NAPLAN and the return of the pen: a technician’s reflection

Year 5 students will return to pen and paper for their NAPLAN writing test from 2028, following an agreement between Australia’s education ministers. Year 3 writing already uses paper; a decision on Years 7 and 9 is still outstanding.

Having worked as a Regional Systems Technician with Queensland’s Department of Education during the preparation for NAPLAN Online, the announcement made me pause. I remember the effort that went into getting schools ready. There were devices to organise, connections to consider and people making sure it would all work on the day.

The change announced this week covers Year 5 writing. Other online assessments will still need that infrastructure. Even so, it is an interesting moment to look back at how we got here.

Photo by Vitalii Abakumov on Unsplash.

NAPLAN began in 2008, providing a common national assessment of literacy and numeracy for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Those students are generally around 8–9, 10–11, 12–13 and 14–15 years old, although ages vary. The purpose was to give families, teachers, schools and governments comparable information about achievement and where support was needed. The Australian Government’s overview sets out that role.

The move online took considerably longer than a browser installation. A few dates help put it in perspective:

• 2012–2015: ACARA conducted research into online assessment, including trials of how students interacted with the tests and how questions could be tailored to their responses. Preparation was well underway by the middle of the decade.
• 2018: The live national rollout began. Earlier trials and readiness exercises should be distinguished from students sitting their annual NAPLAN assessments online. ACARA’s 2022 technical report records paper-only delivery from 2008 to 2017 and mixed paper and online delivery from 2018.
• 2020: NAPLAN was cancelled because of COVID-19. The rollout resumed with testing in 2021.
• 2022: The national transition to online testing was completed. Year 3 writing remained on paper, and approved alternative arrangements meant this did not literally put every student and every test on a screen.
• 2023: Testing moved from May to March, allowing results to be available earlier in the school year.
• 2028: Year 5 writing is due to return to paper under the decision reported this week.

That timeline helps explain why saying NAPLAN has been online for more than a decade needs care. Research and trials go back that far. The live rollout began in 2018, and the national transition was completed in 2022.

The practical work in between matters to me. Moving NAPLAN online meant asking schools to deliver a national assessment across very different local circumstances. Revisiting one part of that decision deserves the same attention to what happens in the classroom.

There is a learning question here as well. In the Kids News reporting by Suzan Giuliani and Samina Rakhshani, researchers discuss the importance of handwriting practice, fluency and the demands of composing on a keyboard in primary school.

I can see the sense in examining that carefully. If a child is still searching for letters on a keyboard, how much of their writing ability gets onto the page within the time available? Handwriting fluency deserves the same attention. Being comfortable using a device does not automatically make a student a confident typist.

Returning writing to paper removes the possibility of a browser or connection problem interrupting that task. It also brings physical handling back into focus: test materials have to arrive, be stored securely and reach the people marking them.

In June 2026, the ABC reported that completed Year 3 NAPLAN tests belonging to about 70 Melbourne students were missing after a courier van was stolen. The papers also contained students’ personal information. Distance and transport arrangements add further considerations for remote schools.

We still need to plan for what happens when something goes wrong, whichever format we choose.

The years spent preparing schools for online assessment remain valuable to me. Reliable networks, suitable devices and people who can support them are useful across a school’s work. We can value that effort while reconsidering which format best helps children demonstrate what they know.

I hope the return to handwritten Year 5 tests comes with time for teachers to prepare, support for students who need adjustments, and dependable handling of their work. Whether a student picks up a pencil or opens a laptop, they deserve the chance to concentrate on what they want to say.

This is the first of two reflections on NAPLAN. In the companion article, I look back at getting regional Queensland schools ready for NAPLAN Online, including small schools sharing a 10 Mbps connection.