Female students scored better in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation as well as numeracy this year, the performance gap widening alongside the age gap in the ACT.

Mean scores in writing increased across all ACT year levels in 2022 compared to 2021 and the percentages of students below the national minimum score declined year on year.

Annual reports revealed ACT public schools had failed to meet targets for NAPLAN gain across year levels in reading and numeracy, between 2019 and 2021.

Debbie Efthymiades, from the Education Directorate, said NAPLAN results were an indication of engagement in the tests, not schooling overall.

"Some students who are motivated to achieve highly will continue to do their best in all those kinds of things," she said.

"A lot of students have decided they'll just do it because they're sitting there on the day and they have to do it, but they're not actually going to put in their best effort."

Ms Efthymiades said when it came to senior-school outcomes, there was no great disparity between top performing males and females.

"A lot of the senior secondary measures really depend on what pathway a student is heading for," she said.

"The way the numbers fall out is quite strongly influenced by student choice."

The ACT led the country on the number of subjects they ranked first or second among the highest percentage of students above the national minimum standard.

David de Carvalho, Australian Curriculum Authority Regulation Australia CEO, said the national results had defied predictions of drastic falls in performance related to COVID-19.

Average scores either showed steady progress, particularly in primary years, or were stable. The exception was year nine spelling, where increases in the early years of NAPLAN are reversing.

Nationally, the percentage of year nine boys achieving the minimal standard in reading fell to its lowest level, below 90 per cent, with 13.5 percent not achieving the target this year, compared to fewer than 8.5 per cent in 2008.

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Mr de Carvalho said it was concerning so many students were not demonstrating the capacity to read at this basic level only a few years before they leave school.

"In the year-to-year data from 2021 to 2022, an increase in writing results for year nine Indigenous students and students from a language background other than English are welcome.

"There was also an increase in grammar and punctuation results for Indigenous students in Year 7," Mr de Carvalho said.

"While these results are just for one year, it's hoped this signals the start of longer-term trends."

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