More than 86,000 students across South Australia will start National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) testing.

NAPLAN is held in schools across Australia each year, including 715 sites in South Australia this year, with students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 taking part in online testing.

The assessment helps evaluate whether young people are reaching important numeracy and literacy goals and is tailored to each year level to assess skills in writing, reading, spelling, grammar, punctuation and numeracy.

This year, the NAPLAN testing period is between Wednesday 12 March and Monday 24 March. It is the third year the test will be held in term 1, after it was moved from May to March in 2023.

The move ensures NAPLAN results are made available earlier in the year to better inform teaching and learning programs, helping teachers to assess what support students may need in the coming year.

Preliminary results in all domains, except writing, will be provided to schools about four weeks after the test period ends.

Salisbury East High School Principal Sue Shepherd said, NAPLAN results provide our teachers with information about individual students and the range within each class.

“Additionally, NAPLAN results provide information about individual students that signposts a need for further investigation or targeted intervention”.

“At this stage of the year, we’re able to take those results and make sure we address any gaps in their literacy and numeracy knowledge to give them a great start to the school year”, said Ms Shepherd.

Tips to help students manage anxiety during the testing include, encouraging children to take their time and read each question carefully, and ensuring children have a good night’s sleep the night before and a healthy breakfast in the morning.

Read more NAPLAN information for parents, carers and the community.