The short answer. There is no pass mark and no "good score" in the way most of us mean it. Since 2023 each area is reported as one of four proficiency levels, and Strong means your child is meeting the expectation for their year. Roughly two thirds of Australian students sit in Strong or Exceeding. If your child is there, they are doing fine.
Why you cannot find your child’s band
Until 2022, NAPLAN reported results on a ten-band scale, and a Year 3 child might come home in Band 4 or Band 6. Parents learned to read those numbers, compared them between children and between years, and knew roughly what to worry about.
Bands were retired in 2023. They were replaced by four proficiency levels, for a reason worth understanding: a band told you where a child sat on a scale, but not whether that was where a child of that age ought to be. A Band 5 in Year 3 and a Band 5 in Year 5 mean very different things, and almost nobody knew which was which.
The four levels each answer the question parents were actually asking.
The four proficiency levels
- Exceeding — above what is expected at this year level.
- Strong — at the expected level. This is the one to aim for, and where most children land.
- Developing — approaching the expected level, and likely to need some support to get there.
- Needs additional support — well below the expected level, and the school should be talking to you about it.
Each of the five areas — reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy — gets its own level. A child can be Exceeding in numeracy and Developing in writing, and that is normal rather than contradictory.
So what is a good score?
Strong is a good score. It means your child is where the curriculum expects them to be, which is what the test is for.
Two things are worth saying plainly, because the old band scale trained us out of both:
- Exceeding is not the target. It describes a child working above their year level. It is a fine thing to be and it is not a goal to push a nine-year-old towards.
- Developing is not a failure. It is a signal, and it is the most useful result on the report, because it names the one area where a term of ordinary practice will show up. Our five-step plan for a Developing result goes through what to do.
What about the number on the report?
Alongside the level, the report shows a score on the national scale, and a range showing where most students in that year level sit. That number is not out of anything — it is a position on a scale that runs across all year levels, which is exactly why it needs the proficiency level beside it to mean anything.
The useful thing about the scale number is that it is comparable over time. The same child’s numeracy score in Year 3 and Year 5 can be compared directly, and growth between them tells you more than either number alone.
Can my child fail NAPLAN?
No. There is no pass mark, no fail, and no consequence for the child. It does not affect their school report, their class placement, or anything they will carry forward. It is a snapshot on one morning in March, and it is designed to tell schools and governments where support is needed.
That is worth saying to a child directly, and worth saying before the test rather than after.
How does my child compare to other students?
The report shows the national average and the range most students fall within, so you can see roughly where your child sits. Schools also receive their own comparisons.
What it will not tell you is anything about your child that you did not already know. A parent who reads with their child every night and helps with homework generally has a better picture of their reading than a single test in March. NAPLAN is useful for spotting a gap you had not noticed — that is its real value to a family.
Common questions
Is Band 6 still a thing?
No. Bands were retired in 2023 and are not used on current reports. If somebody mentions a band, they are talking about a result from 2022 or earlier, or working from an out-of-date guide.
What proficiency level should a Year 3 child get?
Strong means they are meeting the expectation for Year 3. The levels are set against each year level separately, so a Strong in Year 3 and a Strong in Year 5 both mean "where they should be".
My child got Developing in one area only. Should I worry?
Worry is the wrong word, but it is worth acting on. A single Developing area is the easiest kind of result to improve, because you know exactly where to spend the effort.
Do NAPLAN results affect high school entry?
Not directly. Some selective and private schools ask for them as part of an application, but they are not an entrance exam and no place is won or lost on a NAPLAN result alone.
When do results come out?
Individual Student Reports reach families through July and August. See our full guide to reading the report for what arrives and when.
If one area needs work, start there. BrightStar is free, needs no sign-up, and practises the same five areas the report covers — with an explanation after every wrong answer. Try the Year 3 practice →
Written by Naveen, a parent in Sydney who built BrightStar as a free NAPLAN practice tool for his daughter. All content is checked against ACARA’s published material. Spotted something wrong? Tell me.