The NAPLAN conventions of language test checks spelling, grammar and punctuation. It runs for 45 minutes at every year level and is sat online, after the reading test. It's the most "learnable" of the four NAPLAN tests: most questions test specific rules, so steady practice moves results more than in any other test.
How the test works
The test has two parts.
Spelling. Your child hears a word read aloud through headphones, often in a sentence, and types it (audio dictation). They also proofread sentences to find a misspelt word and type the correct spelling.
Grammar and punctuation. Your child answers questions in several formats: choosing the correct word, dragging punctuation into place, picking the correctly punctuated sentence, or identifying a word type.
Like reading and numeracy, the test is adaptive. Correct answers lead to harder questions, so a test that feels difficult usually means your child is doing well.
What's tested at each year level
| Year | Spelling | Grammar | Punctuation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Common words, short and long vowels, simple suffixes (-ed, -ing, -s) | Verb tense, plurals, pronouns, simple joining words | Capitals, full stops, question marks, simple commas in lists |
| 5 | Prefixes and suffixes, silent letters, homophones (their/there) | Adverbs, prepositional phrases, subject and verb agreement | Apostrophes for possession, speech marks, commas after introductory words |
| 7 | Less common words, Greek and Latin roots, doubling rules | Clauses, sentence boundaries, consistent tense | Commas around clauses, apostrophes with plural possession, colons in lists |
| 9 | Academic vocabulary, unusual spellings | Complex sentences, active and passive voice, nominalisation | Semicolons, colons, dashes, parentheses |
These are typical areas, not an official syllabus. NAPLAN is aligned to the Australian Curriculum, and questions can draw on skills from earlier years as well.
The errors that cost the most marks
These are the errors I see most often when I mark student writing, and NAPLAN tests them year after year:
- Its and it's. "It's" only ever means "it is" or "it has".
- Apostrophes for plurals. "Apple's for sale" is wrong. Plurals don't take apostrophes.
- Plural possession. "The girls' bags" (more than one girl) vs "the girl's bag" (one girl).
- Comma splices. "I was tired, I went to bed" joins two sentences with only a comma. Use a full stop, a semicolon or a joining word.
- Homophones. their/there/they're, to/too/two, your/you're, affect/effect.
- Tense drift. Starting in the past tense and slipping into the present.
- Speech punctuation. The comma or question mark goes inside the closing speech mark.
How to practise at home
- Little and often. Ten minutes a day beats an hour on Sunday.
- One rule at a time. Spend a week on apostrophes, then a week on commas. Mixing everything at once doesn't stick.
- Practise dictation, not just lists. Read a word in a sentence aloud and have your child type it. That's how the real test works.
- Use your child's own writing. Circle the errors in their stories and have them name the rule. Errors they make themselves are the ones they need.
- Read widely. Children who read a lot absorb spelling patterns and punctuation without trying.
Our guide to marking your child's timed writing shows how to sort errors so you know what to fix first.
How conventions connect to writing
The NAPLAN writing test also marks sentence structure, punctuation and spelling, which are 3 of its 10 criteria. A child who improves in conventions usually improves in writing too. See our year-level guides for how this plays out:
Our NAPLAN practice bundles include four full conventions of language tests per year level, with explanations for every answer.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the NAPLAN conventions of language test? 45 minutes at every year level.
How is spelling tested in NAPLAN online? Through audio dictation (hear the word, type it) and proofreading (find and correct the misspelt word).
Is language conventions the same as grammar? It covers grammar, but also spelling and punctuation.
Can my child use spellcheck? No. There is no spellcheck in any NAPLAN test.
Sources: SCSA WA NAPLAN information (conventions of language format and audio dictation); NAPLAN 2025 information for parents and carers (test duration and order).