Further information re NAPLAN online for Year 3 and 5 sourced from ACARA:

We as a school began doing NAPLAN online last year.

What does NAPLAN assess and why is the test moving to an online skills are part of the school curriculum format?

NAPLAN assesses literacy and numeracy – important skills that each child needs to succeed in school and life. If your child is in Year 3, 5, 7 or 9 this year, they will be participating in NAPLAN tests for reading, writing, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. The NAPLAN tests are designed to help us make sure students are on track with their literacy and numeracy development over time.

Below is our timetable for Week 4 and 5.

All schools are moving to NAPLAN Online by 2020 as the online assessment provides more accurate information about what students know and can do. Feedback from schools that have undertaken the NAPLAN assessment online was that students generally find the online assessment engaging.

Students with disability

NAPLAN Online includes audio and visual alternative questions, including colour themes, that may be suitable for some students with disability. All questions are also keyboard accessible. The Guide for schools to assist students with disability to access NAPLAN Online provides an overview of the process that our teachers, in consultation with parents and carers, will follow to assist students with disability.

To see the types of questions and interactive features of NAPLAN Online, try out the tests on the public demonstration site, available on the NAP website.

ICT skills are part of the school curriculum

Students do not need to be computer experts to take the NAPLAN test online. Making sure students have computers skills is part of our school curriculum, and our teachers will ensure your child is familiar with the online format.

Year 3 students will continue to complete the writing assessment on paper. To see the types of questions and interactive features of NAPLAN Online, try out the tests on the public demonstration site, available on the NAP website.

ICT skills are part of the school curriculum. Students do not need to be computer experts to take the NAPLAN test online. Making sure students have computers skills is part of our school curriculum, and our teachers will ensure your child is familiar with the online format. Year 3 students will continue to complete the writing assessment on Paper. To see the types of questions and interactive features of NAPLAN Online, try out the tests on the public demonstration site, available on the NAP website.

Test integrity

To ensure test security and prevent student access to the internet and spell-check applications during NAPLAN Online, a locked-down browser will be installed to each student’s device.

One of the main features of NAPLAN Online is that it is a tailored (or adaptive) test. The NAPLAN Online tests adapt to student responses, presenting questions that may be easier or more difficult, to better assess the student’s ability.

Students should not be concerned if they think that the questions are more difficult than expected – this may simply mean that they are taking a more challenging but more appropriate pathway. This ‘tailored testing’ approach means that a wider range of student abilities can be tested (compared with the paper approach, where all students answer exactly the same questions).

How tailored testing contributes to more precise results

Tailored testing also provides more accurate information about what students know and can do, which, alongside other assessment information that teachers have, can help inform teaching and learning. Your child’s NAPLAN result will be based on the number and difficulty of questions he or she has answered correctly. Regardless of whether students complete the test online and or on paper, they are assessed on the same underlying literacy and numeracy skills taught through the curriculum content, and results are reported on the same NAPLAN assessment scale. Many of the same questions appear in both paper and online tests, which helps with the comparability of results. NAPLAN results should always be interpreted with care. Your child’s teacher will have the best insight into your child’s progress.

For more information about the move online, visit nap.edu.au/online-assessment