Search for “NAPLAN practice test” and much of what comes back is for sale: practice packs, workbooks and timed online tests with a score at the end. If your child sits NAPLAN in March 2027, a page of those can leave you wondering whether they need one too.
ACARA, the national body that writes the tests, has a much shorter answer, and a free demo site that shows your child the format. What's left is smaller than the search results suggest: an optional look at that demo, and the reading, writing and maths your child already does each week.
What ACARA says about practising
ACARA's advice for parents and carers starts plainly: “Students are not expected to study for NAPLAN.” On paid preparation it's just as clear: “ACARA does not recommend excessive preparation for NAPLAN or the use of services by coaching providers.”
That advice follows from what the tests are. In 2027 they run from 10 to 22 March for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9, and they cover literacy and numeracy. They check skills your child has been building at school for years, and ACARA describes NAPLAN as “just one aspect of a school's assessment and reporting process”, giving teachers extra information alongside what they see in class.
ACARA does say some explanation helps students “understand and be comfortable with the format of the tests”, and that parents don't need to give it. So practice, in ACARA's terms, means getting familiar with the format rather than studying for a score.
Exploring the free demo site
You can explore ACARA's free public demonstration site with your child. You choose their year level, then a test such as reading, then a standard version or an accessible one. ACARA suggests getting familiar on the same or a similar device to the one your child will use for the real tests, so a school laptop or tablet is a good choice if they have one.
What ACARA's demo site shows your child, and what it leaves out
Not included
Answers or results · Saved writing responses · Tailoring · Year 3 writing
The demo includes zoom, question flags and warnings before your child can no longer return to earlier questions. It offers story and persuasive writing tasks, and accessible versions with different colour themes.
In the real reading, conventions of language and numeracy tests, questions get easier or harder depending on your child's answers. The demo does not tailor questions. Year 3 writing is on paper: see ACARA's example paper prompts.
More on the tests, dates and reports for each NAPLAN year level:
What your child's school already does
Your child's teachers take care of most of this. In ACARA's words, “Teachers will ensure students are familiar with the types of questions in the tests and will provide appropriate support and guidance.” Schools can also run practice tests in the same online system the real tests use, from Term 3, 2026, so your child may have seen the format at school before March.
You can ask your child's teacher what the class will do before the tests and which device your child will use on the day. If the class has the format covered, the demo at home can be a quick look, or something you skip.
Everyday reading, writing and maths
ACARA's writing test FAQs put it in one line: “The best preparation for all NAPLAN tests is for teachers to teach what is required in the curriculum.” The examples below use the same skills at home.
Everyday activities that use what each NAPLAN test checks
None of them are NAPLAN questions.
- Reading: Understanding different kinds of texts. Reading something they picked, then talking about what happened and why; Looking at an ad or a news story together and asking what it wants you to think.
- Writing: Writing a story or a persuasive piece. A card, note or message for someone who'll actually read it; Making the case in writing for something they want, like a later bedtime.
- Conventions of language: Spelling, grammar and punctuation. Looking a word up together when they're not sure how it's spelt; Reading aloud, where the punctuation shows them where to pause.
- Numeracy: Using maths, from number to measurement and data. Measuring the ingredients for a recipe, or doubling it; Working out change, a discount or how long until the bus comes.
Test areas: ACARA, What's in the tests. Activities: illustrative examples.
These can stay part of an ordinary week, with no NAPLAN label on them.
Where a tutor fits, and where one doesn't
ACARA's advice against coaching is about sessions aimed at the tests themselves, and your child doesn't need a tutor to be ready for NAPLAN.
Something different can come up during the year. If your child keeps struggling with a skill, such as reading longer texts or subtracting, you can talk about it with their teacher. Schools can also offer extra help, such as literacy or numeracy support or a homework club, so you can ask what your child's school has.
If you'd also like one-to-one help, our tutors work with primary and secondary students at home in Melbourne or online, on the schoolwork your child is doing now. You can see the subjects we tutor. That choice is yours, and it's about the skill rather than the test.
There's nothing to cram before March. The reading, writing and maths your child does between now and then is the part that carries on long after the tests are over.
Other questions about NAPLAN practice
Does a practice test score show how my child will go?
A practice percentage doesn't convert directly to a NAPLAN result, because a commercial test uses its own questions and marking. Your child's report shows one of four proficiency levels, from Needs additional support to Exceeding, which describe how they're going against what's expected at their year level at the time of testing.
When will we get the results?
Your child's NAPLAN report comes home through the school later in 2027. Our NAPLAN results explainer sets out what each level means and what you could ask the teacher.
We've already bought a practice book. Should we stop?
Not necessarily. If your child likes doing a few pages, it can sit alongside everything else. ACARA's concern is excessive preparation, so it's worth putting the book away if it starts to feel like nightly homework or makes your child anxious.
Should my child practise both narrative and persuasive writing?
There's no need to prepare for one in particular. Either can be set, students don't get a choice, and the type is revealed on test day. Narrative means a story; persuasive writing argues a view. Our guide to the NAPLAN writing test explains what each type asks for.
What if my child is worried about NAPLAN?
You can reassure them that it's part of their school program and that doing their best is all that's asked, which is ACARA's own advice. It can also help them to know that ACARA says children shouldn't be concerned if questions feel challenging, because they “may be taking a more complex test pathway”.
Where to check the details
We checked these official sources on 6 November 2026.
