What your child's NAPLAN result means

Where to look on the report

On pages 2 and 3 of the report, each test has its own scale, with Exceeding at the top and Needs additional support at the bottom. Your child's result is the black dot. The black triangle marks the national average for their year, and the shaded rectangle shows where the middle 60% of students in that year landed. The section of the scale the dot sits in is the level. In some states and territories, the report also shows your child's school average.

Your child's report

What happened to the bands?

Between 2008 and 2022, NAPLAN reported results in ten bands. From 2023 it reports four proficiency levels for each test at each year level, on a new scale, and the tests moved from May to March. Because the scale changed, a band can't be converted into a level: a band on an old report has no equivalent today.

Comparing with an earlier report

If your child also sat NAPLAN two years ago, and that report was from 2023 or later, you can compare the levels on the two reports. Staying at the same level two years later can still mean real progress, because each level asks for more as the years go up.

Worth keeping in mind

• A report shows one test on one day, not everything your child can do. Their teacher sees the fuller picture and is the best person to talk it through with.
• NAPLAN is sat in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9, so there are two years between reports.
• Some schools ask for NAPLAN reports when enrolling, but NAPLAN isn't designed as an admission test.
• For 2026 Writing results: some students had connection problems during the online writing test that year, so read a 2026 Writing result with extra care.

Level descriptions are summarised from ACARA's published NAPLAN proficiency level descriptions and its information for parents and carers. Meritly is not affiliated with ACARA.