Artarmon Public School placed on the national progress list for 2025, yet its latest NAPLAN figures show a clear drop in Year 5 performance.
Artarmon’s Placement And The New Score Drop
Artarmon Public School remained on ACARA’s “schools making a difference” list, reflecting improvement over multiple years when compared with schools serving similar demographics. The NAPLAN results were released in early December, and new 2025 data shows a fall in the school’s Year 5 average, dropping from 588.8 to 576.2.
The decline aligns with a wider pattern across several high performing suburbs, where schools recorded double digit drops in areas such as writing and spelling. Artarmon was one of several well regarded primary schools showing reduced writing and spelling scores this year.
A Wider Decline In Writing Across NSW
The statewide NAPLAN results show that writing was the area with the most significant decline for Year 5 students. The New South Wales average moved from 486 to 478, reflecting a broad downturn in writing performance across the state. Independent schools saw the largest reductions, while Catholic schools recorded smaller changes.
Some public schools also lost ground in spelling and writing, and a limited number of smaller schools improved their writing results. The data shows varied performance across school types while confirming writing as the domain with the greatest drop in 2025.
Why Artarmon Still Earned A Spot On The Progress List
ACARA’s progress list measures multi year improvement rather than single year test scores. Artarmon’s placement reflects the school’s performance across several years, where students showed progress above what would typically be expected for a school with a similar demographic profile.
The 2025 decline represents the outcomes of one cohort and is separate from the multi year gains recorded in ACARA’s analysis.
Focus On The Difference Between Progress And Performance
The new results highlight the contrast between long term improvement measures and the year to year performance of individual cohorts. While Artarmon posted a decline in its 2025 Year 5 average, its placement on the progress list shows stronger outcomes across past years.
The broader statewide data reveals that many schools experienced similar challenges in writing, making this year’s results part of a wider pattern across New South Wales.
Published 03-December-2025
