One in three students fail NAPLAN benchmarks for a second year, reading slides further

ACARA's 2026 NAPLAN results, released 4 August, show one in three of the 1.2 million students tested are failing to meet reading, writing and numeracy benchmarks — unchanged from 2025. Reading scores fell in years 5, 7 and 9. One in ten students need "additional support." A first-day technical glitch affected writing papers; Tasmania's results were withheld over low participation.