If there’s one thing Australians love more than anything else it’s pitting state against state.
It’s a truly great Aussie past time.
There’s that whole Melbourne and Sydney rivalry, the State of Origin, and the way we all just hang c**p on Tasmania (poor Tassie).
And now, thanks to NAPLAN, we can finally find out which state is the smartest… based on a completely arbitrary testing of a bunch of eight to 15 year olds.
Listen: Is NAPLAN stressful or should kids harden up? (Post continues after audio…)
So here we go…
Looking at the mean scale score, as far as grade three students go, Victorians fared better in reading and writing than any other state, while NSW’s grade three students came out on top in the spelling category.
Victorian grade three students were also just a smidge better at grammar and punctuation and numeracy.
Anyone else noticing a pattern here?
In regards to grade five, students in the ACT came out on top for reading, while Victorian students fared best in the writing category.
NSW were the best spellers, while the ACT fared best in grammar and punctuation and – you guessed it – Victoria came out on top in numeracy.
Year seven students in the ACT were the top readers, while Victorian students came out on top in the writing category.
NSW students were the best spellers, while the ACT achieved the best results in grammar and punctuation. The Victorian students, once again, had the highest mean score for numeracy.
In year nine, ACT students came out on top in reading and writing. NSW students were the best spellers and ACT students fared best in grammar and punctuation.
And NSW students achieved the best mean results for numeracy.
So there you have it.
As a proud Sydney-sider it pains me to say this… but I think we all have to admit that Victoria is Australia’s smartest state.
You can read the full report on the NAPLAN website.
Top Comments
Victoria and NSW probably also have better access to funding and services compared to many other states. I don't think that necessarily makes children from VIC smarter than a child from NT or regional WA. The results definitely show the current system is failing indigenous students, it's nothing to do with not being smart. This constant focus on the bigger Eastern states when it comes to education is quite detrimental in my view.
All that tells you is what each state is focussing on when teaching for naplan. That's it.