One in three students fail to meet Naplan benchmarks as disadvantaged fall behind

The Naplan results showed the importance of supporting students from regional and remote areas, those from disadvantaged backgrounds and Indigenous students, Acara said. Photograph: Lincoln Beddoe/Getty Images

One in three students have failed to meet Naplan benchmarks, this year’s test results have showed, as thousands of disadvantaged students continue to fall through the cracks.

This year’s tests were taken in March by 1.3 million students across years 3, 5, 7 and 9 to measure literacy and numeracy proficiency, with results released on Wednesday by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (Acara).