The 2026 NAPLAN national results were released on 5 August (ACARA, 2026). I do not intend to add to the annual commentary about where the scale points moved. Movements of a few points across a national cohort tell an individual school or student very little, and the yearly cycle of that commentary has not advanced the debate in two decades.

Secondary leaders are not resisting reform, and they are not defending a failed status quo. They are asking to be trusted with the work they are trained to do, and backed by systems that make that work possible.

The lives of today’s adolescents are shaped by a continuous stream of digital interaction. In classrooms, hallways, and homes, young people are navigating a world of hyper-connectivity that has redefined how they learn, relate, and develop. In classrooms across Australia, the question is often asked: How do we get young people off their screens? But perhaps the more honest, and urgent, question is: What happens when screens become the environment students live in, not tools t