What is the NAPLAN Reading test?

NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills of all Australian school students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. According to the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) the tests provide parents and schools with a better understanding of how students are performing. They are also able to provide schools, states, and territories with information regarding which areas across education need to be prioritised for improvement. 

This is NOT a high stakes test, but the data gathered is valuable in assisting the development of Australian children and their education. For more information, check out the other NAPLAN myths our tutors have busted! 

The NAPLAN Reading Comprehension section varies across primary and high school. Students are given a reading booklet containing short pieces of text. Then with multiple choice and short answer questions, their knowledge, and interpretation of language conventions in context are tested. Students in Year 3 and 5 will be given 45-50 minutes, and students in Year 7 and 9 will be given 65 minutes to complete the NAPLAN reading comprehension section. 

6 Ways to Help Your Child Prepare for the NAPLAN Reading Test

Do not worry! A Team has some tips and tricks on how to support your child for NAPLAN. 

1. Encourage Your Child to Read Regularly

Students with a regular reading schedule will find the NAPLAN reading testing much easier, this is because they have become accustomed to encountering new words and phrases, building up their vocabulary. One great technique is to set up a time or day for family reading! Encourage everyone to bring a book and read together, normalising casual reading for your child can make the task feel less daunting for them!

2. Recommend Books Your Child Will Love

If you find your child is struggling to find books they enjoy, try finding books that correspond to their personal interests or hobbies. For example, if your child loves the fantastical worlds of Harry Potter, try recommending another series like Percy Jackson. 

Another fun strategy is to set up a bookstore shopping day! Allow your child to wander around and find a book that captures their interest and imagination. Make sure that your child knows that reading CAN be fun, that is a way for us to explore new worlds and go on exciting adventures! 

3. Help Your Child Improve Their Vocabulary

When your child is reading, they may encounter language that is new to them, a way of keeping track of this would be to keep track of words they are unsure about as they read. This can be a great way to build up their vocabulary skills and develop their comprehension skills. Building on this skill can also greatly benefit them in their future studies. For high school students who may be struggling to achieve that illustrious A grade, check out “How to Get an A in English”. 

4. Ask Your Child Questions About What Their Reading 

Once your child has found a book they enjoy, ask them questions about it to assist them in broadening their understanding. This can help them comprehend the stories meaning, themes or purpose, which may be asked of them during the NAPLAN reading comprehension test. 

5. Encourage Your Child to Write a Summary About What They’re Reading

Another skill that will be assessed during the NAPLAN reading comprehension test is how well your child can summarise the important parts of a text. This can include major characters, themes, or narratives. To practise this and prepare for the NAPLAN reading section, they can write a summary about each book they read in a journal! Having a fun journal and pen can also help encourage them to do this. 

6. Hire a Tutor

If you need extra assistance, having an English tutor to assist with NAPLAN preparation can be very beneficial. We here at A Team Tuition understand that time does not always allow us to be as involved, that’s why we are here to help and find a tutor that is a good fit for your child! The benefits of tutoring include consistent practice for your child, fun and engaging ways of learning, the comfort of knowing your child will have all the support they need in boosting their confidence or building on any skills that may be lacking as result of COVID-19 school lockdowns, online learning, or busy classrooms.    

NAPLAN Reading Comprehension Example Questions 

An example of the Grade 3 NAPLAN reading comprehension:

Sara’s Early Morning

On Saturday morning, Sara got up early to play football. 

She put on her football shirt and black shorts. Then, she pulled on some long socks. Next, she carried her football boots to the door and put them on. 

‘I thought you played football on Sunday, not Saturday!’ said Sara’s dad. 

‘Oh, yeah!’ said Sara, and she went back to bed. 

PRACTICE QUESTIONS: 

• What did Sara plan to do on Saturday morning? 

1. 1. 1. homework 
      2. play football 
      3. go horse-riding 
      4. make breakfast 

• According to the text, what was Sara’s mistake? 

For other examples and past test papers, check out the ACARA website. 

Need a Helping Hand Preparing Your Child for the NAPLAN Reading Test?

Consistency is important when assisting your child, this can involve checking in with teachers, forming a study group or working with a private tutor. At A Team Tuition, we acknowledge that results cannot be expected overnight, but small, incremental changes are valuable to building a strong work ethic and meeting your child’s goals. 

If your child has a disability, there are programs and systems in place to assist them during the NAPLAN testing. These include – but are not limited to – alternative formatting, assistive technology, and extra time. 

Looking to help your child with their NAPLAN reading test? A Team Tuition is here to help. With our tried and true tutoring methods, we can help your child succeed in their NAPLAN tests with our at-home and online tutoring. Find a tutor near you today!

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One of the best ways to support your child as they undertake NAPLAN testing is to be aware of the different tips and strategies relevant to the subjects under examination, so that you can play an active role in their practice and preparation beyond the classroom. 

In this article, you will learn about the tips and strategies related to the NAPLAN Language Conventions portion of the test. For a general NAPLAN guide, see What Is NAPLAN? The Ultimate NAPLAN Guide for Parents (link after publishing). 

What Is the NAPLAN Language Conventions Test?

The NAPLAN Language Conventions Test is the third and final part of NAPLAN’s assessment of Literacy. In this section, your child will be tested on their knowledge and comprehension of NAPLAN spelling and NAPLAN grammar, by answering over 50 multiple choice and spelling correction questions. Although this part of the NAPLAN test may appear more straightforward than others, it is still vital that your child prepare for the Conventions of Language questions. Silly mistakes in spelling and grammar are easy to make!

It is a common NAPLAN myth that the test is designed to assess your child’s intelligence. This is not true. The NAPLAN Language Conventions test exists to determine your child’s current competency in NAPLAN spelling and NAPLAN grammar, so that resources can be properly allocated to ensure they have the best opportunity to cultivate their strengths and overcome their weaknesses. 

5 Ways to Help Your Child Prepare for the NAPLAN Language Conventions Test

These are five tips and strategies to equip you to help your child reach their potential in the Language Conventions portion of the NAPLAN test, and to avoid many of the common pitfalls that this section can bring! 

1. Help Your Child Learn Common Spelling Rules

It is important first and foremost in preparation for the Conventions of Language NAPLAN test for you to review some common spelling rules with your child. 

A major part of the test will be for your child to identify and correct spelling mistakes in a given sentence. Sometimes the mistake will be identified by a circle, but otherwise your child will have to find the misspelt word themselves and correct it. For example:

Some of the most common and helpful spelling rules include: “i before e except after c,” “q is always followed by u,” “every word usually has at least one vowel,” “f, l, and s are doubled when placed at the end of one syllable words (stiff, spill, pass),” “watch out for the silent k before words that begin with an n sound (knight, know, knit, knee),” etc.

2. Review Commonly Misspelled Words Together

Not only is it important for your child to know common spelling rules, but it will also be beneficial for them in the Language Conventions NAPLAN test to be familiar with commonly misspelled words. This is necessary because a child might believe that a misspelt word in a sentence is how it is supposed to be spelled and thus not identify it as a word that needs to be corrected. 

Some of the most commonly misspelled words are “which/witch,” “their/there/they’re,” “to/too/two,” “believe,” “license,” “separate,” “weird,” “weather/whether,” knew/new,” “beginning,” etc. But there are many others.

Practice Grammar and Punctuation

NAPLAN spelling is not the only component to the Language Conventions NAPLAN test. NAPLAN grammar is also critical.

Ensure that your child understands how full-stops (.), capital letters (A), commas(,), colons (:) and semi-colons (;), question-marks (?), apostrophes (‘), quotation marks (“”), exclamation marks (!), hyphens (-), brackets (), and slashes (/) work.

Your child should also know and understand these basic grammatical terms. They are often called “parts of speech:”

• • Nouns: Words denoting people, places, things, or concepts (Mum, Australia, Bike, Love).
  • Verbs: Doing words (run, swim, read, watch, think, know, ride, look, speak).
  • Adjectives: Words that describe nouns (blue, loud, small, stinky, intelligent, dangerous, annoying).
  • Adverbs: Words that describe verbs (quickly, always, patiently, loudly, rarely, extremely, more than).
  • Prepositions: Words that describe the relationship between two nouns and a verb (in, out, from, beside, on, across, towards, after, below, up) .
  • Pronouns: Words that are substitutes for nouns (he, she, it, we, you, they, them, us, this, that, these, those).

• Conjunctions: Words that join together clauses, phrases, and other words in a sentence (and, but, for, because, therefore).

• Articles: The words “the” and “a.” The former describes a “definite” noun (the school), the latter an “indefinite” noun (a school). 

3. Get a Tutor

Hiring an English tutor is an excellent way to ensure that your child will be fully equipped with the knowledge and tools they need to reach their potential in the Conventions of Language NAPLAN test. 

At A Team Tuition, our Academic Personal Trainers (tutors) are equipped with the expertise surrounding what is assessed in the NAPLAN spelling and NAPLAN grammar portions of the test and are trained specifically to work alongside your child to create the best academic plan that will help them achieve their NAPLAN goals. It’s easy to find a tutor!

4. Give Your Child Emotional Support – NAPLANs Can Be Stressful!

Perhaps the most important thing to remember when assisting your child with their preparations for the Language Conventions NAPLAN test is not to push them to the point of breakdown, but instead to remember to provide them with emotional support and encouragement, as well as academic. This means making sure that they are eating healthy foods, getting plenty of exercise, sleeping well (especially the night before the NAPLAN test), taking study breaks, and receiving words of affirmation and inspiration.

NAPLAN Language Conventions Example Questions  

Here are some examples of questions taken from a previous Conventions of Language NAPLAN test. There are questions from each year level. You can use them as revision with your child.

Year 3:

Year 5:

Year 7:

Year 9:

Need a Helping Hand With the NAPLAN Language Conventions Test?

The most important thing for you as parents to remember is to be consistent and resilient in supporting your child. Achieving your child’s goals in the Language Convention NAPLAN test isn’t necessarily going to be something that happens overnight. But never forget that you don’t have to do it alone. Help is always available. This might look like asking your child’s teacher for help, forming a study group with other parents and their children, or working with a private tutor. 

Looking to help your child with their NAPLAN language conventions test? A Team Tuition is here to help. With our tried and true tutoring methods, we can help your child succeed in their NAPLAN tests with our at-home and online tutoring. Find a tutor near you today!

The post What is NAPLAN Language Conventions & How to Prepare Your Child appeared first on A Team Tuition.

By nurturing these abilities in your child through consistent practice, expanding on their continually developing skills, and emotional support, these exams can become a lot less intimidating. 

What is NAPLAN Writing? 

The NAPLAN writing exams are fairly straightforward; students are given a stimulus or prompt and asked to write a response in a particular genre, which is then assessed using several criteria. These exams value creative thinking, which is an overarching skill that is prevalent through a child’s academic development.

The overall purpose of these exams is to see how well your child can generate ideas and effectively communicate them on paper. However, some schools do not always effectively communicate NAPLAN marking criteria to parents and students, which has led to some cases of misinformation. 

As misinformation often travels faster than truth, it is not uncommon for your child to have heard of some NAPLAN myths in the lead up to these exams. For example, some students enter these exams under the impression that all spelling and punctuation must be perfect to do well. In actuality, these count for relatively few marks in comparison to the other criteria. 

NAPLAN Writing Test Sections: Persuasive vs Narrative Writing 

For the NAPLAN writing exams, your child will have to sit either a persuasive or narrative writing task. Both tasks will have a variety of stimuli, prompts, as well as choice in genre. 

The persuasive exam will assess your child’s ability to express, discuss, analyse, and evaluate an opinion. Your child will likely have to play the role of an authority on the subject-matter and can draw from personal knowledge and experience in order to make their case. Familiarising your child with the components and layout of a persuasive essay along with fostering topics of interest will help prepare for this exam. 

The narrative exam will assess your child’s ability to create and narrate events, while also being able to entertain and emotionally move an audience. Whichever story your child can think of it will need to follow the orientation, complication, and resolution structure for a relatively short text. 

For more in depth information about NAPLAN testing, read our article: What Is NAPLAN? The Ultimate NAPLAN Guide for Parents 

6 Ways to Help Your Child Prepare for the NAPLAN Writing Test 

These 6 steps help ensure your child is as prepared as possible for their upcoming NAPLAN writing exams. 

1. Make Sure They Understand the Importance of the Text Structure 

Layout and structure for persuasive and narrative writing exams are incredibly important. Persuasive writing typically involves a rigid structure where your child will need to make introduce, argue, and summarise their point within 3-5 paragraphs. Narrative writing has a looser structure; however, students may find it difficult to effectively build their imaginative story in a page or two. 

2. Encourage Your Child to Read as to Expand Their Vocabulary 

While spelling and punctuation don’t offer the largest capacity for marks, having a wide range of vocabulary in your child’s arsenal will help them either articulate their point, or paint a more vivid image to their audience. This skill can be easily fostered by encouraging your child to read a variety of texts. Encouraging your child to keep building their vocabulary through their schooling will help them get an A in English when used in tandem with other key skills. 

3. Practice Grammar and Spelling With Your Child 

Grammar and spelling skills can easily be developed through simple consistent revision. Perhaps on the way to or from school, think of a handful of words and get your child to write them out on a notepad. You and your child will be amazed with how rapidly their spelling skills develop. 

4. Encourage Your Child to Practice Writing Long Form

Long from writing is especially intimidating for younger students who may be used to writing a paragraph or a few sentences.  With some practice, it needn’t be as stressful. Familiarise your child with the overall structure for persuasive and narrative writing, then encourage them to recount an experience they’ve had or write about a topic they feel passionately about. Once they’re done, discuss their writing with them and encourage them to do another. 

5. Get a Tutor

By having the resources of a tutor at your disposal, they will be able to walk your child through anything they may be unsure about when it comes to writing in different genres, getting feedback, or even asking what these exams are like. We can assist you to find a tutor that your child can build a relationship with, this will help ensure your child skill develop both in NAPLAN and other assessment. 

6. Provide Emotional Support – NAPLANs Can Be Stressful

NAPLANs can be extremely stressful; younger students may find themselves anxious at the thought of more exams, while older students may find it hard to revise for on top of their normal workload. In either case, by talking through your child’s feeling and ensuring good nutrition and sleep, your child should have the mental energy to get through these exams. 

NAPLAN Writing Example Questions 

NAPLAN writing exam try to provide prompts or writing instructions in areas where students are likely to have interest.

For example, the 2015 Year 7 persuasive exam instructions, asked students to:

• Choose the best TV, movie, or performance that you have seen or book that you have read. Persuade the reader to watch or read what you have chosen.

In 2016 the NAPLAN narrative exam had a handful of images that the students could use as a prompt, or they could imagine their own. The prompt asked students to: 

• Construct a story about what has happened to your characters after reading a sign.

As you can see, in either scenario, NAPLAN has tried to make the exam relevant to students’ interests or provide some ideas for generating a story. 

Need a Helping Hand Preparing for the NAPLAN Writing Test? 

NAPLAN is an experience that universally shared with all Australian students. In order to ensure your child can perform to the best of their ability, consistent practise and resilience is needed. The skills your child will be examined on take years to develop, overnight results or cramming are definitely not options. instead encourage your child to ask questions about writing in class, find some friends that they can study with or work with a private tutor.

If you are looking to help your child with their NAPLAN writing test? A Team Tuition is here to help. With our tried and true tutoring methods, we can help your child succeed in their NAPLAN tests with our at-home and online tutoring. Find a tutor near you today!     

References

NAP National Assessment Program

Sources Used for Example Questions:

https://www.acara.edu.au/assessment/naplan/naplan-2012-2016-test-papers 

https://acaraweb.blob.core.windows.net/acaraweb/docs/default-source/assessment-and-reporting-publications/e1-naplan-2016-final-test-writing-prompt—sign-said-(years-7-and-9-only).pdf?sfvrsn=2 

https://acaraweb.blob.core.windows.net/acaraweb/docs/default-source/assessment-and-reporting-publications/naplan-2015-final-test-writing-prompt—the-best-(years-7-and-9-only).pdf?sfvrsn=2 

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What Is NAPLAN?

The ‘National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN)’ is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9. It is the only nationwide testing process that all Australian students undertake. Government education services have designed NAPLAN to measure literacy and numeracy skills that underpin further learning. The testing allows for critical understanding of student’s progression throughout primary and secondary education streams, informs school performance, teaching, and learning. 

For more in depth information about NAPLAN testing, read out article: What Is NAPLAN? The Ultimate NAPLAN Guide for Parents 

How You Can Help Your Child Prepare for the NAPLAN Maths Test

These tips and strategies are invaluable to your child’s success in NAPLAN numeracy tests. Consistently implementing these tips will help your child build healthy study habits and foster long-term success.

1. Keep Track of Your Child’s Progress

It is important for you, as a parent, to be engaged with your child’s progress in their numeracy studies. Kathleen Cotton states that “research overwhelmingly demonstrates that parent involvement in children’s learning is positively related to achievement.” Numeracy can often be confusing when explained. Reading your child’s reports, communicating with teachers, and/or being actively involved in their learning process can help alleviate this confusion. Consistent engagement allows for timely support and an understanding of where they may need further encouragement or assistance.

2. Encourage Your Child to Do Practice Tests

Practice tests are an extremely important part in preparing for the NAPLAN numeracy exam. Studies show that completing practice tests can help achieve greater test results. Firstly, practice exams can highlight gaps in knowledge. Practice tests allow for you, your child, and their support team, to understand where they are most struggling and then focus study time in these areas. Practice tests also provide an opportunity for students to implement learnt knowledge. This is critical to retain and apply information. Finally, practice tests can help students gain understanding of the format and timing of the test. When your child comes to complete their NAPLAN numeracy test, they will be familiar with its layout, the style of questions and how they must manage their time. Thus, completing practice exams are a vital tool in NAPLAN preparation.

3. Explore Different Maths Study Approaches

Every child has a unique way they best learn. Your child must find ways in which they best remember, understand, and implement information. A Team Tuition refers to this as your child’s ‘learning language’. To help your child discover their ‘learning language’, we must encourage their individual expression. This could include a greater focus on aural learning by reading and responding to cue cards. It could implement visual exam preparation by drawing diagrams or mind-maps. By fostering learning languages, you can assist your child in developing learning strategies that both resonate and excite them.

4. Get a Maths Tutor

Having one-to-one support in the form of a tutor can be an invaluable resource in preparing your child for their NAPLAN numeracy test. Tutors can help investigate where your child most needs support. Unlike a classroom, tutors are not restricted by large class numbers and thus can spend greater time thoroughly explaining content and understanding your child’s specific needs. If you are looking for this extra support for your child, at A Team Tuition we can help you find a maths tutor that is a good fit for your child’s personality and learning language

5. Give Your Child Emotional Support

It is important to provide your child with the necessary emotional support for them to succeed in their NAPLAN numeracy test. Whilst we all want our children to succeed, our eagerness can often lead to demotivation. Just as parents do, children need times to rest, recover and enjoy life surrounding study. As parents, we must aim to ensure our children maintain proper sleep, healthy eating habits and regular breaks from study. This can support stress relief, whilst allowing for greater motivation in their chosen study periods. Balance is just as significant to your child’s success in NAPLAN numeracy as their study.

Need a Helping Hand with the NAPLAN Numeracy Test?

NAPLAN numeracy can be challenging for many students and academic success does not happen overnight. Thus, it is important as parents to be resilient and consistent in our support. This blog has outlined many proven strategies that parents can implement to assist our students in achieving exam success. Yet external resources can also play a critical role in fostering student’s study habits and patterns. This can include promoting your child to ask for a teacher’s help, form a study group with friends, or working with a private tutor. The combined effort of both internal and external resources will help ensure your child’s success and confidence in NAPLAN’s annual numeracy assessment.

Looking to help your child with their NAPLAN numeracy test? A Team Tuition is here to help. With our tried and true tutoring methods, we can help your child excel at numeracy with our at-home and online tutoring. Find a tutor near you today!

The post How to Prepare Your Child for the NAPLAN Numeracy Test  appeared first on A Team Tuition.

There are a lot of common misconceptions about NAPLAN, such as, it being a high-stakes test, it measuring your child’s intelligence, the delayed data release being unhelpful to students and parents alike, and NAPLAN not helping students develop life skills. These are just common NAPLAN myths that are often said, but simply are not true. 

This is just an overarching structure, the sections below provide more detail on specific questions you may have. 

What Does NAPLAN Stand For?

NAPLAN stands for the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy. The program is run and overseen by the Australian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and is the only Australia-wide standardised test that all students have the opportunity to undertake. 

What Areas Does NAPLAN Test?

NAPLAN tests a student’s fundamental literacy and numeracy skills. These include reading, writing, conventions of language, and numeracy. More information on each of these can be found below.

Reading

The reading test focuses on the reading and comprehension of written English, as well as language conventions in context. 

In the tests, your child is provided with a range of texts in differing writing styles. These texts are accompanied by related comprehension questions that your child will answer. The questions are multiple choice and with the introduction of NAPLAN being completed digitally, technology enhanced questions are becoming more common. 

Writing

The writing test is based heavily on the Australian Curriculum: English, which requires that students are taught a variety of different writing styles. These include, imaginative (narrative writing), informative, and persuasive writing. Students across all grades in the same year will complete the same style of writing, either narrative or persuasive and there is no choice in writing type. 

Within the writing test, your child will be provided with a ‘stimulus’ or ‘prompt’ and will be asked to write a response in a particular text type. Differing prompts are used depending on the testing day and year level of your child. 

Conventions of Language

Like with the writing test, the conventions of language tests are based on the Australian Curriculum: English. These tests assess your child’s understanding of the conventions of language and writing across spelling, grammar, and punctuation. The tests are completed through multiple-choice, written, and technology based questions such as drag-and-drop. 

Numeracy

The NAPLAN numeracy test measures the achievement of students in different areas of numeracy, including their mathematical knowledge, skills, and understanding as outlined in the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics. The numeracy test assesses your child’s proficiency in number and algebra, measurement and geometry, and statistics and probability. 

The numeracy tests contain multiple-choice, text entry and technology-enhanced questions such as drag-and-drop and hot-text.

Is NAPLAN Compulsory?

NAPLAN is not a compulsory test, that means that you can choose to withdraw your child from the test through a formal process or some students may be granted exemptions in certain circumstances. 

Withdrawal 

Students may be withdrawn from NAPLAN testing in a formal process undertaken by you and your school administration. Any application for withdrawal must be received by your school’s principal prior to the commencement of testing. Submitting the withdrawal and the process along with it is dependent on your local testing authority and their requirements. To find your local test authority click here. 

Exemptions

Whilst NAPLAN offers a range of adjustments for students with disabilities, an exemption may be suitable for some students with learning barriers, or for some students with a language background other than English. In both cases, the school needs to discuss this with you and gain your permission for this prior to testing. 

English Language 

Students with a language background other than English who have been attending school in Australia for less than a year may be exempted from completing the test. However, students fitting this description are not automatically exempted and may be able to sit one test (e.g numeracy) but be exempt from another (e.g reading). 

Students With Disabilities

Adjustments are provided to students with disability to allow them access to the tests and encourage participation in NAPLAN. Students with a disability that severely limits their ability to participate in in the tests may be exempted from sitting the national tests. This is often determined through consultation with your school’s principal and yourself, if it is decided that the student cannot access the tests with adjustments. 

When Is NAPLAN Held?

NAPLAN is held every year in a ten to twelve day test window. NAPLAN, which has always been held in the second week of May, will move to mid-March from 2023.

Starting in 2023, the NAPLAN is moving to Term One instead of Term Two to be used to inform teaching and learning for the year. From 2023 until 2027, the NAPLAN Dates will slowly move earlier into Term One in order to help schools plan in advance. Students in Years 5, 7 and 9 will undertake all NAPLAN tests online. Year 3 students will complete the writing test on paper and all other tests online.

The following test windows can be found on the National Assessment Program website. In 2023, NAPLAN will be held from Wednesday 15 March to Monday 27 March.

When Do NAPLAN Results Come Out?

When NAPLAN was held in the second week of May, student NAPLAN results are provided to schools from August onwards, depending on the state or territory you live in. We are expecting that starting in 2023 results will be available a bit earlier in the year due to the moved test dates. The same report format for results is used across Australia. Your child’s school will notify you when the reports are being sent home. 

Does Your Child Need Help With NAPLAN Preparations?

If you would like any help with figuring out your child’s needs, learning language, and the possible effect it will have on their NAPLAN process, feel free to get in contact with us! All of our Academic Personal Trainers are specifically trained to identify a student’s learning language, and would be able to help tailor your child’s work to preparing for their NAPLAN test, thereby setting them up for greater success and understanding when it comes to the areas that are assessed!

Looking to learn how your child can pass their NAPLAN test? A Team Tuition is here to help. With our tried and true tutoring methods, we can help your child excel. Find a tutor near you today!  

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The National Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual standardised assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. The test focuses on four core areas within a child’s learning:

• reading
• writing
• language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and
• numeracy.

In the second week of May, if your child is in Years 3, 5, 7 or 9, they will sit four tests for each of the core areas listed above. For the reading, language conventions and numeracy tests, students have the benefit of multiple-choice answers to select from or provide a short answer response. The writing task requires students to write a text (usually a persuasive piece or a narrative) based on a stimulus. The responses to these tests are then compiled and analysed.

The question that I hear quite frequently is, “How is it analysed?” Or “What is it used for?”

Well, between May and September, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) compiles the data from each state and territory and assesses this data against the minimum national standard. The NAPLAN results are then presented using 5 scales (reading, writing, and numeracy and then the language conventions test is split into two domains; one for spelling and one for grammar and punctuation).

This data is also presented through a number scale of ‘bands.’ There are 10 bands; whilst technically Band 10 is the highest and Band 1 is the lowest, the actual constraints varies depending on the year level.

A bar is then displayed across the bands indicating the lowest, highest and average scores of students around the country and where your child is situated within these bars.

Now that we’ve got the basics down pat, let’s bust some myths!

Myth 1: It is a high-stakes test

NAPLAN is not a high-stakes test!

Unlike the High School Certificate (HSC) test or the Queensland Core Skills (QCS) test, which affect a students’ access to tertiary education, NAPLAN’s primary purpose is to collect data to give to parents and schools to identify students’ weaknesses.

It is not an entry test into the next year level, nor is it an entry test into secondary schooling.

Myth 2: It measures your child’s intelligence

NAPLAN results do not determine your child’s intelligence!

While NAPLAN does identify your child’s strengths and weaknesses, it does not test higher-order/critical thinking, creativity or cognitive abilities such as memory! This is particularly evident depending on your child’s learning language. If your child is a visual learner then they’re most likely going to do better on NAPLAN than an auditory or kinaesthetic learner.  This is because NAPLAN is a standardised test, meaning that the questions are presented in the same format to every student (exceptions are made for students with a disability).

So if your child explains a concept better verbally, rather than in written format, their scores for the writing test will be affected. This is why it is paramount that parents are aware that this is not an intelligence measure!

NAPLAN merely identifies your child’s strengths and weaknesses as a visual, auditory or kinaesthetic learner. A famous quote by Albert Einstein is relevant here:

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree,

it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

The same can be said for an artist. If you ask an artist to calculate the volume of a cylinder, they’re probably going to get as far as drawing the shape. But, if you ask the same artist to grab a tin of paint and pour it into a cup and then calculate how much paint is in the cup, they’re probably going to have a better chance of finding the answer.

Myth 3: The delayed data release does not help my child

The data retrieved from NAPLAN testing does help your child at school!

Despite the fact that the school receives the results from NAPLAN three quarters into the school year, that information is still useful. Each child is issued with their own individual report which shows their individual performance in the five core areas, as well as how their individual results compare to those at their school and in all of Australia.

This information is also provided to the school and allows them to assess where each child sits in terms of the five criteria. By providing the school with this information, the school is able to alter their teaching methods to try different techniques to improve any of the areas.

For example, NAPLAN could show that weak spellers are relying mainly on phonics (word sounds) rather than actual spelling rules. Using this information, the school is able to allocate more time to learning spelling rules and shift away from a sound-only focus.

Figure 2: An example student result, retrieved from the National Assessment Program website.

Myth 4: You must prepare for NAPLAN to do well

Students are not expected to study for the NAPLAN tests.

NAPLAN is aligned with the Australian Curriculum, so it is an assumption that students will have already learnt most of the content that they are being tested on. ACARA does incorporate questions typically normal for students in the year above into NAPLAN tests to assess a child’s capability. With these questions, you definitely can’t prepare for them.

Excessive test practice and schools refining their core curriculum to ‘teach to the test’ is not the point of NAPLAN. Making students prepare for it by using NAPLAN practice tests is not recommended, as making it a big deal may cause students higher levels of exam stress and anxiety than necessary.

Rather, focus on viewing the tests as what they are: an assessment of my child’s strengths and weaknesses, for the purpose of shaping their learning to their needs.

Myth 5: NAPLAN does not help students develop life skills

While it is true that NAPLAN may not necessarily teach your child how to manage a piggy bank, it does help them develop the fundamental skills which are essential for day to day activities. NAPLAN identifies whether your child is a weak speller, whether they can add or subtract sums, and whether they can comprehend what they’re reading.

These skills affect how you write a resume, how you calculate a customer’s change, and how you interpret instructions to building a cubby house.

It is paramount that schools receive feedback on their students’ understanding, so that learning can be tailored to teach them those exact skills!

So if your child receives a low score in reading on NAPLAN, don’t automatically assume they’re not intelligent. Chances are, they may not be familiar with the vocabulary in the test or are probably not a visual learner! Instead, use the results from the NAPLAN test to find what their weaknesses are and build on their strengths.

If you would like any help with figuring out your child’s needs, learning language, and the possible effect it will have on their NAPLAN process, feel free to get in contact with us! All of our Academic Personal Trainers (tutors) are specifically trained to identify a student’s learning language, and would be able to help tailor your child’s work to it, thereby setting them up for greater success and understanding when it comes to the areas that are assessed!

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