Is your son or daughter going to be sitting theirNAPLAN examsoon?
If so, then you’re in the right place!
Our NAPLAN guide is here to offer youno-nonsenseanswers to any questions you may be having. So, dive on in!
What is the NAPLAN?
How is the test formatted?
How can my child prepare?
How can I help my child prepare?
Our NAPLAN Series
What is the NAPLAN?
The NAPLAN is anassessment undertaken by all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. It’s held in the second week of May, every year, Australia-wide. Your child will be tested upon how well they can perform skills which areessential for everyday life.
Those skills are:
- Reading
- Writing
- Language Conventions, and
- Numeracy
Unlike the HSC, schools supervise this test themselves.
Using the results, you, your child and your child’s school canbest understandwhere theirstrengths and weaknesseslie.
How is the test formatted?
When your child sits the assessment, they’ll have those four skills assessed in just three tests. Less work – lucky them! Their reading and writing skills will be tested together in the first exam. From 2018 onwards, there’ll be two different test formats:
Written NAPLAN
This is the traditional written NAPLAN format. Schools are delivered the papers via mail and then post them back once the test has been completed. Some schools will be partaking in this conventional written format. If this is the case for your child, then they’ll be tested in three consecutive days.
In the written format, your son or daughter will sit the same test as everyone else in their grade. All they’ll need is their brain, a calculator if in high school, and a 2B pencil – and most schools provide the pencils! Super simple stuff.
Online NAPLAN
从2018年开始,一些学校在澳大利亚will begin transitioning to online testing. You’ll need to contact your school to double check if this applies to you. If this is your school, then you will have a window of time to complete the test.
Exam conditions will be as per usual. Silence and no shenanigans.
Your child will be able to complete the test onschool-owned devices or bring their own. Special “NAP Locked-Down” browsers will be used. This’ll make sure yourcleverlittle devildoesn’t try to get extra help from things like spell-checking!
Another key difference is thattailored-testingwill be used for online exams. The NAP online system will mark questions as the test progresses. It’ll then give your son or daughterquestions based upon their real-time performance. High performers get harder questions and vice versa. So, your child will have adifferent set of questions to their peers. But, it will be one tailoredjust for them.
If you’re concerned, then we encourage you toinvestigate the benefitsfound from theextensive researchconducted surrounding this format.
Unsure about which format your child will be sitting?You’ll need to contact your school for confirmation. You can search for your school’s contact detailshere.
How can my child prepare?
If you’ve got an eager beaver of a student in your family, then they’ll definitely want to know how they can prepare for the NAPLAN.
A great first step would be for them to access somepast written exam papers. We’ve got a great resourcehere对!我们建议他们第一次用time to familiarising themselves with the test. Then, once they understand the format, it’d be great for them to dive in and complete some of those practice papers.
If your child will be partaking in the online test format, then they should experience theonline simulatorfor their tests. Here are links to access the demo sites:
How can I help my child prepare?
Test anxiety amongst our modern students is on the rise, big time. We’ve been contacted by many students, some just in primary school, stressing about what the NAPLAN will mean for their future. We think this is ludicrous.
Students need to understand that the NAPLAN isnot the new be all and end all. Despite what fear-mongering by the press may suggest, NAPLAN results will not, in any circumstance, stop a student from pursuing tertiary education.
So, it’s essential that you’re there to offer emotional support for your child. Clinical psychologist and Black Dog Institute research fellow, Aliza Werner-Seidler reminds us that these tests “…can affect their self-esteem, particularly perfectionists and anxious young people.”
Relaying information about the test to your son or daughter in a digestible format is a great place to start. If they’re having a particularly hard time coping, there are always services likeKids Help Lineavailable to offer support.
You can also check out our video below on our top 10 tips for parents to support their child during NAPLAN!
Our NAPLAN Series
We’ve written a whole series of articles to help you and your children navigate the NAPLAN. Check out the rest of our series with the links below!
How to Get a Band 8 in NAPLAN: Reading
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We offer tutoring and mentoring for Years K-12 in a large variety of subjects and NAPLAN, with personalised lessons conducted one-on-one in your home or at our state of the art campus in Hornsby!
To find out more and get started with an inspirational tutor and mentorget in touch today!
Give us a ring on 1300 267 888, email us at[email protected]or check us out onFacebook!
Lachlan Springfieldis incredibly passionate about Millennials. He believes that they’ve been given a pretty bad rap, so he’s decided to work with all sorts of businesses to flip that perspective on it’s head.He’s a firm believer in studying“smart not hard”and you’ll see that belief pervading in his articles.He’s loved sharing his knowledge about the HSC since graduating in 2016, where he finished with an inclusion in HSC Music Encore. When Lachlan isn’t working, you’ll find him watching his favourite YouTubers, Skyping with friends and jamming out to 60’s psych music.
