NAPLAN student reports 2008–2022

From 2008 to 2022, NAPLAN results were reported on a 10-band scale for each assessment area, which showed how students performed compared to national minimum standards.

With the transition to online testing complete in 2022, and the move to an earlier test window from 2023, education ministers agreed to change the way NAPLAN results are reported to parents and carers. This includes the introduction of proficiency standards that provide clearer, simpler information, and resetting the time series for national reporting.

This means that a student’s NAPLAN reports from 2023 onwards show their achievement using different measures from reports before 2023. The 2 report formats should not be compared directly. Results from 2023 onwards will be comparable to one another.

The information below is intended to assist parents/carers and schools referring to NAPLAN individual student results from 2022 and the years prior.

Scales

NAPLAN student results were reported using 5 scales, one for each of the domains of reading, writing and numeracy, and 2 for conventions of language (one for spelling and another for grammar and punctuation).

Each scale described the development of student achievement from Year 3 through to Year 9 along 10 bands. The bands mapped the increasing complexity of skills assessed by NAPLAN. Six bands were used for reporting student achievement at each year level.

Standards

From 2008 to 2022, NAPLAN results showed student achievement compared to national minimum standards.

The national minimum standards described some of the skills and understanding students could generally demonstrate at their particular year of schooling. The standards provided a snapshot of typical achievement and did not describe the full range of what students were taught or what they might have achieved.

Students whose results were below the national minimum standard had not achieved the learning outcomes expected for their year level, and were at risk of being unable to progress satisfactorily at school without targeted intervention.

See the former national minimum standards.

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Student reports

NAPLAN individual student reports from 2008 to 2022 used diagrams on pages 2 and 3 to show the relevant part of the measurement scale in bands for that year level:

  • Year 3 student reports showed bands 1–6. The national minimum standard was band 2.
  • Year 5 student reports showed bands 3–8. The national minimum standard was band 4.
  • Year 7 student reports showed bands 4–9. The national minimum standard was band 5.
  • Year 9 student reports showed bands 5–10. The national minimum standard was band 6.

The diagrams also showed the range for the middle 60% of students, the national average result, and the national minimum standard for each year level.

The final page of the report provided a brief description of what students had typically demonstrated in the tests at each band.

See example student reports from 2022:

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