Year 9 NAPLAN: A Guide for Parents

ACARA, which oversees NAPLAN nationally, says students aren't expected to study for it, and that teachers will make sure they know the kinds of questions. Its suggestion for parents is to reassure your child that NAPLAN is part of their school program and remind them to do their best.

With a teenager, it can work better to ask than to explain. You could ask what their teachers have said about it, or which test they're least looking forward to, and let them take it from there. Some would rather not talk about it, and you can leave it there, knowing they can come back to you if something starts to bother them.

For a look at the tests beforehand, ACARA's free NAPLAN public demonstration site has practice versions of each test, which your child can click through on their own or with you. It shows the screens and question types rather than a score, since no answers are provided.

In 2027 NAPLAN runs from Wednesday 10 March to Monday 22 March. Every school starts with the writing test on the first day, then schedules the other three within those dates, so your child's school can tell you which days they fall on. The tests are normally online at school, timed and supervised by teachers.

Your child finds out which kind of writing piece on the day, and doesn't get to choose.

The other three are tailored tests. After each set of questions, the next set can be easier or harder depending on your child's answers, and their result counts both how many they got right and how hard those questions were. So if friends compare notes afterwards, they'll often have seen different questions, which tells them very little about how anyone went.

The report comes through your child's school, which will let you know when it's being sent home. It gives a result in five areas: reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy. Each result sits in one of four proficiency levels, which describe how your child did against what's expected of a Year 9 student at the time of testing. Strong means the result meets those expectations and Exceeding means it's above them. Developing means your child is working towards them, and Needs additional support means they're likely to need extra help to keep progressing. The report also marks where your child's result sits against the national average and the middle 60% of Year 9 students.

Your child's Year 7 report uses the same four levels, so you can set the two side by side.

So a result that stays at the same level from Year 7 to Year 9 can still mean your child has moved forward.

Once the report arrives, you can choose Year 9 and enter each level in our NAPLAN results explainer to see what it means and what you could ask the teacher.

ACARA's suggested use for the report is a conversation with teachers about your child's strengths and what they could work on. With a Year 9, that can start at home: you can read it together and let your child say what they make of it first, since they sat the tests and may remember how each one felt. When something stands out, you can ask the relevant teacher how the result compares with your child's classwork.

ACARA doesn't recommend excessive preparation for NAPLAN or coaching services, so there's no need to look for a NAPLAN tutor. You'll get the most from the report when it reflects where your child really is with their everyday schoolwork, because that's what you and their teachers can act on.

When your child keeps finding the same skill hard, such as solving equations or organising ideas in an essay, their teacher is the first person to ask. The school may also run extra help such as a homework club or literacy and numeracy support, so it's worth asking what it offers. The year level coordinator can help too, if the same thing is showing up in several subjects.

For more help alongside that, our Years 7 to 10 maths and English tutors work one-to-one with your child, at home or online, alongside their school program. You'll speak with the tutor before the first session, so you can pass on what the report and the teacher have shown.

NAPLAN is a few hours in March. Through Year 10 and the choices that follow, you'll learn more about how your child is going from the conversations you keep having about school than from one report.

What if my child is away for a test?

They may be able to sit it later, in a catch-up session the school runs before the window closes on 22 March, so it helps to tell the school as early as you can.

Can my child go back to earlier questions?

Usually, with two exceptions. Once they move to the calculator section in numeracy, they can't return to the questions without a calculator, and once they move from spelling to grammar and punctuation, they can't return to spelling. A message on screen tells them before either point.

Does my child need their own laptop or calculator?

A laptop depends on the school. Some have students bring their own device, set up with a locked-down browser that blocks other apps and spellcheck, and others provide devices. A calculator usually isn't needed: the numeracy test has its own onscreen calculator, and a personal one needs an approved adjustment.

What support is there for students with disability?

The school can arrange adjustments, which are changes to how a student sits the test or gives their answers, such as braille or large-print papers, or assistive technology. You agree on them with the school before testing, and some need approval from the VCAA, which runs NAPLAN in Victoria. The demonstration site has accessible versions of each test your child can try first.

Can my child be exempted or withdrawn?

Yes, in a few situations, although all Year 9 students are expected to take part. The participation rules allow for:

• Exemption for a student with a significant disability who can't access the tests even with adjustments, or a student with a language background other than English who has been in Australia for less than a year. It isn't automatic, and it can apply to one test while your child sits the others.
• Withdrawal, which is your decision, for reasons such as religious beliefs or philosophical objections to testing. It's made as a formal request to the principal before testing, following the VCAA's process.

We checked these official sources on 6 November 2026.