Children in Australia take several standardized tests throughout school. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment, and Reporting Authority (ACARA) manages the National Assessment Program (NAP), which provides national and international testing for schoolchildren. As part of this program, students in years 3, 5, 7, and 9 take the ACARA NAPLAN test, which assesses their literacy and numeracy skills.
By year 7, students have taken the ACARA NAPLAN test twice, so they should be familiar with it. The format will be similar to previous years, but the content will be more difficult. Therefore, it is essential to use online practice materials such as NAPLAN practice tests to prepare for the year 7 NAPLAN exam.
The first ACARA NAPLAN test section is the writing test. Students will receive a prompt and have 42 minutes to craft a response. The student’s writing will be graded more harshly on this exam than in previous years because students should be able to create a more coherent story or persuasive argument than their younger counterparts. However, the prompt will still include examples of things to remember and think about while writing.
Check out NAPLAN practice tests to see how this prompt will differ from previous years.
Sample Question:
Imagine that you want to go to a theme park while your friend wants to go to the beach. Write a persuasive essay to convince your friend to go to the theme park instead of the beach.
While writing your essay, think about:
While writing, remember to:
The second NAPLAN test will be the reading exam. Students will have 65 minutes to read several passages and answer questions about the text. The exam has a booklet containing multiple stories and a separate packet containing the test questions.
The questions are in sections corresponding to a single story, so students will read one passage and then answer questions about that specific passage. The questions may be about particular facts mentioned in the text, or the student may have to draw inferences about what they read. Online ACARA NAPLAN preparation materials, such as NAPLAN practice tests, can provide sample passages and questions to help prepare for the exam.
Sample Question:
While technology has improved and quickened the process, it has its limitations. (paragraph 2).
Which of the following words best replaces limitations in the selected sentence?
Answer: A
The third ACARA NAPLAN section is language conventions. Students will have 45 minutes to answer questions about spelling, grammar, word choice, and punctuation. This section consists of both multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions where students must correct spelling mistakes, identify grammatically correct sentences, and select the right word to complete a sentence. NAPLAN practice tests can provide samples of each question type for students to prepare better.
Sample Question:
Which sentence contains an apostrophe of contraction?
Answer: C
The last section of the ACARA NAPLAN exam is the numeracy test. Students will have 65 minutes to answer questions about numeracy, basic operations, algebra, geometry, probability, and statistics.
This exam has two sessions, one where the student can use a calculator and another where calculators are not permitted. Students must feel comfortable with word problems, calculations, and interpreting different types of charts and graphs. Some questions will be multiple-choice, while others will be fill-in-the-blank.
ACARA NAPLAN practice tests are a great online practice resource to prepare for the numeracy portion of the exam.
Sample Question:
Sydney paid $17.40 for coffee for her and her three best friends. How much was each coffee?
Answer: $4.35
Students in year 7 will take the NAPLAN test in the Spring of their academic year. Beforehand, using any NAPLAN preparation tools and online practice tests is essential to help the student prepare for the exam and ensure a good score.
Online resources such as NAPLAN practice tests, previous exams and answer keys, and study guides are a great way to prepare for the test. NAPLAN practice tests are instrumental because they allow students to work through full-length exams where they can practice their timing and answer the questions correctly. Students will go into the exam more confident after using these NAPLAN practice tools because they will better understand what to expect and know they can complete the test within the allotted time limit.
In addition to traditional online practice methods, it is also essential for students to keep up with their work throughout the year. The material on the NAPLAN test will consist of the student’s curriculum, so if the student is doing well throughout the year, they will likely do well on the NAPLAN test. However, if there are any areas in which the student is struggling, it is crucial to identify that early on so they can get help ahead of the exam date.
Students who prepare for the NAPLAN test do better on the test than their unprepared counterparts. Therefore, ensuring the student has access to NAPLAN practice tests and other online ACARA NAPLAN preparation materials is essential.