Learning and Teaching

All students who participate in NAPLAN should have received individual student reports (ISRs) which were provided to schools from the start of Term 3.

Since 2023, NAPLAN individual student results are reported against proficiency standards to provide parents and carers clear information on student achievement. The standards are set to a challenging but reasonable level expected for students at the time of NAPLAN testing. 

Reading a NAPLAN individual student report

The front page of the student report provides general information about the tests and an explanation of how to read the report. The second and third pages show the student’s result in each assessment area. The results are classified into one of 4 proficiency levels: Exceeding, Strong, Developing and Needs additional support. The report shows the student’s achievement against the national average for their year (shown as a black triangle) and the range of achievement for the middle 60% of students in their year level (shown as a light shaded rectangle). The final page of the report provides a brief summary of the skills typically demonstrated by students at each proficiency level.

• Exceeding (above standard): the student’s result exceeds expectations at the time of testing. 
• Strong (standard): the student’s result meets challenging but reasonable expectations at the time of testing and demonstrates skills within an average range. These students can still be performing below standard in some areas.
• Developing (below standard): the student’s result indicates that they are working towards expectations at the time of testing.
• Needs additional support (below standard): the student’s result indicates that they are not achieving the learning outcomes that are expected at the time of testing. They are likely to need additional support to progress satisfactorily.

The descriptions aim to provide a fair summary of typical skills and understandings for a student at the level. It is important to note that individual students may demonstrate different skills or understandings depending on which parts of the tests they performed more strongly in. Students whose results fall near the top of a proficiency level will be able to demonstrate more of the skills, or more complex understanding. Students whose results fall near the lower end of a level will be able to demonstrate fewer of the skills, or less complex understanding. Short summaries of these descriptions for the relevant year level are included in NAPLAN individual student reports (ISRs) provided to parents and carers. It is important to note that there are slight variations between assessment areas. 

Is it only students in the ‘Needs additional support’ level who need specific support?

The ‘Needs additional support’ proficiency level is intended to identify students who are at risk of not progressing satisfactorily at school. Students with results in other levels may also need support in particular areas. 

Teachers use the information in these assessments together with their own knowledge of a student to identify if support is required for students in levels other than ‘Needs additional support’.

Laura Leung

Learning and Teaching