Around 400,000 students across 3,100 NSW schools, will begin NAPLAN Online from today.

NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) chief executive officer Paul Martin said this was the first year that all Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 NSW students would be participating in NAPLAN Online.

“Seventy-two per cent of our schools have already been using the online system for one or more years, for the others this will be their first time using the online platform for NAPLAN testing,” Mr Martin said.

“As has been the case in the lead-up to NAPLAN Online, NESA will continue to support schools during the testing period so it is a smooth experience.”

From next year, NAPLAN Online will be conducted earlier in the year, moving from May to March.

By bringing testing forward, results will be available earlier to teachers, schools, NESA and the school sectors. Earlier access to data will be more useful to inform school and system teaching and learning programs.

NAPLAN determines whether or not young Australians are developing the literacy and numeracy skills that provide the critical foundation for other learning and for their productive and rewarding participation in the community.

NSW Department of Education Deputy Secretary of Learning Improvement Ruth Owen said the tests provided schools, states and territories with information about how education approaches were working, the areas to be prioritised for improvement, and those schools requiring support in the teaching and learning of literacy and numeracy.

“NAPLAN tests are one aspect of each school’s assessment and reporting process and do not replace the extensive, ongoing assessments made by teachers about each student’s performance,” Ms Owen said.

“We are grateful to all of the schools who participated in the national Coordinated Practice Test earlier in the year.”

NAPLAN testing will run for nine days ending on 20 May.

For more information about NAPLAN Online visit the NESA website.