We are sharing an excerpt from a The Courier Mail article – released today – as we know that teenage boys are falling dramatically behind girls. Please read about this critical issue ~
Behavioural issues and rising disability rates are fuelling a crisis in boys’ education, with gender gaps widening for every NAPLAN literacy subject.
New analysis of 2025 NAPLAN data shows twice as many boys as girls are seriously failing in writing at every level – years 3, 5, 7 and 9.
More than half of all boys in Queensland – 52.6 per cent – are failing to meet basic standards in year 9 writing such as responding to a written prompt. This compares to 36 per cent of girls.
It’s the same in year 9 grammar, where 52.5 per cent of boys compared to 40.5 per cent of girls are failing standards and unable to put basic punctuation in a sentence.
The gender gap also exists across spelling and reading, with 44.1 per cent of boys in year 9 reading not meeting standards and struggling to read a text and answer basic questions. This compares to 35.1 per cent of girls.
A national investigation by Catholic Schools NSW found Australia is facing a “growing crisis in boys’ education, with boys struggling in literacy and overrepresented among the most academically vulnerable school students”.
Proposed factors include “biological differences, behavioural issues and cultural stereotypes”, along with the overrepresentation of boys in disability groups.
The Echoes of Disparity Report calls the underperformance of boys an “overlooked crisis” and “the social justice issue nobody is talking about”.
Dallas McInerney, CEO of Catholic Schools NSW, said the underperformance of boys was “a persistent problem”.
“Boys’ opportunities will melt away if they come out of school well behind,” he said. “Literacy is the big issue, and we’re talking about half the school population, not a minority cohort.”
Disability is also a factor, with boys more likely to be classified with a disability, particularly at more severe levels than girls.
The national gender gap which has long seen boys excelling at maths is also disappearing, with almost as many males as females seriously failing the NAPLAN numeracy test at every grade level.
In 2025, 28 per cent of boys are now not meeting maths standards compared to 34 per cent of girls.
The 2025 national NAPLAN data can be compared with the same cohort’s 2023 results, showing how boys’ results are worsening over time.
Nationally, 42.7 per cent boys who started high school in year 7 in 2023 failed to meet writing standards. Two years later, in 2025, when they had reached year 9, 44 per cent of boys were failing to meet standards.
Similarly, 27.2 per cent of boys in year 3 in 2023 failed writing standards, but by year 5 in 2025 the percentage had increased to 38.2 per cent.
RESULTS AROUND THE NATION
Nationally, the worst subject for boys is year 9 grammar, with 47.1 per cent of boys compared to 36.4 per cent of girls failing to meet standards.
The Northern Territory has the highest percentage of boys not meeting standards in that subject (69.9 per cent), followed by Tasmania (55.5 per cent) and South Australia (52.7 per cent).
The next worst subject for boys is year 7 writing, where the gender gap is 13 per cent and 40.9 boys are failing to meet standards. In year 9 writing, the gap is 14.3 per cent with 44 per cent of boys not meeting standards. Other problem areas include year 3 grammar and punctuation, where 46.1 per cent of boys are not meeting standards compared to 41.6 per cent of girls.
The state with the biggest gender gap of 17.1 per cent is Tasmania in year 7 writing (50.6 per cent of boys not meeting standards compared to 33.5 per cent of girls).
The next is Queensland, which has a gap of 16.6 per cent for year 9 writing (52.6 per cent of boys not meeting standards compared to 36 per cent of girls).
