NAPLAN Scores Explained: Reading Your School’s 2025 Results

By Pascal Press I December 3, 2025

School-level NAPLAN results were just released on the ACARA My School website, so families can now see how their school performed in Years 3,5,7 and 9 across reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy. If you've clicked in and felt unsure what the numbers and colours are really saying, this guide will walk you through it, calmly and clearly.

What NAPLAN Results Can (and Can't) Tell You

NAPLAN is a snapshot of academic skills at one point in time. It helps show:

• How cohorts are tracking against national expectations
• Where schools are strong
• Where extra support might be needed

It doesn't measure other aspects of learning that matter, such as creativity, confidence, effort, sports, the arts and wellbeing. So treat it as useful information, not a final judgement on a schools performance.

How to Read the My School "Student Results" Chart

The chart below is an effective way to understand the results of school performance in the NAPLAN exams. Here's how parents should read it.

1. Find Your Child's Year Level
Down the left side are the tested year groups: Year 3, Year 5, Year 7 and Year 9. Each row shows the average result for that whole year cohort.
2. Read Across the Row by Subject
Across the top are the five NAPLAN areas. Reading left to right shows that cohort's average in: Reading → Writing → Spelling → Grammar → Numeracy.

So parents can scan one row and instantly see the year group's strengths and weaker areas.

3. Use the Colours Before the Numbers
In My School, colours show how the school compares to a selected group. This chart has been set to compare to "Students with Similar Background".

The legend means:

• Dark green = well above similar schools
• Light green = above similar schools
• White = close to similar schools
• Pink/red = below / well below
• Grey = no comparison available (not enough data)

The green cells in this case means the school's average is higher than statistically similar schools in that domain.

4. Remember these are Cohort Averages
This table is not reporting individual children. A green box doesn't mean every child is above average, and a white box doesn't mean there's a problem, it's simply a whole-cohort picture.

5. Check Participation
Under the results table you will see the participation statistics. High participation makes the results more reliable and gives a clearer picture of the cohort overall.

A Key Note About Comparing Years

NAPLAN scales were reset in 2023. That means:

• Don't compare pre-2023 results with 2023-2025 results
• Compare 2023 → 2024 → 2025 to see real trends

So when you look at the My School tabs, the most meaningful results is the progress across the last three years, not long-range comparisons to older data.

Ready to Support Your Child's Progress?

Seeing real improvement doesn’t come from cramming a week before the tests; it comes from regular practice in the skills and question types NAPLAN assesses.

Our NAPLAN*-style workbooks are designed to match the content assessed in the real exams. They include:

• Targeted Practice in Reading, Writing, Language Conventions and Numeracy
• Real NAPLAN*-style questions
• Clear Skill-By-Skill progression for Years 3,5,7 and 9
• Ideal for lifting students in the "Developing" area or extending a student in the "Strong/Exceeding" category

A little each week now until the NAPLAN exams in March is the simplest way to build confidence and set your child up for a stronger result next year!

Click here to explore our full range of NAPLAN*-style Excel Workbooks to help your child get their best result in the NAPLAN exams.

References

• Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.). NAPLAN national results. Retrieved December 3, 2025, from https://www.acara.edu.au/reporting/national-report-on-schooling-in-australia/naplan-national-results
• Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.). My School: Results (NAPLAN student results table). Retrieved December 3, 2025, from https://myschool.edu.au/school/48096/naplan/results
• National Assessment Program. (n.d.). NAPLAN – Results, reports, performance (FAQs). Retrieved December 3, 2025, from https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/faqs/naplan--results-reports-performance
• National Assessment Program. (n.d.). Proficiency level descriptions. Retrieved December 3, 2025, from https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/results-and-reports/proficiency-level-descriptions
• Sydney Morning Herald. (2025, December 2). How to read your school’s NAPLAN results. https://www.smh.com.au/national/how-to-read-your-school-s-naplan-results-20251202-p5nk5z.html