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Figure 7.1.12 Proportion of year 7 students who achieved the numeracybenchmark, by State and Territory, 2005a, b, c, d10080Indigenous studentsAll studentsPer cent6040200NSW Vic Qld WA SA Tas ACT NT Austa The achievement percentages reported in this table include 95 per cent confidence intervals, for example,80 per cent ± 2.7 per cent. b Students who were absent or withdrawn from testing are not classified asassessed students and are not included in the benchmark calculations. The proportion of absent andwithdrawn students varies across jurisdictions, as shown in table 6A.3.54. Readers are urged to be cautiouswhen comparing results. c Some movements in the results over time might have occurred because ofState/Territory equating processes, and may not reflect actual improvements in student performance. d Themethods used to identify Indigenous students varied across jurisdictions.Source: MCEETYA (2007); table 6A.3.52.• Nationally in 2005, over half (51.2 per cent) of year 7 Indigenous students didnot achieve the numeracy benchmark compared to 18.2 per cent of all students(figure 7.1.12). Students who do not achieve the numeracy benchmark will havedifficulty progressing through school.Comparisons of year 3, 5 and 7 learning outcomesResearch suggests that the disparity in academic performance between Indigenousstudents and non-Indigenous students increases as students progress through theeducation system and that underperforming students are unable to catch up (Ou andReynolds 2004; Reynolds et al. 2001; Schweinhart 2005; Zubrick et al. 2006).National benchmarks for use in reporting years 3, 5 and 7 students’ reading, writingand numeracy performance were developed in 1997 (reporting of these benchmarksbegan in 1999). These data are not longitudinal in design or measurement andtherefore there is no certainty that the same cohort of year 3 students in 2001 aretested again in year 5 in 2003 or in year 7 in 2005.However, the normal progression through school would mean that a largeproportion of year 3 students in 2001 would progress through to year 5 in 2003 and7.18 OVERCOMINGINDIGENOUSDISADVANTAGE 2007