The union’s claim follows results released from this year’s literacy and numeracy exam test that indicate students’ performance has levelled out over the past three years, with a 0.40 per cent increase in scores since 2013.

Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham called for a new approach to teaching young people.

NSW Teachers Federation spokesperson Susan Armstead scoffed at Birmingham’s claim and said NAPLAN  was a snapshot diagnostic test and is not a valid measure of overall student or school performance.

“The minister is misusing the results to divert attention away from his refusal to fully fund Labor’s Gonski needs-based model,” she said. Ms Armstead suggested Barnaby Joyce stand with his NSW National Party colleagues.

“Given that Adam Marshall has been a fierce Gonski supporter and very vocal as to its benefits in his rural electorate he must take his federal counterparts to task and disabuse Mr Birmingham of his ill-informed notion that money doesn’t matter,” she said.

Mr Marshall said he has always been and will continue to be an advocate for the full Gonski funding.

“We are committed to rolling out the full six years of state funding and I continue to urge the federal government and my federal colleagues to get on board,” he said.