NAPLAN - Here's what you need to know

Jeremy Khoupongsy
May 5, 2021
3 min read

The NAPLAN is right around the corner, with thousands of students around the country stressing over these exams. In this blog, I'll tell you everything you need to know about the NAPLAN and how you can help your child do the best they can.

What is the NAPLAN?

NAPLAN, (otherwise known as The National Assessment Program — Literacy and Numeracy) consists of multiple exams sat by all students in Year 3, 5, 7 and 9. Formerly known as the "Basic Skills Test", these exams are used to see the academic level of students across the country.

The results allow teachers and parents to see the academic performance of each child within four categories: Writing, Reading, Language Conventions and Numeracy.

When is the NAPLAN?

The NAPLAN formally begins on the 11th of May, 2021 and takes a few days to a week to complete.

The National Assessment Program mandates that schools must follow a particular order in the tests that students sit. The order is as follows:

Writing
Reading
Language Conventions
Numeracy

To find more details on the schedule of the NAPLAN, click here.

What does the NAPLAN assess?

The NAPLAN aims to assess four different categories, which examine skills used in everyday life. These include: Writing, Reading, Language Conventions and Numeracy.

Writing

In the NAPLAN Writing exam, students are given around 40 minutes to complete a writing task.

In this exam, students will be given a "writing stimulus" or a prompt. These prompts are an idea or topic that students can write about. Some of the most common prompts are:

Images or drawings
Questions
Statements

Using the prompt, students will then be required to write a response, either a narrative or persuasive writing.

Reading

The Reading component of the NAPLAN involves basic reading and comprehension. Students will be given 45 - 65 minutes (depending on year level) to read a range of texts, then answer related questions.

The texts given to students can range from informative, imaginative and persuasive texts. The mos common texts given to students include:

Expositions
Procedures
Short stories or narrative extracts
Websites
Information Reports

Language Conventions

The Language Conventions exam is where students, in 45 minutes, will be tested on their spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Students will need to be able to identify words with incorrect spelling, as well as correct these words.

The punctuation and grammar stage of this exam will make students correct sentences using the correct full stops, commas, exclamation marks and other forms of punctuation. In addition, students will also need to identify issues with tense, wording and other grammatical errors that they identify in sentences.

Numeracy

The Numeracy, or math NAPLAN test is 45 - 65 minutes (depending on grade) and will assess a variety of different math topics. The most common topics examined are:

Number and Algebra
Measurement
Geometry
Statistics
Probability

There will be a combination of multiple choice and free answer questions which students must complete.

How can I help my child be ready for the NAPLAN?

The most effective way to prepare for the NAPLAN is through practice! There are many resources online that provide sample questions and answers. By practicing, your child will be familiar with the type of questions the NAPLAN will present. Click here for some free NAPLAN resources.

For more information on the NAPLAN, click the following links:

How Boost Tuition can prepare my child for the NAPLAN

Our NAPLAN Program at Boost Tuition is designed to help students feel comfortable with the NAPLAN questions and exam environment.

We do this through:

Weekly NAPLAN practice tests, which cover all four areas assessed in NAPLAN
Guided walkthroughs on how to attempt questions by our tutors
Study and exam tips and advice
Teaching the fundamental skills examined by the NAPLAN