Every year around NAPLAN time we get the same question from Hills parents: how much should we be doing at home? The honest answer is less cramming and more steady, calm practice. NAPLAN isn’t a test you can memorise your way through. It looks at how well your child reads, writes and handles numbers under a little time pressure, so the best preparation builds those skills slowly over weeks, not in a panic the night before.
What actually helps
Short, regular practice beats long sessions. Twenty focused minutes a few times a week does far more than a marathon on Sunday, and it keeps your child relaxed about the whole thing.
Getting familiar with the format matters too. A lot of NAPLAN stress comes from the unknown rather than the content. Once your child has seen the question styles before, the real thing feels ordinary.
Spend your time on the weak spots. There’s no point redoing what they already know. If spelling is shaky or worded maths problems trip them up, that’s where the effort should go. And because the writing task rewards a clear plan with a beginning, middle and end, a few timed practice pieces make a real difference.
The mistakes we see most
Rushing, skimming the question, and leaving no time to check. We teach students to slow down, underline the key words, and read their answer back before moving on.
If you’d like a hand, our small groups in Bella Vista follow the NSW curriculum and target exactly the skills NAPLAN tests. We also back our teaching with a money-back guarantee. Book a free assessment and we’ll show you where your child is at and what to focus on.
If NAPLAN is on the horizon, the most useful first step is knowing where your child actually sits. Our free diagnostic assessment shows you in one visit, and our guide to building strong maths foundations in primary school covers what to work on afterwards.
