"NAPLAN practice tests" is searched by parents who want something their child can sit tonight, and the risk is that they find a hundred tests and no plan. The tests are the easy part: there is a free numeracy practice test for every year level on this site, with answers, the official demonstration site shows every online question type, and ACARA's past papers cover 2008 to 2016. The hard part is using them so the score moves, which means three tests across twelve weeks with the teaching in between. This page has what each year level is tested on, the free tests, how to run one at home, the twelve-week plan, and a printable with the plan and 20 mixed questions, five for each year level.
Download the NAPLAN practice tests twelve-week plan and 20 mixed numeracy questions with answers (PDF) (what each year level sits, the twelve-week plan with tick boxes, how to mark a test by topic, and five questions per year level with answers; two pages, free).
What each year level sits
| Year | Writing | Reading | Conventions of language | Numeracy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 3 | On paper, 40 min, narrative or persuasive | Online, 45 min | Online, 45 min | Online, 45 min, no calculator |
| Year 5 | Online (typed), 42 min | Online, 50 min | Online, 45 min | Online, 50 min, no calculator |
| Year 7 | Online, 42 min | Online, 65 min | Online, 45 min | Online, 65 min: calculator section, then non-calculator |
| Year 9 | Online, 42 min | Online, 65 min | Online, 45 min | Online, 65 min: calculator section, then non-calculator |
Every test except Year 3 writing is online and adaptive: after the first block of questions, the test branches to a harder or an easier block depending on the answers so far. Two children in one class see different questions. The practical consequences: there is no benefit in rushing the first block, a strong child should expect the test to get harder, and the score is not the number right. The window is the same for every state: 10 to 22 March 2027, with writing on the first day; the dates and the term plan are in NAPLAN 2027 dates.
What numeracy tests, year by year
| Year | Number and algebra | Measurement and geometry | Statistics and probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 3 | Place value to 10,000; adding and subtracting with regrouping; multiplication and division facts to 10; halves, quarters and thirds; money | Length, mass and capacity in metric units; time to the minute; 2-D and 3-D shapes; simple maps | Picture graphs and column graphs; simple chance language |
| Year 5 | Factors and multiples; multi-digit multiplication and division; fractions with the same denominator; decimals to hundredths; simple equations with a missing number | Area and perimeter of rectangles; angles; converting units; 12- and 24-hour time; grid references | Column and line graphs; the mode; chance as a fraction |
| Year 7 | Integers; fractions, decimals and percentages together; ratio; index notation; algebra as a language (expressions, simple equations) | Area of triangles and parallelograms; volume of prisms; angle relationships; the Cartesian plane | Mean, median, mode and range; probability of single events; data displays |
| Year 9 | Linear equations and graphs; index laws; scientific notation; rates and direct proportion; expanding and factorising | Pythagoras; area and surface area; similarity and scale; trigonometry begins (some items) | Two-way tables; probability of two events; interpreting data sets |
The test in March covers the whole year's strand, and school has reached about a quarter of it by then. That is the single most useful fact about NAPLAN preparation: a child is tested on material the class has not taught yet, so the preparation that moves a level is teaching the rest of the strand in Term 1, not more practice tests.
The free practice tests, with answers
| Year | Numeracy practice test | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Year 3 | Year 3 NAPLAN practice test with answers | 30 questions in the current style, the answers with the reason, the three Year 3 mistakes, free PDF |
| Year 5 | Year 5 NAPLAN practice tests with answers | 30 questions, answers explained, where Year 5 children lose marks, free PDF |
| Year 7 | Year 7 NAPLAN practice test with answers | 30 questions with a calculator section and a non-calculator section, free PDF |
| Year 9 | Year 9 NAPLAN practice test with answers | 30 questions on algebra, Pythagoras, indices, linear graphs and probability, free PDF |
| All years | NAPLAN writing prompts, the marking criteria and 12 practice prompts | How writing is marked, what each criterion is worth, prompts for every year level, a self-marking checklist, free PDF |
The official material. The NAPLAN public demonstration site (on nap.edu.au) has short tests for each year level in every online question type, drag and drop, hot spots, typed answers and the calculator sections, and is the only place to see the real interface before the day. ACARA's past papers for 2008 to 2016, with answers, are the best content diagnostic there is; where they are and how to use them for the online test is in NAPLAN past papers. Nothing after 2016 is released.
How to run a practice test at home
- The first one untimed, beside the child, in December or early January. The point is to find the gaps, and a timed test hides them behind pace. Say nothing during it; write down the questions the child hesitated on.
- Mark the same day, with the child, and give every wrong answer a reason: did not know, misread, slip, ran out of time. Then group the wrong answers by topic. The printable has the grid.
- Teach the topics, not the test. Two or three weeks on the two weakest topics, in the order the school teaches them, with ten minutes a day of number facts for Years 3 and 5.
- The second one timed, in mid-February, on the demonstration site's format if the child has not used it, or on paper with a timer. Now the pace matters: a child who runs out of time with the content known needs the reading-twice habit and a rule for skipping and returning.
- The third one in the week before the window, for confidence only: a test the child will do well on. Nothing new is taught in test week.
What not to do: a test every weekend from November (the same gaps, measured eight times, and a child who hates March); converting a practice score into a level (the practice tests are not on the NAPLAN scale, and the real test is adaptive); and preparing the writing test by reading about it rather than writing two timed pieces and marking them against the criteria.
The twelve-week plan, December to March
| Weeks | What happens | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 (mid-December) | The first practice test, untimed; mark by topic; list the two weakest topics | Numeracy test 1; one writing prompt, untimed |
| 3 to 6 (holidays) | Ten minutes a day: number facts, a chapter book, ten spelling words a week; one short lesson a week on the weakest topic if the family wants it | None |
| 7 to 9 (late January to mid-February) | The rest of the year's strand, taught in the school's order, two lessons a week; the online question types on the demonstration site | The second writing prompt, timed, marked against the criteria |
| 10 (mid-February) | The second practice test, timed; mark by topic; the pace rules | Numeracy test 2 |
| 11 (late February to early March) | The last gaps; the calculator and non-calculator split for Years 7 and 9; the conventions rules (apostrophes, commas, agreement) | A conventions practice set |
| 12 (the week before 10 March) | The third practice test for confidence; nothing new; sleep, breakfast, the device charged | Numeracy test 3, short |
Twenty mixed questions, five per year level
The printable has these with space to work and the answers. They are a quick check of whether the year's strand is in place, not a test: a child who gets four or five of their year level's questions is ready for a full practice test; two or three means the strand needs teaching first.
Year 3. (1) 348 + 275. (2) 7 × 8. (3) Half of 46. (4) The time 45 minutes after quarter past 3. (5) The name of a shape with four equal sides and four right angles.
Year 5. (6) 3.6 + 2.75. (7) The area of a rectangle 8 cm by 5 cm. (8) Three quarters of 24. (9) 1,000 − 457. (10) The size of a straight angle, in degrees.
Year 7. (11) −3 + 8. (12) 15% of 80. (13) $40 shared in the ratio 2 : 3. (14) Simplify 3a + 2a − a. (15) The circumference of a circle with radius 7 cm, taking π as 22/7.
Year 9. (16) Solve 3x − 5 = 16. (17) The hypotenuse of a right triangle with legs 6 and 8. (18) 2⁵ × 2³ as a number. (19) The gradient of the line through (0, 1) and (2, 7). (20) The probability of rolling more than 4 on a fair die.
Answers. 1) 623. 2) 56. 3) 23. 4) 4:00. 5) A square. 6) 6.35. 7) 40 cm². 8) 18. 9) 543. 10) 180°. 11) 5. 12) 12. 13) $16 and $24. 14) 4a. 15) 44 cm. 16) x = 7. 17) 10. 18) 256. 19) 3. 20) 1/3.
Where to get help
A 1-on-1 online class for NAPLAN with a tutor who holds a master's in mathematics: the first practice test marked by topic in the free 30-minute class, the rest of the year's strand taught in the school's order from January, the online format and pacing in February, at Australian after-school times, every class recorded, A$14 to A$19 an hour. For families in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, the city pages have the local timing.
Questions parents ask
1Where can I get free NAPLAN practice tests with answers?
2What is on the NAPLAN Year 3 test?
3What is on the NAPLAN Year 5 test?
4What is on the Year 7 and Year 9 NAPLAN tests?
5How often should my child do a NAPLAN practice test?
See how we teach this, 1-on-1 online →
Shobha
Founder and lead tutor, Science with Shobha
Teaching maths, science and English to children online since 2018. 500+ students, 20+ tutors, families in nine countries.