A $540-million government plan to improve numeracy and literacy rates in Australia has made no discernible difference to the results of the schools taking part, the national audit office has found. The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) said the effectiveness of the administration of the program, which has so far delivered $322 million in funding for facillitation, reward, and research payments, has been mixed. Undertaken in approximately 10% of Australian schools, the National Partnership Agreement on Literacy and Numeracy (LNNP) is one of the first national partnerships to include reward payments to states for achievement of reform targets. The report says the LNNP is an agreement between governments ”to put in place the infrastructure and practices that will deliver sustained improvement in literacy and numeracy outcomes for all students, especially those who are falling behind.” The government ”envisaged ambitious, accelerated improvements in students’ literacy and numeracy outcomes in participating schools during the partnership timeframe, as the basis for making reward payments.” The audit, however, found ”the LNNP did not result in a statistically significant improvement in average National Assessment program–Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) scores between 2008 and 2011.”