JohnnyGreig/Getty ImagesFamilies of students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are currently receiving their child’s 2026 NAPLAN results. The reports provide information about how students performed in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy tests held in March this year.For some families, the results will confirm what they already know about their child’s learning. For others, they may contain surprises or raise concerns.So, how should parents interpret the report? And when should they follow up with teachers?Understanding the proficiency levelsNAPLAN results are reported using four proficiency levels: “exceeding”, “strong”, “developing” and “needs additional support”.A “strong” result means your child has met challenging but reasonable expectations for their year level. “Exceeding” means they have surpassed them.“Developing” indicates your child is working towards expectations. This does not automatically mean there is a serious problem, but they may benefit from support in particular areas.“Needs additional support” means your child has not yet demonstrated the expected skills and should receive extra help.But none of these labels tell the full story of your child’s learning.Remember, it is one testNAPLAN provides a snapshot of how your child performed on a particular test, on a particular day.It does not capture everything they know or can do. Nor does it measure creativity, curiosity, resilience, communication or achievement in subjects such as science, humanities, languages, arts and sport.Results can also be affected by illness, anxiety, tiredness or simply having an unusually difficult day. And sometimes other factors outside students’ control, such as technical difficulties, can impact their performance.That’s what happened this year when more than one million students experienced a technical disruption on the first day of NAPLAN testing. Affected students were unable to access the online platform for the writing component of the exam. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, which runs the test, says measures were taken to ensure students were not disadvantaged. However, if your child was affected, and their writing result seems surprising, it is reasonable to raise this with their school.Talking to your childBefore reacting to the report, ask your child how they felt the tests went as research has shown students can feel anxious about NAPLAN. Try to keep the conversation calm and remain curious to what their response might be. You might ask whether any part felt especially difficult, whether they had enough time and whether the result matches how they think they are going at school.Avoid comparing their results with friends, siblings or classmates. And reassure them NAPLAN is not a pass-or-fail test and does not determine what they will be capable of achieving in the future.An anxious or disappointed child needs to hear that one test result does not define them. When to follow upA result in the “needs additional support” category is a clear reason to speak with your child’s teacher.You may also want to follow up if there is a large difference across areas. For example, if your child is strong in most domains but has significant difficulty with reading or numeracy.A result that seems markedly different from your child’s usual classroom performance is also worth discussing. This does not necessarily indicate a problem with either the test or the school. It simply means more context is needed.Rather than asking only, “why did my child get this result?”, some questions you might ask instead are:does this match the teacher’s observations of my child?are there particular skills my child needs help with?what support is already being provided?what can I do to help my child at home?is there a plan for monitoring my child’s progress?Look for patterns, not isolated scoresNAPLAN can be useful when considered alongside classroom assessments, school reports and teachers’ observations.Teachers work with your child throughout the year and continually assess their learning. They can explain whether the result reflects an ongoing difficulty, a temporary setback or simply an unusual test performance.If there is a consistent pattern of difficulty across NAPLAN, classroom work and teacher assessments, it may be appropriate to discuss more targeted support or further assessment.Keeping perspectiveLiteracy and numeracy matter, and concerns should not be ignored. But parents do not need to panic over one lower-than-expected result.The most useful response is to treat the report as the beginning of a conversation with your child, their teacher and, if necessary, the school’s learning support team.NAPLAN can help identify questions to ask. It cannot provide all the answers.Jessica Holloway has received funding from the Australian Research Council.