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NAPLAN proficiency levels explained: Exceeding, Strong, Developing

NAPLAN reports four proficiency levels: Exceeding, Strong, Developing and Needs additional support. Strong means meeting challenging but reasonable expectations. Developing is not a fail. Here is what each level means.

Last checked against the official sources.

There are four levels: Exceeding, Strong, Developing and Needs additional support. Strong means meeting challenging but reasonable expectations. NAPLAN is not pass or fail.

The four levels

ACARA reports each student's result against four proficiency levels, with a standard for each assessment area at each year level. Its definitions, quoted briefly, are:

  • Exceeding: the result "exceeds expectations at the time of testing".
  • Strong: the result "meets challenging but reasonable expectations at the time of testing".
  • Developing: the result indicates the student is "working towards expectations at the time of testing".
  • Needs additional support: the result indicates the student is "not achieving the learning outcomes that are expected at the time of testing".

If your child's report shows Needs additional support, a calm first step is to talk to your child's teacher about what support is available.

What the levels are not

ACARA says NAPLAN is not about passing or failing, but about assessing learning progress. Standards are described as challenging but reasonable and based mainly on what has been taught in previous years.

A level is a snapshot from a few tests on one occasion. It does not replace your child's teacher's assessments.

Common trap

Reading Developing as failure. It means working towards the expectation at the time of the test. Talk to the teacher about what they see in class.

Same level, different years

The standard rises each time. ACARA says a student who achieves the same proficiency level in Year 3 and Year 5 may still be making progress.

Five scales

Results are reported on scales for reading, writing, numeracy, spelling, and grammar and punctuation. The scales were reset in 2023, so results from 2023 onwards cannot be directly compared with results from 2008 to 2022. Results since 2023 can be compared with each other.

Reading the level descriptions

ACARA publishes descriptions for each area, year level and proficiency level, written as typical skills and understandings. They note students near the top of a level show more complex abilities than those near the bottom. Read them as a guide, not a checklist.

Next, see how to read the report.

Checked against the NAP site on 7 October 2026.

Source: ACARA, Proficiency level descriptions. © Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) 2011 to present, unless otherwise indicated. This material was downloaded from the National Assessment Program website (www.nap.edu.au) (accessed 7 October 2026) and was modified. The material is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). ACARA does not endorse any product that uses ACARA material or make any representations as to the quality of such products. Any product that uses ACARA's material should not be taken to be affiliated with ACARA or have the sponsorship or approval of ACARA. It is up to each person to make their own assessment of the product.

Frequently asked questions

Is Developing a bad result in NAPLAN?
No. ACARA describes Developing as working towards expectations at the time of testing, and says NAPLAN is not about passing or failing. ACARA also says students at Developing are likely to need more support than those at Strong or Exceeding, so it is a good prompt for a conversation with your child's teacher about next steps.
If my child is Strong in Year 3 and Strong in Year 5, have they stood still?
No. ACARA says the skills needed for each level get harder as students move through the NAPLAN years, so achieving the same level in successive years may still be progress.

Sources