Term 4 enrolments now open · Free assessment · Trial classes available

NAPLAN Preparation: What Parents Should Focus On

NAPLAN preparation should strengthen everyday literacy, numeracy and reasoning skills — without creating unnecessary pressure.

NAPLANENGLISHMATHSPARENT GUIDES

Orin Education

9/10/20263 min read

For many families, the approach of NAPLAN raises the same question:

Should my child be preparing for the test?

The answer requires some balance.

NAPLAN assesses students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 across reading, writing, conventions of language and numeracy. ACARA describes it as an assessment of literacy and numeracy skills students are learning through their regular school curriculum.

Importantly, ACARA does not recommend excessive test preparation or intensive coaching specifically for NAPLAN. Familiarity with the format can be useful, but the strongest preparation is developing the underlying literacy and numeracy skills the assessment measures.

So what should parents focus on?

1. Reading for meaning, not simply reading aloud

Fluent reading is important, but comprehension goes further.

Children need to be able to identify:

main ideas
important details
implied meaning
relationships between ideas
an author's purpose
information from different text types

After reading something together, ask questions such as:

“What is the main point?”

“How do you know the character felt nervous?”

“Which part of the text gives you that clue?”

“Why did the author include this information?”

These questions encourage evidence-based reading.

Victorian Curriculum expectations also emphasise both literal and inferred meaning as students progress through primary school.

2. Build writing skills gradually

NAPLAN writing should not be treated as a script to memorise.

Students benefit more from understanding how writing works.

Useful areas include:

Ideas
Can the student develop rather than simply list ideas?

Structure
Does the writing have a clear beginning, development and conclusion?

Paragraphs
Does each paragraph have a purpose?

Sentences
Can the student use clear and varied sentence structures?

Vocabulary
Are words chosen accurately?

Editing
Can the student notice and improve errors?

NAPLAN writing uses a stimulus and asks students to respond in a particular genre. The official NAPLAN information notes that writing tasks may involve narrative or persuasive writing.

Practising these forms can therefore be useful — but the aim should be stronger writing, not memorising one template.

3. Strengthen spelling, grammar and punctuation in context

Conventions of language assesses spelling, grammar and punctuation.

These skills are more useful when students understand how they affect communication.

Instead of completing only isolated grammar questions, include editing tasks.

For example:

yesterday we went to the beach it was windy but we still had fun

Ask the child to correct the sentence and explain each change.

This develops awareness that can transfer into their own writing.

4. Develop numeracy through reasoning

Numeracy preparation should not become endless arithmetic sheets.

Students need calculation skills, but they must also interpret mathematical information and apply what they know.

Useful practice includes:

word problems
measurement
fractions and decimals
patterns
graphs and tables
estimation
multi-step questions
explaining mathematical reasoning

The Victorian Mathematics Curriculum explicitly places problem-solving and reasoning alongside mathematical knowledge and fluency.

5. Build familiarity without building anxiety

Students can benefit from knowing what the test environment looks like.

ACARA provides a public demonstration site so students can become familiar with online question formats and tools.

A little familiarity can remove unnecessary uncertainty.

But NAPLAN should not become the centre of a child's learning.

It is one assessment and one source of information about progress. ACARA itself notes that NAPLAN is only one aspect of school assessment and does not replace teachers' ongoing assessment of a student's learning.

6. Teach children what to do when they are unsure

An important assessment skill is knowing how to respond when an answer is not immediately obvious.

Encourage students to:

reread the question
identify important information
eliminate clearly unsuitable options
make a reasonable attempt
move on rather than becoming stuck for too long

This is not a “test trick”. It is self-management.

7. Focus on steady progress

One month of frantic preparation cannot fully replace years of literacy and numeracy development.

A stronger approach is consistent learning throughout the year:

Read regularly.

Write regularly.

Practise mathematics regularly.

Review mistakes.

Ask why.

When these habits are established, assessment readiness becomes a natural result of learning.

What should parents avoid?

Try to avoid turning NAPLAN into a high-stakes event.

Statements such as:

“You need to get a top score.”

can create unnecessary pressure.

A healthier message is:

“This is one opportunity to show what you know. Do your best and learn from the result.”

ACARA similarly recommends reassuring children and avoiding excessive preparation.

NAPLAN readiness starts with everyday skills

The most useful preparation is not memorising answers.

It is developing students who can read carefully, write clearly, reason mathematically and approach unfamiliar questions calmly.

At Orin Education, NAPLAN-relevant skills are progressively integrated into regular English and Mathematics learning. Our focus is on building the underlying literacy, numeracy and reasoning skills students can use at school, in NAPLAN and in future academic challenges.