Around 1.4 million students across more than 9,400 schools will sit the 2026 NAPLAN tests, which begin on 11 March and run until 23 March.
Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 will complete the national tests, which assess performance in reading, writing, grammar and punctuation, spelling and numeracy. More than 4.5 million individual tests are expected to be completed during the 2026 testing period.
The assessments are designed to provide a national snapshot of student progress in literacy and numeracy and to help teachers, parents and carers track development over time.
Students in Years 5, 7 and 9 will be completing their second NAPLAN cycle since the testing period was moved from May to March and since the introduction of new proficiency levels. The additional cycle is expected to provide education authorities and governments with more data on student progress as they move through schooling.
According to the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), the assessments also provide parents and carers with a benchmark of their child’s achievement against the national standard and in comparison with peers across the country.
ACARA CEO Mr Stephen Gniel said students do not need to study specifically for the tests.
“The best preparation that kids can do is make sure they go to school regularly. Be engaged every day in their classroom learning, listen to their teachers and do their best,” he said.
“Parents and carers know how important literacy and numeracy skills are, so they can give extra support at home. There’s no need to study as it’s not a pass or fail test. This is about knowing where each student is up to.”
Mr Gniel emphasised that NAPLAN is only one component of a school’s overall approach to assessment.
“It’s also important to remember that NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment. It does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance, but it can provide important additional information about a student’s educational progress.”
The scale of the testing program requires extensive preparation, with ACARA developing more than 2,500 different questions for the assessments.
The tests will take place during a national window that closes on 23 March. Schools and education authorities are expected to receive preliminary results around four weeks after the testing period ends, early in Term 2.
Providing early results means teachers will have additional time to review the data and use it to inform teaching and learning programs during the current school year.
Preliminary data will be provided to schools for all test domains except writing, which requires additional time to mark. Schools will receive full results, including writing, from June 2026.
Parents and carers will receive their child’s Individual Student Report at the start of Term 3, while national results are expected to be published in early August.
This year’s testing window coincides with the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. ACARA said it has worked with the Islamic Schools Association of Australia and other stakeholders to ensure schools have measures in place to support students who are fasting.
Schools are being encouraged to schedule tests as early as possible in the testing window and to conduct them first thing in the morning, when fasting students are likely to have higher energy levels.
Parents and carers with concerns about how their child’s participation in NAPLAN may be affected during Ramadan are advised to contact their school directly.
