How to prepare for NAPLAN without over-practising

What ACARA says

ACARA, which runs NAPLAN, puts its advice to parents in a few sentences.

• Teachers do the familiarising. They make sure students know the types of questions in the tests, and they give support and guidance.
• Explaining the test is optional. Some explanation helps children feel comfortable with the format, but ACARA says parents don't need to provide it.
• The best message is a calm one. NAPLAN is part of the school program, and your child only needs to do their best.
• Nobody is endorsed. Neither ACARA nor education ministers endorse any organisation offering NAPLAN-style tests or other NAPLAN products. That includes Meritly.

Why a little practice still helps

The online test player has features your child may not use in class. Meeting them once at home means their attention goes to the questions on the day.

• The timer. It can be hidden, but it always shows for the last 5 minutes.
• Flags. A question can be flagged and returned to later. A progress grid shows which questions are answered, unanswered or flagged.
• Locked sections. In Conventions of Language, and in Numeracy for Years 7 and 9, a finished section can't be reopened. Checking answers before moving on matters.
• The calculator. Years 7 and 9 Numeracy opens without one. Once the calculator switches on, the questions before it can't be changed.
• Sound. Spelling words are dictated, Numeracy questions come with audio, and the Writing prompt has audio too. Headphones are needed.
• Working paper. Students can use paper to work out or plan their answers.

A plan from January to March

In 2027 the tests fall between Wednesday 10 March and Monday 22 March. Each school sets its own days within those dates. Our guide to NAPLAN 2027 dates has the full timetable.

January and the start of Term 1. Nothing NAPLAN-specific. Reading together and everyday maths, like cooking, shopping and timetables, build the skills the tests check.

Mid-February: the demonstration site, once. Sit with your child for about twenty minutes on the official public demonstration site. Pick their year level and try each kind of question and each tool. The demonstration tests don't adapt to answers and don't show answers, so treat them as a tour, not a test.

Late February to early March: three full papers, one a week. Choose one Numeracy, one Reading and one Conventions of Language paper. Let your child sit each one in a single go, against the clock. Then go through the questions they missed together, and pick one thing to work on before the next paper.

The week before: stop. No new papers. Keep the usual routine, and remind your child that the test is part of school and their best is enough.

The test window. Writing comes first. If your child is sick on a test day, ask the school about a catch-up. Where possible, schools arrange missed tests later in their own schedule.

What over-practising looks like

• A paper every day. Three full papers spread across the weeks before the window are plenty. More turns a school assessment into a project.
• Treating a practice score as a forecast. The real tests adapt to your child's answers, and a practice paper is one fixed pass. The useful part of a practice score is the list of questions that went wrong.
• Rehearsing a writing formula. Each year the Writing test sets one task, narrative or persuasive, and the type is only revealed on the day. Regular writing of both kinds is a better use of time.
• Making it bigger than it is. If your child is dreading it, ease off and talk to their teacher.

Common questions

Is NAPLAN coaching worth paying for?
ACARA doesn't recommend coaching services for NAPLAN. Getting to know the format takes an afternoon at home, and the content is the school curriculum.

My child found a practice paper hard. Should I worry?
No. In the real test, questions get harder or easier depending on your child's answers. ACARA says a child who finds the questions challenging may be on a more complex test pathway.

Can my child practise Writing on Meritly?
No. NAPLAN Writing is marked by people using a set of criteria, so we leave it out rather than mark it by machine. Year 3 sits Writing on paper.

Where can my child sit a practice paper?
Our NAPLAN-style practice papers for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are free. Each is built to the real test's question count and time limit, and marked as soon as your child hands it in. Every question comes with a worked solution.

Where the official information lives

ACARA's information for parents, its FAQs and the public demonstration site are at nap.edu.au. Your child's school will tell you which days it has chosen.

Meritly is an independent Australian service and is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the organisations that write or run the tests we cover.