Policy context

Since 2008, all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are tested annually using a common assessment tool under the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). Each year in May, over one million students nationally sit the NAPLAN tests. The students are assessed in the domains of reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.¹

The NAPLAN national minimum standard is “the agreed minimum acceptable standard of knowledge and skills without which a student will have difficulty making sufficient progress at school”.² This tool is administered by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).