The latest NAPLAN results reveal the size of the challenges facing Australia’s school system.

They show vast achievement gaps between rich and poor, a huge proportion of equity group cohorts not achieving national proficiency standards and a very large proportion in need of additional support in their learning. Unfortunately, the education equity targets and new funding agreements between the Commonwealth and state and territory governments provide little prospect that the gaps can be reduced. The results demand more urgent action by governments to fully fund public schools.

Year 9 students of parents with a bachelor’s degree or higher achieved much higher average scores in reading, writing and numeracy than students of parents who only completed Year 11. The gaps were 98 points for reading, 107 points for writing and 111 points for numeracy. The learning gaps are 4-5 years because students of parents with only a Year 11 education achieved average scores below that of Year 5 students of highly educated parents.

In addition, Year 9 students of parents in the highest occupational group (Occupational Group 1) scored 63-71 points more than students of parents in the lowest occupation group (Occupational Group 4). The learning gap is nearly four years. Students from the highest occupation group achieved 83-96 points more than those of parents not in paid work which represent more than four years of learning.

The gaps between Indigenous students and those of highly educated parents remain very large: 98 points for reading, 114 points for writing and 116 points for numeracy.........

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