What Is NAPLAN? The Ultimate Teacher Guide to Preparing Students to Sit the Tests

NAPLAN may be one of the most sensitive issues for Australian teachers, but the standardised testing scheme is one that year 3 and year 5 teachers face every year. So, how do you prepare your students to sit the NAPLAN tests? And while we’re at it, why is NAPLAN such a big deal in Aussie schools?

We can debate all day whether or not it’s advantageous for schools to engage in testing, but there’s little question that preparing students with the knowledge and skills required will allow a less stressful experience for them.

With students — and you! — in mind, the teachers on the Teach Starter team have put together this comprehensive guide to NAPLAN for year 3 and year 5 teachers. We’ll look at what NAPLAN is, when the NAPLAN 2024 testing window will open, how this standardised testing scheme started, how to check NAPLAN results and how to find practise tests. Of course we’ll also share some of our favourite test prep activities and ideas you can use in your classroom.

What Is NAPLAN?

Surely you’ve heard plenty about NAPLAN over the years. Perhaps you even took the same tests as a student yourself. But if you’re new to teaching year 3 or year 5, you may be wondering what the fuss is all about.

NAPLAN is the name used for the annual standardised tests that assess the literacy and numeracy skills of students in Australian schools. Started by the Australian government as part of the National Assessment Plan (NAP for short) and run at the direction of the Education Ministers Meeting (previously known as the Education Council), NAP sample assessments began in 2003 with science literacy.

When Is NAPLAN 2024 Testing?

The NAPLAN testing window was moved to March in 2023, and it stretches across a series of nine days. In 2024, the NAPLAN testing window will run from Wednesday 13 March to Monday 25 March 2024.

Schools will have access to student data in the Assessment Platform from Monday 4 – Tuesday 12 March 2024. Meanwhile, you can access the NAPLAN public demonstration site at any time!

What Does NAPLAN Stand For?

We keep using the term NAPLAN, but what does the acronym actually mean? NAPLAN is short for National Assessment Program — Literacy and Numeracy.

When Did NAPLAN Start?

Curious about the history of NAPLAN? Perhaps you sat these tests as a student but aren’t sure when they began? Here’s a quick look at the origins!

The first NAPLAN tests were conducted in May 2008 and tested all students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Students were assessed in literacy and numeracy, a practise that continues with today’s NAPLAN testing.

Later that same year, the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (also called the Melbourne Declaration) was released by the Australian Ministers for Education, and it specifically called out the assessment of Australian students, stating, “Assessment of student progress will be rigorous and comprehensive. It needs to reflect the curriculum, and draw on a combination of the professional judgement of teachers and testing, including national testing.” 

Despite some rather significant changes over the years — for example, most NAPLAN testing is completed on a computer today — the framework of the standardised tests remains with a focus on literacy and numeracy and the regular testing intervals of years 3, 5, 7 and 9.

What Does Each NAPLAN Test Assess?

If you’re teaching a NAPLAN testing year level, you can expect your students to take a total of four tests, including one each on reading, writing, conventions of language and numeracy. Here’s how ACARA breaks down each:

• Writing  — Students write a response to a writing stimulus or prompt in a particular genre (narrative or persuasive writing).
• Reading — Students are presented with informative, imaginative and persuasive texts to read. They must then answer related questions to assess their understanding of written English.
• Conventions of language — Spelling, grammar and punctuation are covered by this section of the test.
• Numeracy — The maths section of the test assesses the 3 content strands of the curriculum, including number and algebra, measurement and geometry, and statistics and probability.

What Are the 4 Levels of Achievement in NAPLAN?

Numerical NAPLAN bands and national minimum standards that had long been used were replaced in 2023 with a new set of 4 proficiency levels, represented numerically. These are the 4 levels that will apply in 2024.

The four levels are as follows:

• 1 = Needs additional support
• 2 = Developing
• 3 = Strong
• 4 = Exceeding

How Long Do Students Get on Each Part of the Test?

NAPLAN tests are timed tests — something that may be new, especially for year 3 students who are sitting their very first test of this sort. The duration of each test varies from year level to year level, increasing as students advance in their academic careers, so let’s break it all down:

NAPLAN Year 3 Test Time

Year 3 students sit for a total of 175 minutes for the four NAPLAN tests.

• Writing — 40 minutes
• Reading — 45 minutes
• Conventions of language — 45 minutes
• Numeracy — 45 minutes

NAPLAN Year 5 Test Time

Year 5 students sit for a total of 187 minutes for the four NAPLAN tests.

• Writing — 42 minutes
• Reading — 50 minutes
• Conventions of language — 45 minutes
• Numeracy — 50 minutes

How to Prepare Students for NAPLAN Writing Tests

Incorporate Rapid Writing Sessions

In the writing element of NAPLAN, students are provided with a writing prompt and a short period to produce either a persuasive or narrative piece of writing. This time limit can stress out young students, especially if they are struggling to understand which genre to write about. This is where incorporating ‘rapid writing’ into your daily routine will help your students prepare for that time restriction.

Use a timer and only allow a certain amount of time for the students to write. You could also use persuasive and narrative writing stimulus sheets to encourage discussions on what genre to use.

Teach the Genres

Another teaching opportunity is to focus on persuasive and narrative structure and language elements to help students feel prepared for the writing section of the tests. Each year

Provide Feedback

Provide as much feedback as possible during your students’ practise sessions with each of these genres to help them improve and grow as writers!

These assessment rubrics offer a look at some of the elements they will be marked on when they sit the tests and may prove helpful:

• NAPLAN-style Assessment Rubric for Persuasive Writing
• NAPLAN-style Assessment Rubric for Narrative Writing

How to Prepare Students for NAPLAN Numeracy Tests

Add a Maths Problems of the Day to Your Routine

Not all NAPLAN preparation has to be a practise test in test conditions. Why not add a maths problem of the day to your daily routine?

You could do this as a whole class, or you could give small groups different word problems to work out together.

Use NAPLAN Test Papers in Your Rotations

Providing students with similar NAPLAN-style questions better prepares them for what to expect on the day. ACARA makes copies of past paper tests and answers available for free!

Why not cut up some of the past NAPLAN-style tests to use in your learning centres? During maths rotations, have one station dedicated to answering these questions.

Provide Feedback

Once again, it’s important to let students know how they performed and give them ways to improve.  Use our Numeracy Assesment Tool for Year 3 or Numeracy Assessment Tool for Year 5 for this activity.

How to Prepare Students for NAPLAN Reading Tests

The reading element of NAPLAN assesses whether students can do more than just decode the words on a page. It tests the extent of their vocabulary and whether they can infer information from the texts. You’ll want to explicitly teach comprehension strategies in isolation and then combine them with other strategies.

Give these NAPLAN-style comprehension tasks a try:

• NAPLAN Reading Magazine for Year 3
• NAPLAN Reading Magazine for Year 5

How to Prepare Students for NAPLAN Conventions of Language Tests

We have a range of resources that could help increase your students’ capabilities to determine the correct or incorrect use of punctuation, spelling or grammar.

It can be helpful to add task cards to your rotations to give students practise spotting spelling and punctuation mistakes.

Here are just a few resources that can help:

• NAPLAN – Language Conventions Spelling PowerPoints for Year 3
• NAPLAN Language Conventions Spelling PointPoints for Year 5

When Do NAPLAN Results Come Out?

Parents and carers are sure to ask when they can see their child’s individual NAPLAN results. The general answer to that question is sometime in term 3. More specifically, NAPLAN results for each student will be made available according to the schedule determined by the test administration authorities in your individual state or territory. You can refer parents directly to those authorities if they have more questions!

A Final Word on Student Preparation

Standardised testing can be stressful for students, so it’s important to remind kids that they are more than just a test or a level of achievement. We suggest taking time during the school year to talk about positive self-talk, as well as setting time aside to build students’ self-management skills.