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About Sydney and NSW > People, skills and education

Primary Literacy and Numeracy

Students in New South Wales consistently perform above the national average in standardised literacy and numeracy tests. In 2007, New South Wales had a very high proportion of year 5 students who exceeded the minimum national benchmarks for reading, writing and numeracy.

Education plays a vital role in lifting the overall socio-economic outcomes of the whole community, as well as allowing children to reach their full potential and lead interesting and rewarding lives.

Literacy and numeracy by State, 2007 - Percentage of Year 5 students achieving national benchmarks


State/Territory1,2

Reading
%

Writing
%

Numeracy
%

New South Wales

92.0 95.4 91.3

Victoria

91.4 96.0 91.5

Queensland

80.5 96.3 83.7

South Australia

89.3 91.3 89.6

Western Australia

93.9 84.8 87.3

Tasmania

95.1 86.2 89.4

Northern Territory

72.3 63.3 70.2

Australian Capital Territory

94.9 94.2 92.4

Australia

89.2 94.1 89.0

Footnotes:
1. The typical average age of students varies by State, from 10 years 4 months in Western Australia, to 11 years 1 month in Tasmania
2. Statistical errors range from 0.1 to 10.0 percentage points depending on State/Territory and category
Source: Ministerial Council on Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs, National Report on Schooling in Australia, 2007