Students take the 3-day standardized Naplan test in grades 3, 5, 7, and 9 in Australia. This test helps evaluate your child's numeracy and literacy skills.

The Naplan test also shows how they develop over the years and where their strengths or weaknesses may lie academically.

There are many things that you can do to help your children learn and advance their education.

Continue reading to discover the best tips on preparing your child for the Naplan test!

1. Let Them Sleep

If you want your child to be prepared for the Naplan test, you must make sure they are getting enough rest.

For them to learn more and retain information, they need a full night's sleep. Children should get an average of 9 hours of sleep every night. Sleep is crucial for learning.

While your child is asleep, their brain can process the information that they have been exposed to. Their brain will either place this information in their long-term memory or get rid of it. By getting a full night's sleep, your child can strengthen connections and retain information for more than just a couple of minutes.

2. Work on Practice Tests

Both in class and at home, your child can take practice tests.

Naplan practice tests cover reading, writing, and numeracy skills. Having your child take these tests is crucial if they want to do well. Although the questions won't be formatted the same, it can still help them discover their weaknesses.

By letting your child take this practice test, they will be able to determine what areas must be worked on. If your child tends to do worse on the math portion, have them work through more of those types of problems.

Study guides are often accessible to students online and in school. They can use these guides to prepare for their practice tests. There are many online resources that your child can get for free to prepare.

3. Eat a Balanced Diet

Unless your child is getting their essential nutrients and vitamins, they won't be able to develop learning skills as well.

A diet that is rich in protein, healthy fats and oils, and produce can help them learn. Healthy food can help clear the mind and keep it free from wondering. If your child is not eating a balanced diet, they may have a difficult time concentrating.

Poor diets can cause gut problems that interfere with test-taking abilities. Studies have shown that your gut and brain and connected and impact each other. They should avoid extra sugar and carbs in their diet and focus on fresh foods.

The better your child feels on the inside, the better they can do on their exam!

4. Talk to Them

If you want to learn how to prepare for a test like this, you should talk to your child.

They learn more about this exam because they are the ones taking it. Discuss any concerns that they may have with them. Your child may be feeling overwhelmed and need someone to talk to.

If your child begins to not care about the test, you can also help them by explaining the importance of it. When children understand the reasoning, they are more likely to follow. All of the student scores are used to improve learning in school.

Another person that you can talk to is your child's teacher. They will be able to give you an accurate understanding of the areas that your child excels in and needs to work on.

5. Stay Active

Your child should spend time every day doing something active.

Staying fit can help them retain information better and keep them in better shape to focus. When people aren't active, their brain becomes lazy and doesn't want to make connections because you aren't moving.

Exercising is also important because it can increase the size of your child's hippocampus. Which controls learning and memory. The larger their hippocampus is, the stronger connection will become in their brain. It will also help them better retain it.

Instead of forgetting something that they studied a couple of minutes ago, they will remember it come test-taking time.

An active lifestyle will also help them learn how to prepare for a test because they will have reduced anxiety. Exercise is an excellent anxiety reducer and can calm their mind before testing.

6. Set Time Aside to Study

When preparing for a test, you must familiarize yourself with the information as much as possible.

By setting a certain amount of time aside every couple of days, your child will be able to improve their skills. One of the best ways to retain information is by looking at it and studying it repeatedly. The more that your child reviews, the more prepared they will be.

Although some people use practice tests to study, it is best to study after taking the test. Your child's test will reflect the areas that they should focus on and the ones they already know.

During study sessions, you can review similar problems with them and spend more time on the questions they got wrong. It is still crucial, however, to continue reviewing the ones they already know. Otherwise, the information can easily be forgotten.

7. Be Encouraging

Testing can add a lot of anxiety and stress to your child's life, so you must always do your best to encourage them.

You should be pushing them in positive ways to continue their learning and try to achieve their goals. If you know of any meal or family activity that they enjoy, you can also use this to help motivate and encourage them.

By taking a positive approach to their learning, they can feel more confident and prepared. Instead of dreading having to learn another subject, your child can be excited to discover more.

If your child comes to you with a lot of questions and you begin to get overwhelmed, take a break. You should do your best to answer their questions and encourage them to ask more. By getting frustrated and annoyed with them, they can become discouraged.

8. Build a Relationship With Their Teacher

If you are unsure of where your child stands in regards to the Naplan test, you can talk to their teacher.

The teacher will be the most knowledgable about your child's education and skills. By building a relationship with them, you will both be on the same page, which can help your kids in the long-run.

Talk to them about your child's achievements and areas that they struggle with. The teacher can inform you what they need to improve so that they can be prepared for the exam. Since the teachers are the ones giving the tests every year, they know what is on it and how they are formatted.

The more information that your child can relieve about the test, the better prepared they can be. Another benefit of talking to the teacher is that they know of more resources that can help your child learn.

9. Practice Writing and Reading

Since the Naplan test examines a student's literacy skills, your child practices must write and reading.

Each night you can set time aside for your child to read before bed. This will help them naturally improve skills and entertain them at the same time. Try looking for narrative books, as that is a common theme on the tests.

You can also have your child take time each week to focus on a piece of writing. By reviewing their writing and editing it with them, they can discover their errors and improve them for the next time.

10. More Time With Math

The other area that the Naplan test examines is math and numeracy skills.

Many test examples have math word problems that need to be translated into formulas and solved. There are a lot of online examples of these math problems that your child can practice, depending on what level of education they are at.

If your child has a difficult time with the math portions of the test, you can get them a tutor or speak with their teacher to learn about other options. Sometimes your child may be struggling with math assignments. This could be because they aren't getting enough sleep or aren't paying attention.

Expose them as much as you can to these math problems so that they can practice them. Just be sure that they don't get burnt out!

Get Your Child Ready for the Naplan Test

Every couple of years your child will have to take the Naplan test.

Their literacy and numeracy skills are tested in this standardized exam. Preparation is key to their success.

By utilizing this guide, you can prepare your child both mentally and physically for the test.

Be sure to check out our blog for more articles about prepping for tests and helping your child achieve education goals!