The latest NAPLAN results show improvements in numeracy achievement among Australian students, while highlighting continued areas of focus including reading, early learning and equity gaps.
Australian students have recorded improvements in numeracy achievement, with more students reaching the highest performance levels in Years 5, 7 and 9, according to the 2026 NAPLAN National Results released by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).
Released by ACARA, the 2026 results provide families with a national snapshot of student achievement in literacy and numeracy. However, ACARA emphasises that NAPLAN is only one measure of learning and should be considered as part of a broader picture of a child’s education.
ACARA CEO Stephen Gniel said NAPLAN provides valuable information about how students are progressing in literacy and numeracy over time.
“NAPLAN is not a pass or fail test – and it shouldn’t be used as a proxy for school entrance exams. It’s a point-in-time test that helps us understand students’ strengths and areas for development, and is one aspect of a school’s assessment program,” he said.
The 2026 results show that national average numeracy scores for Years 5, 7 and 9 are the highest recorded since new proficiency levels were introduced in 2023.
The data indicates continued improvement in numeracy, with around 29,000 more students achieving the “Exceeding” proficiency level compared with 2023, and around 1,600 fewer students identified as requiring additional support.
Mr Gniel said the improvement in numeracy was particularly encouraging among higher-performing students.
“What is particularly encouraging in this year’s results is the continued improvement in national numeracy, with higher NAPLAN scores on average across Years 5, 7 and 9, especially among the stronger students. Around 29,000 more Australian students are performing at ‘Exceeding’ – the highest proficiency level – in 2026 compared to 2023.”
While numeracy outcomes improved for students in Years 5, 7 and 9, the results showed a different trend among younger students.
Year 3 numeracy results recorded the lowest average score since 2023, highlighting an area of continued focus for early mathematics learning.
Mr Gniel said the decline in Year 3 numeracy results was concerning and pointed to measures including the rollout of the national Year 1 numeracy check and a review of the Foundation to Year 2 Mathematics curriculum.
The overall 2026 NAPLAN results remained broadly stable nationally, with no reportable changes in average scores compared with 2025 or 2023.
Across reading, numeracy and writing, around two-thirds of students achieved at the “Strong” or “Exceeding” proficiency levels, while around one in 10 students were identified as needing additional support.
While numeracy results showed improvement in several year levels, reading achievement remains an area requiring attention.
Average reading scores in Years 5, 7 and 9 were lower than in 2025, with the proportion of students requiring additional support in reading increasing from 9.3 per cent in 2025 to 10.2 per cent in 2026.
The proportion of students needing additional support was highest in Year 3, at 11.3 per cent, followed by Year 9 at 11.1 per cent and Year 7 at 10.7 per cent.
The 2026 results showed continued differences in achievement across student groups, including by socioeconomic background, location and Indigenous status.
The results recorded progress in numeracy outcomes for Indigenous students, with an increase in the proportion achieving the “Exceeding” level in Years 7 and 9.
Mr Gniel said the continued progress in numeracy among Indigenous students was encouraging.
“It’s also pleasing to see continuing progress in numeracy for our Indigenous students, with more achieving ‘Exceeding’ in numeracy at both Years 7 and 9, and the average numeracy scores in Years 5 and 7 at the highest level since the scale was reset in 2023.”
However, the results also showed ongoing achievement gaps.
Across all year groups, 31.8 per cent of Indigenous students were identified as needing additional support in reading, compared with 8.5 per cent of non-Indigenous students.
In numeracy, 32.4 per cent of Indigenous students were in the “Needs additional support” category, compared with 7.8 per cent of non-Indigenous students.
Students from the highest socioeconomic backgrounds recorded average NAPLAN scores substantially above those from the lowest socioeconomic backgrounds across all year levels and assessment areas.
Differences were also evident between metropolitan and very remote schools. Across all year groups, a lower proportion of students in very remote schools achieved at the “Strong” or “Exceeding” levels compared with students in major city schools.
In reading, 23.1 per cent of students from very remote schools achieved at these levels, compared with 70 per cent of students from major city schools. In numeracy, the figures were 23.1 per cent and 70.8 per cent respectively.
The results also highlighted differences between male and female students.
Female students achieved higher average scores than male students in writing across every year group. In Year 7 writing, 69.6 per cent of female students achieved at the “Strong” or “Exceeding” levels, compared with 55.6 per cent of male students. In Year 9, the figures were 68.1 per cent and 52 per cent respectively.
Male students generally recorded higher achievement levels in numeracy, with fewer female students achieving at the “Exceeding” level across all year groups.
NAPLAN assessments were completed by more than 1.2 million students across more than 9,400 schools and campuses nationally in March 2026.
A record 4.8 million online tests were submitted during the assessment period.
ACARA also released its 2026 NAPLAN test incident report, which found no substantiated cheating breaches by schools.
There were 68 substantiated aggregated incidents recorded nationally, compared with 51 in 2025 and 53 in 2024. ACARA said the number of incidents was extremely small and did not affect overall NAPLAN results.
For families, NAPLAN results provide one source of information about student achievement, alongside teacher feedback, classroom learning and the broader range of ways schools support student growth and development.