Why Reading Every Day Is One of the Best Ways to Prepare for NAPLAN

By Pascal Press I January 20, 2026

Reading supports multiple parts of NAPLAN because it strengthens the foundation skills underneath literacy: vocabulary, comprehension, sentence awareness and background knowledge. NAPLAN assesses reading, writing and language conventions (spelling, grammar, punctuation), and reading feeds all of them.

What the Research Says About Reading

Research syntheses repeatedly show meaningful links between reading and language growth:

• A meta-analysis of extensive reading found it supports vocabulary development (a key ingredient in comprehension and writing).
• A large meta-analysis of longitudinal studies found early vocabulary and grammar significantly predict later reading outcomes, reinforcing the long-term value of building language through reading.
• A meta-analysis on reading strategies shows students’ use of comprehension strategies is positively related to comprehension performance.

What Counts as “Reading”?

Variety helps. Mix fiction and non-fiction:

• novels and short stories
• information texts (science, history, animals, sport)
• age-appropriate articles and biographies

How to Make Daily Reading Stick (Without Battles)

Try:

• 10–15 minutes at the same time each day (after school or before bed)
• a “read together” option (parent reads a page, child reads a page)
• quick chat prompts: What happened? Why did they do that? What might happen next?

Take Their Reading Further.

Why not take their learning further? Alongside daily reading, you can pair this with short skills practice to prepare for the NAPLAN, such as spelling, grammar or comprehension questions to reinforce what your child notices in real texts.

Click here to explore our full range of NAPLAN*-style Literacy Resources to support your child’s literacy skills alongside their reading and get them from the 'Developing'  to 'Exceeding' band!