By Biwa Kwan
The NAPLAN test is conducted annually on students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.
The release of the NAPLAN National Report gives more insights on the initial findings presented in August and tracks performance since 2008 when the data was first collected.
The Year 3 results in New South Wales and Tasmania showed students who spoke a language other than English at home outperformed native English speakers in spelling.
Nationally, the group had a higher mean scale score by 31 points, compared to the native English speaking students.
It is a marked contrast from the Year 1 results for migrant students when hundreds start school with limited or no English language proficiency.
The group that oversees the NAPLAN test - the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) - said it was encouraging to see these results.
The group's chief executive, Robert Randall, said conversations had already started on the reasons behind the results.
"The data doesn't give you the explanation for why things are happening, but it causes you to have a look a bit further, and so discussion (is) starting today and continuing on why is that? How can we learn from that? How could we reduce any gaps?" Mr Randall said.
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