Year 3 NAPLAN writing: why it is on paper

Most of NAPLAN has moved online, but Year 3 writing has not. If your child is in Year 3, the writing test is a pencil-and-paper task, and that changes what practice is useful.

What happens on the day

ACARA's writing test FAQ explains that Year 3 children handwrite the writing test and sit every other test online. Students in Years 5, 7 and 9 do every test online, including writing.

The test window page adds the practical details:

• Year 3 writing sessions on paper must be scheduled on day 1 only.
• The Year 3 writing test is 40 minutes. Years 5, 7 and 9 have 42 minutes.
• Writing is held first, ahead of reading, conventions of language and numeracy.

Your child receives a prompt, which is an idea or topic, and writes a response in a single text type: a narrative (a story) or a persuasive text (an argument). The type is not revealed beforehand, and there is no choice.

The prompt

A prompt tells the student the text type and the topic, and it may include images to help with ideas. ACARA publishes example prompts to show the format, including a persuasive one about keeping animals in cages and a narrative one called "The Box", linked from the What's in the tests page. Students in Years 3 and 5 get different prompts from students in Years 7 and 9, and prompts vary by testing day, all pitched at a comparable difficulty.

There is no Year 3 writing demonstration test

The public demonstration site has writing demonstration tests for Years 5, 7 and 9 only. Because Year 3 writes on paper, there is none for Year 3. Use the example prompts instead and let your child write the response in pencil on lined paper.

What else Year 3 sits

After writing, the other Year 3 tests are all done online, in this order: reading, conventions of language, then numeracy. The test window page gives each as 45 minutes for Year 3. Schools may split them across the 9-day window, and any child who has more than one test in a day needs a break of 20 minutes or more between sessions.

Eight and nine year olds can find the change from pencil to mouse surprising. It helps to let your child try the Year 3 demonstration tests for reading, conventions and numeracy a week or two beforehand, so that clicking, dragging and selecting text are not new.

How Year 3 writing is marked

Paper responses are marked against the same ten-criterion rubric used for the online writing tests. The criteria include audience, text structure, ideas, vocabulary, cohesion, paragraphing, sentence structure, punctuation and spelling, plus character and setting for a narrative or persuasive devices for a persuasive text. Our post on what markers look for explains each in plain English.

For handwriting, the practical message is simple: markers need to be able to read the script. Neat, clear letters help, but handwriting is not itself a criterion. Spelling, punctuation and sentence structure are.

Helping a Year 3 child get ready

Eight and nine year olds do not need exam technique. They need the habit of getting ideas onto paper. A few ideas:

1. Write a little most days. A diary line, a postcard, a short story about a pet. Keep it light.
2. Plan with a tiny map. Teach a three-box plan: beginning, middle, end for a story; opinion, reasons, ending for an argument.
3. Try one timed piece. Set a timer for 40 minutes and write one piece, then stop and read it together. Praise one thing before suggesting one improvement.
4. Use paragraphs. Show how to start a new line when the story moves to a new place or time.
5. Check, then check again. Leave two minutes for reading the work aloud under the breath, adding missing full stops and fixing words they know.

Practising with pencil and lined paper at home, rather than on a keyboard, matches what the day will look like.

Talking to your child about it

Keep the message light and true. The test is a chance to show what they can do with words, there is no pass or fail, and writing stories and arguments is something they have been learning at school. Tell them that some prompts come with pictures and that it is fine to jot a plan first. It also helps to say that a story does not have to be about something they have done: made-up characters and places are just as welcome.

If your child is nervous, practise the routine rather than the content: sit down, read the prompt twice, jot a plan, write, then read it back. A familiar routine does more for confidence than any single practice piece.

Support for students with disability

Adjustments are available for students with disability with approval from the state or territory test administration authority. A scribe is only appropriate for a student with disability who already uses a scribe for regular classroom assessment. It is not available just because handwriting is untidy, and students with a temporary injury such as a broken arm cannot use one for the writing test. If you think your child needs an adjustment, speak with the class teacher early.

Where to go next

• What NAPLAN writing markers look for
• Free NAPLAN practice options
• Writing tasks in NAPLAN-style format are in our free samples.

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Not affiliated with ACARA or the NSW Department of Education.