NAPLAN moves to March
28 February 2023 Planning for NAPLAN is well underway at schools across the country with this year’s test event scheduled to begin on Wednesday 15 March.
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is the only nation-wide assessment of students’ literacy and numeracy skills. It provides parents important insights into their child’s progress at school, and helps governments, education authorities and schools to see whether young Australians are reaching important literacy and numeracy goals.
“This is the first year NAPLAN will be held in March, having traditionally been held in May, following agreement by education ministers,” said ACARA CEO, David de Carvahlo.
“This means valuable data will be available earlier to inform teaching and learning programs, and to identify professional development needs. It also means parents will receive results earlier in the year, helping to inform the conversations they have with teachers.”
The earlier NAPLAN tests follow the transition to NAPLAN online which is a better, more precise assessment that is more engaging for students. All students undertook NAPLAN online in 2022, with the exception of Year 3 writing which remains a paper test.
ACARA is currently working with test administration authorities in each state and territory to ensure schools are ready for the test window, and to ensure the change of time is as easy as possible for teachers and students.
Practice testing is now available for schools, and students and teachers can also visit the public demonstration site, where they can familiarise themselves with question types, onscreen tools, timers and the interactive navigation.
A wide range of accessibility options is also available to help students with a disability access NAPLAN online.
New proficiency standards for NAPLAN
10 February 2023 From this year, parents and carers will get earlier, simpler and clearer information about their child’s NAPLAN achievement based on new, more rigorous national standards.
Read the media release (PDF 98KB).