New report shows students value civics and citizenship education despite a fall in results
18 February 2025 Australian students continue to value the importance of learning about our country’s history and civic institutions according to the latest National Assessment Program report released today by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). The report however also shows that students’ knowledge and understanding of Australia’s democracy, our political system and civic processes has fallen.
The 2024 National Assessment Program – Civics and Citizenship (NAP–CC) report provides results from the NAP Civics and Citizenship Sample assessments undertaken in 2024. The assessments test students’ civics and citizenship knowledge and understanding in a sample of schools across the country.
The 2024 report reveals that Year 6 and 10 students have a high degree of trust in civic institutions, but considerably less trust in the media or social media. In addition, students have also expressed concerns about a range of issues affecting Australia, including pollution, climate change, crime, and racism.
The 2024 report also shows that, at the national level, results have fallen since the last assessment undertaken in 2019 and to the lowest levels since the assessment began in 2004:
- 43 per cent of Year 6 students attained the proficient standard in 2024 compared to 53 per cent in 2019.
- 28 per cent of Australian Year 10 students met the proficient standard in 2024 compared to 38 per cent in 2019.
This declining trend in student performance has also been observed in other recent international civic and citizenship assessments.
Commenting on the report, ACARA’s CEO Stephen Gniel said, “Civics and Citizenship has always been a key part of the Australian Curriculum, including in the latest version. The results of the latest NAP-CC report highlight how we need to continue to support our teachers and educators with high-quality training and resources to help them effectively deliver engaging civics and citizenship education in classrooms across the country.”
Read our media release (PDF 108 KB).
Find out more about the 2024 NAP-CC Report and its findings.