching techniques
READING LEVEL: ORANGE
Boys’ literacy* has slipped to the lowest level since national testing began, with one in nine teenagers unable to read at a basic standard, despite a phonics*-focused reading recovery among younger students.
Fresh NAPLAN data shows a growing gap in achievement between boys and girls, as well as students from wealthy and poorer families.
But literacy results for primary school students – especially Indigenous and migrant students – have improved due to the reintroduction of old-school teaching techniques.
The trends are included in fresh data from the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy* (NAPLAN), which tested more than a million students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 this year.
Results released on Monday show that nearly 9 per cent of all year 9 students are still struggling to read and write, with boys falling behind faster than girls.
The failure rate for year 9 boys in reading this year reached 11.4 per cent – the highest level since testing began in 2008 and almost double the failure rate for girls.
Nearly one in three Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students in year 9 failed to reach the minimum standard for reading this year, with a failure rate of 29.4 per cent.
In the NAPLAN writing test, 40.9 per cent of Indigenous students failed, compared to 14.3 per cent of all students.
But a renewed focus on phonics has lifted performance in primary schools, with low literacy rates among year 3 students halving since 2008.
First Nations students have achieved the biggest gains, with low literacy rates falling from 30 per cent in 2008 to 14 per cent this year for students in year 3.
And students from non-English speaking families have also improved in reading, with year 3 failure rates falling from 6.6 per cent to 2.8 per cent over the past 14 years.
Literacy expert Jennifer Buckingham, who has advised the NSW, Victorian, South Australian and federal governments on the need to reintroduce explicit* instruction and phonics to teach literacy, said the gradual reintroduction of phonics-based teaching over the past five years was showing results.
She said explicit instruction – in which teachers explain and demonstrate a concept and then get children to practise – was based on cognitive* science about how children learn.
“It is effective for all children, but especially those at risk of difficulties learning,’’ she said.
Dr Buckingham said boys were traditionally “less motivated to read’’.
“Boys tend to require more explicit instruction, especially during the early years,’’ she said.
The Australian Curriculum* Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), which writes the national curriculum and administers the NAPLAN tests, praised the effort of schools and teachers in improving primary school results. But ACARA chief executive David de Carvalho said he was concerned about boys’ downhill slide in high school reading.
“It is certainly concerning that we have so many students who are not demonstrating the capacity to read at this basic level only a few years before they leave school,’’ he said.
NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell credited phonics with improving primary school literacy.
“The latest data (has) revealed significant improvements in primary school reading and spelling, continuing a positive trend over the past few years and reaffirming* this government’s focus on phonics and early literacy,’’ she said.
But the NAPLAN data also reveals a widening gap between children with wealthier, educated parents, and those with unemployed parents.
One in five teenagers with jobless parents failed the year 9 reading test – a rate eight times higher than for classmates with professional working parents.
The achievement gap between poor and well-off teenagers in year 9 has widened 3 per cent since 2008, when NAPLAN was introduced.
The 2022 data confirms that results slipped during the pandemic, with lockdowns and school closures disrupting learning, especially in Victoria and NSW.
Nationally, the proportion of year 9 students passing the reading test fell from 91.8 per cent in 2019 – the year before the pandemic started – to 89.6 per cent this year.
The lag in literacy since 2008 coincides with the explosion of smartphone and social media use among teens, and the switch to laptops in schools.
But Australian students have improved in mathematics, with both boys and girls more likely to achieve at least the minimum standard this year.
In this year’s NAPLAN tests, Victoria, NSW and the ACT had the biggest share of high achievers despite the switch to remote learning in 2020 and 2021. At least a quarter of students in QLD, SA, WA and Tasmania achieved the top band in year 3 reading this year. In year 9 reading, the ACT and Victoria produced the most high performers.
GLOSSARY
- literacy: the ability to read and write
- phonics: teaching method for reading built on the relationship between letters and sounds
- numeracy: ability to understand and use maths in daily life, at home, work or school
- explicit: fully and clearly developed, expressed and demonstrated
- cognitive: relating to or involving the processes of thinking and reasoning
- curriculum: what will be taught and what students will do in a program of study
- reaffirming: supporting a person, plan or idea for a second time
EXTRA READING
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Students stalled by teachers’ admin tasks
Fears for spelling in the digital age
QUICK QUIZ
- More than a million kids sat NAPLAN tests across which years?
- What percentage of year 9 boys failed reading this year?
- First Nations low literacy rates improved with a drop to what percentage of year 3 students?
- NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell credited what with improved primary school literacy?
- The lag in literacy coincides with what three big societal changes?
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Year 9 reading
Across the country, and especially in Victoria and NSW, students have had very unusual and interrupted learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Do you think this explains the lowest level of reading in year 9 since testing began, for boys especially?
Read the following statements, and next to each statement, give a comment on why you think this might be so:
NAPLAN analysis – write possible explanations beside each statement from the article:
- One in nine teenagers is unable to read at a basic standard
- A gap in achievement is growing between boys and girls
- Nearly one in three Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students in year 9 failed to reach the minimum standard for reading this year
- One in five teenagers with jobless parents failed the year 9 reading test
- Australian students have improved in mathematics, with both boys and girls more likely to achieve at least the minimum standard this year.
Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Mathematics; Personal and Social; Critical and Creative Thinking
2. Extension
Lots of analysis is done and action taken with the information gained from the annual NAPLAN testing of students across the country. Victoria, NSW and the ACT had the biggest share of high achievers despite the switch to remote learning in 2020 and 2021. How do you think this result can be explained? Have a discussion with a classmate and give your reasons below.
Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Mathematics; Personal and Social; Critical and Creative Thinking
VCOP ACTIVITY
To sum it up
After reading the article, use your comprehension skills to summarise in a maximum of three sentences what the article is about.
Think about:
What is the main topic or idea?
What is an important or interesting fact?
Who was involved (people or places)?
Use your VCOP skills to re-read your summary to make sure it is clear, specific and well punctuated.