April 2025
Successful NAPLAN test period ends for 2025
This year’s NAPLAN test window closed on 31 March 2025 with more than 4.5 million online tests taken by more than 1.3 million students in over 9,400 campuses and schools across Australia.
ACARA CEO Stephen Gniel thanked everyone involved in the annual national NAPLAN assessments for their efforts in administering the tests this year.
“I’d like to express my heartfelt thanks to all our students, teachers and schools across all jurisdictions and sectors for their efforts to prepare for NAPLAN, especially in those areas impacted by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. We also appreciate the efforts of parents and carers in supporting their children during the NAPLAN tests.
“I’d also like to thank our state and territory colleagues and partners, as well as Education Services Australia who provide the assessment platform, for their close collaboration and support in delivering NAPLAN 2025,” Mr Gniel said.
Read our media release (PDF 168 KB).
ACARA CEO speaks at The Sydney Morning Herald’s 2025 Schools Summit
Our CEO Stephen Gniel addressed The Sydney Morning Herald’s 2025 Schools Summit about how ACARA is shaping Australia’s National Assessment Program (NAP) so that it continues to give us meaningful insights into student learning and drive improvements in education.
He spoke about how the NAP can help improve outcomes for every student. By providing clear, reliable data, Mr Gniel said these assessments can help empower teachers and schools, and support policymakers to make informed decisions.
Read the full speech.
Governor-General meets with ACARA to discuss civics education
Findings from our latest report into civics and citizenship education was of interest to the Governor-General, Her Excellency the Honourable Ms Sam Mostyn AC.
Our CEO Stephen Gniel recently met with Her Excellency, and they discussed the report’s findings which show that although Australian students continue to value the importance of learning about our country’s history and civic institutions, their knowledge and understanding of Australia’s democracy, our political system and civic processes has fallen. Mr Gniel also spoke about how Civics and Citizenship has always been a key part of the Australian Curriculum, including in the latest version.
We look forward to working further with the Governor-General to ensure that all young Australians get a strong grounding with civics education and engage with social and political issues, so that they can make a valuable contribution as society’s future stewards.
Find out more about the
2024 National Assessment Program – Civics and Citizenship (NAP–CC) report and its findings.