Six practice questions at the Year 5 level, three numeracy and three grammar and punctuation, easy to hard. The last two in each set are the kind that separate Strong from Exceeding.
WhenEvery March at school. The 2027 test window is 10 to 22 March.
The testsWriting, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy, all online.
TimingNumeracy 50 minutes and reading 50 minutes. The online tests are tailored: how a child does in the first part decides how hard the next part is.
ResultsFour proficiency levels for each test: Exceeding, Strong, Developing, and Needs additional support.
Six practice questions, easy to hard
Try each one before opening the answer: the working shows the step where a wrong answer usually goes wrong.
1 · NAPLAN Year 5 · Numeracy · Warm-up
A rainwater tank held 398 litres. 92 litres were used on Monday and 43 litres on Tuesday. Then a storm added 25 litres. How many litres are in the tank now?
263
288
374
558
Show the answer and the working
Answer: B (288)
Follow the story one step at a time: 398 − 92 − 43 + 25 = 288.
Fastest method: Decide for each event whether the amount goes up (add) or down (take away), then work left to right.
The trap: adding every number in the story, or adding an amount that should be taken away
2 · NAPLAN Year 5 · Grammar and punctuation · Warm-up
I ____ of a great name for our new kitten last night. Which word or words complete this sentence correctly?
thought
thoughted
think
thinked
Show the answer and the working
Answer: A (thought)
"thought": I thought of a great name for our new kitten last night. Here the past tense of "think" is "thought".
Fastest method: Look just before the gap. After has, have, had, was or were, use the 'have' form (hidden, eaten, written). With no helper and a past time, use the past tense (hid, ate, wrote). Some verbs are followed by -ing (enjoy, finish, keep) and some by 'to' (decide, hope, want).
The trap: using the 'have' form on its own (I seen, we done) or adding -ed to an irregular verb (bringed, teached)
3 · NAPLAN Year 5 · Numeracy · Middle of the paper
A movie starts at 4:20 pm. How is this time written on a 24-hour clock?
15:20
14:20
04:20
16:20
Show the answer and the working
Answer: D (16:20)
For pm times after 1 pm, add 12 to the hour: 4 + 12 = 16, so 4:20 pm is 16:20.
Fastest method: On a 24-hour clock the afternoon hours go on from 12 (1 pm is 13:00). To find a length of time, count on to the next o'clock first.
The trap: writing the pm time without adding 12, or adding 10
4 · NAPLAN Year 5 · Grammar and punctuation · Middle of the paper
The water was freezing, ____ we still swam out to the pontoon. Which word or words complete this sentence correctly?
but
because
so
unless
Show the answer and the working
Answer: A (but)
"but": The water was freezing, but we still swam out to the pontoon. Here "but" joins two ideas that contrast: freezing water, yet we still swam.
Fastest method: Work out how the two parts are linked: a reason (because), a result (so), a surprise (although, even though), a condition (if, unless), a time (when, while, until, after, since), a purpose (so that), or a choice (or, whether). Then pick the word that says exactly that.
The trap: choosing a joining word that fits the grammar but says the wrong thing (because where the sentence needs although)
5 · NAPLAN Year 5 · Numeracy · The hard end
The diagram shows the plan of a lawn. All the corners are right angles. What is the perimeter of the lawn?
Write a whole number.
Show the answer and the working
Answer: 38 m
The two unmarked inside edges are 9 − 5 = 4 m and 10 − 8 = 2 m. Perimeter = 9 + 10 + 5 + 8 + 4 + 2 = 38 m.
Fastest method: Work out every unmarked side first from the sides you know (opposite sides of a rectangle match). Then add all the sides, or split the shape into rectangles.
The trap: adding only the four marked sides, or leaving out the two inside edges
6 · NAPLAN Year 5 · Grammar and punctuation · The hard end
[We] swam in the [lake] [and] [in] the river. Which word in square brackets could be left out of this sentence without changing its meaning?
and
in
lake
We
Show the answer and the working
Answer: B (in)
"in" can be left out: We swam in the lake and the river. The second place word is already understood from the first, so it can go. Leaving out any of the other words in brackets loses information or breaks the sentence.
Fastest method: Read the sentence again without each word in square brackets in turn. If it still makes sense AND tells you exactly the same things, that word can go. Small words can matter (to, the, by) and a word that appears twice is not always the one: check that its meaning is really understood without it.
The trap: leaving out a describing word (red, junior) that carries information, or a small word that the sentence needs
Numeracy: large numbers and decimals, the four operations, fractions of amounts, money and change, time and timetables, area and perimeter, angles, maps and grids, data and chance.
Grammar and punctuation: commas in lists and after opening phrases, quotation marks, apostrophes of possession, brackets, verb agreement, pronouns, adverbs.
Reading and writing are practised on the site too: reading on passages of the official length, and a weekly writing piece marked on the official rubric.
How the practice works
A free diagnostic first: it finds the skills not yet held and names the step behind every miss.
Then every week: a 20-question practice paper on those skills, a mock on Saturday on the real clock, and a report to you on Sunday.
Marked by code; a wrong answer is worked through step by step before the right one is shown.
Questions parents ask
What is a good NAPLAN result in Year 5?
The top proficiency level is Exceeding; Strong means the child meets the expectation for Year 5. The practice here leans towards the questions that decide Exceeding.
Is there a calculator in Year 5 numeracy?
Calculator questions are a feature of the Year 7 and Year 9 tests. Practise Year 5 numeracy without one.
Are these real NAPLAN questions?
No. No NAPLAN test item is reproduced. Each question is an original variation, calibrated on the official item descriptors and the share of children who got each real item right.