Learn how you can support your child during NAPLAN.
NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills your child is already learning at school.
It is important to remember that NAPLAN is not about passing or failing. It is about assessing learning progress.
The best approach for preparing your child for NAPLAN is to encourage your child to do the best they can on the day.
Excessive preparation or the use of coaching providers is not recommended.
If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please contact your child’s teacher in the first instance.
Students’ digital skills
The digital skills needed to complete NAPLAN are skills students use in everyday classroom activities.
Students do not need to be able to touch type. The online test is not about keyboard skills.
Demonstration tests
The demonstration test site is available for students, teachers and parents to get familiar with the types of questions, tools and functions used in the NAPLAN tests. It includes demonstration tests for each NAPLAN year level, test domain (writing, reading, conventions of language, and numeracy), and alternative tests for students with disability.
Disability adjustments
Adjustments are available for students with disability. The adjustments should reflect the normal support a student receives in classroom assessments.
Contact your child’s school to discuss possible adjustments. If adjustments are available for your child, you will need to sign a parent or carer consent form.
Withdrawals and exemptions
You can withdraw your child from NAPLAN tests.
Your child may be exempt from NAPLAN tests if they have:
- significant disabilities that severely limit their capacity to participate in the tests
- a language background other than English and have recently arrived in Australia (less than a year before the tests).
Contact your child’s school for further information about withdrawals and exemptions and to sign a parent or carer consent form.
Tailored testing
NAPLAN reading, numeracy and conventions of language tests use a tailored test design. Tailored testing adapts to student's responses. It provides a more precise assessment of individual student performance.
Students at each year level start with a similar set of questions. Depending on the number of questions a student answers correctly, their next set of questions may be more, or less, difficult.
Students should not be concerned if the questions are more difficult than expected.
A student’s NAPLAN result is based on both the number and difficulty of questions they answer correctly. A student who completes a more difficult set of questions is more likely to achieve a higher score and a higher proficiency level.
For more information on tailored testing visit the NAP website.
Catch-up tests
Where possible, schools may arrange catch-up tests for individual students who were absent on the day of a scheduled NAPLAN test.
