Justine Ferrari

The Australian

Indigenous students progress through school at the same rate as their classmates but tend to score lower on average because they start school further behind and are never able to catch up.

But a seven-year study tracking indigenous students through primary school found that the focus on average scores hides a group of high-performing students, many of whom do better than their classmates.

The study by the Australian Council for Educational Research says there is a clear gap in the average achievement between indigenous and non-indigenous students but also wide variability in student results.

"Many indigenous students achieve as well as or better than the average performance of all students," the study says. "It is clear that there is growth in English literacy and numeracy skills across time and that the rate of development for indigenous and non-indigenous students is similar.

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