NAPLAN Year 9 Online Preparation, Tips & Free Practice Questions – 2025

NAPLAN Year 9

What Is the NAPLAN Year 9 Exam?

The NAPLAN test is a standardized student exam in Australia’s National Assessment Program (NAP), managed by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment, and Reporting Authority (ACARA). The ACARA NAPLAN exam focuses specifically on literacy and numeracy and takes place in the Spring of years 3, 5, 7, and 9.

Year 9 students have taken the NAPLAN test three times in their careers, so they will be used to the exam format. How well a student does on a NAPLAN test indicates that student’s school performance. Therefore, preparing for the ACARA NAPLAN test using online practice tools such as NAPLAN practice tests is essential.

 

NAPLAN Year 9 Test Sections:

Writing

The first section of the ACARA NAPLAN test is the writing section. Year 9 students will have 42 minutes to respond to a prompt with either a narrative or a persuasive essay. The prompt will include examples of what to think about as you write and what you should remember before submitting your essay.

Though students should fully understand how to plan for and execute a writing response, write with proper grammar, and edit and revise their writing, it is still a good idea to look at NAPLAN preparation materials such as NAPLAN practice tests to get a good idea of what to expect on the exam.

 

Sample Question:

Write a narrative (story) about what happened to a character or characters after reading a letter that was sent to them in the mail.

Think about:

  • Who the letter came from
  • What the letter told the character(s)
  • How the story will end

Remember to:

  • Think about the plot of the story before writing.
  • Plan how the story will end.
  • Edit and revise your writing for correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

 

Reading

The second section of the ACARA NAPLAN test is reading. Students in year 9 will have 65 minutes to read several passages and answer questions about the texts. Like in previous years, students will receive a magazine with multiple stories and answer questions about each story individually as they progress through the exam. The texts will range in genre, and students will need to answer questions about the context of the text, the author’s intent, and the conclusions they can draw from the passage.

NAPLAN practice tests will give sample questions similar to what you can expect on the actual ACARA NAPLAN exam. Using NAPLAN preparation tools is an excellent way to study for the test.

 

Sample Question:

The text refers to an object that looked archaic. This means

  1. The object was new.
  2. The object was repaired.
  3. The object was old.
  4. The object was brown.

 

Answer: C

 

Language Convention

The third ACARA NAPLAN test section is language conventions. This exam will cover grammar, punctuation, word usage, and spelling. Students will have 45 minutes to answer multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions where they may have to correct the spelling of a word or identify a sentence with correct grammar. Be sure to use NAPLAN practice tests to prepare for each question type on the exam.

 

Sample Question:

Which sentence is correctly completed by the word its?

  1. I want to go home, but ___ not time yet.
  2. Carly took her doll and ___ dress to her friend’s house.
  3. My dad made a cake and I wonder if ___ ready.
  4. ___ a beautiful day outside.

Answer: B

 

Numeracy

The last section of the NAPLAN test is numeracy. The numeracy exam takes 65 minutes to complete and has two sessions, one where a calculator is permitted and one where it is not. The questions for the year 9 students are more complex than those for previous years. Students should expect to answer questions about algebra, geometry, probability, and statistics. They will also interpret and analyze data using graphs and tables.

Because this will be the hardest ACARA NAPLAN numeracy test the student will take, preparing using online practice resources such as NAPLAN practice tests is a good idea.

 

Sample Question:

Sara is part of a monthly online book club that sends her new books each month. She pays $40 for two books each month plus $15 for each additional book she buys. Which expression represents Sara’s monthly book bill if she buys an extra x books that month?

  1. 15x
  2. 40x
  3. 40x + 15
  4. 40 + 15x

 

Answer: D

 

How to Prepare for the NAPLAN Year 9 Test?

NAPLAN preparation is essential to doing well on the exam. There are online resources that year 9 students can use for their NAPLAN practice, such as previous tests and answers and NAPLAN practice tests. These tests will allow the students to see the questions on the exam so they can study for anything they are comfortable with.

NAPLAN practice tests also allow students to practice taking the exam within the designated time that they will have on the actual exam day. Doing this online practice will boost the student’s confidence and ensure they can complete the test on time.

Lastly, students should keep up with schoolwork throughout the year and consult with their teachers if there is anything that they don’t understand. The year 9 NAPLAN exam material will include what the students learn throughout the year. Therefore, students who keep up with their schoolwork and use online practice materials such as NAPLAN practice tests are likelier to do well on the ACARA NAPLAN exam.