NAPLAN: Chaos as technical glitches wreak havoc in schools on first day of national literacy, numeracy tests

Technical issues have caused chaos for students across the rest of the country sitting their first day of national literacy and numeracy tests — but WA schools escaped the impact of the glitch. More than 1.3 million students were scheduled to begin the writing component of the National Assessment Program — Literacy and Numeracy testing on Wednesday. While children in Year 3 still use pen and paper for the writing test, students in Years 5, 7 and 9 sit the tests online. A problem prevented many students from logging on to the online platform. But the issue was mostly resolved by the time classes got under way in WA, which is three hours behind NSW and Victoria and two hours behind Queensland. In a statement issued just after 9am WA time, the Australian Curriculum, Reporting and Assessment Authority apologised for the disruption. “NAPLAN testing has now resumed following a widespread issue earlier this morning, which affected students being able to log on to the online platform to complete their assessments,” a spokesperson said. “We apologise for the disruption to students and schools, and thank them for their patience.” Earlier, schools had been told to pause tests while the problem was investigated by technology provider Education Services Australia. ACARA chief executive Stephen Gniel said the issue had caused disruptions in a “significant” number of schools before testing resumed. However, WA schools had not started testing for the day when the problems emerged. “Education Services Australia continue to monitor the platform to ensure students are able to complete their assessments without further issues,” Mr Gniel said. “We have measures in place to ensure students are not disadvantaged as a result of this technical issue.” Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said in a statement to mark the start of NAPLAN that it helped measure how well school systems were working. “The turnaround time in NAPLAN results is faster than ever,” he said. “What used to take months is now back in teachers’ hands within weeks. “This helps us identify kids earlier who may be struggling and help give them the support they need.” Mr Clare said NAPLAN results also provided valuable data to drive national reforms. “The 2025 NAPLAN results showed encouraging signs, but there is more work to do,” he said.