NAPLAN: What Parents Really Need to Know

Each March, families across Australia hear a lot about NAPLAN. The National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assesses students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy. But what does it really mean for your child in 2026?

First, NAPLAN serves an important purpose. It provides a consistent, nationwide snapshot of how students are progressing in foundational skills. For schools, it offers useful data to identify strengths, highlight areas for improvement and guide evidence-based teaching strategies. For families, it can be a helpful reference point in understanding how their child is tracking against national benchmarks.

In that sense, NAPLAN matters. However, it’s equally important to understand what NAPLAN is not.

NAPLAN is not a measure of your child’s intelligence, potential or overall ability. It does not assess creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, resilience or empathy.

“NAPLAN gives us useful data, but it’s only one part of a much bigger learning picture,” says Lisa Crampton, Head of Primary Learning at CSPD. “Parents should see it as a check-in point, along with other school-based assessments, rather than a judgement. What matters most is consistent growth over time and how well a school supports the whole child.”

So what can parents do?

Lisa’s advice is simple: keep it calm and keep it balanced.

“Encourage your child to do their best, make sure they’re well-rested, and remind them that one test doesn’t define them. Students experience explicit literacy and numeracy instruction every day in our classrooms within a multi-tiered system of support that ensures students receive any additional support they need quickly.”

At Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese, we use NAPLAN as a tool to shed light on our progress in lifting each students’ literacy and numeracy skills.

In 2026, NAPLAN will continue to play a role in Australian education. But in the bigger picture, it remains just one chapter in a much larger story - your child’s lifelong journey of learning and growth.

At Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese, we believe every child has the potential for greatness. Across our 80 primary and secondary schools in Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains, students are supported to thrive not only in academic achievement but in character, purpose and belonging.

Find a school and register for an Open Day near you

Written By

Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
www.parra.catholic.edu.au

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10 Mar 2026
From Facebook
Today our Year 5 students attended Parish Mass, celebrated by Father Peter. During the Mass, Father Peter reflected on the Gospel of Matthew, reminding us that God is merciful and ready to forgive. We were encouraged to always be ready to forgive those who hurt us. 💜 He quoted the gospel stating we must forgive one another 'not 7 times but 77 times'. Thank you to all of the families who were able to join us in prayer at mass today. 🙏

09 Mar 2026
From Facebook
𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨! 🎨🐘 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘶𝘯 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘭𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘌𝘭𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺! 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘺, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘌𝘭𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 🌈✨ 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘹𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘌𝘭𝘮𝘦𝘳… 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵! 💛 https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fFup8zbQUPSabsuRnzcbQI8Ni9VqKT61?usp=drive_link