If you opened your child's NAPLAN results recently and saw the word "Developing" - or "Needs Additional Support" - it's natural to feel worried. You might be wondering whether your child is falling behind, whether you've missed something, or whether this result will follow them through school.
Take a breath. A NAPLAN result is a single data point from a single test on a single day. It doesn't define your child's ability, their potential, or their future. What it does is give you useful information about where they are right now in a specific skill area - and that information is genuinely valuable, because it tells you where to focus.
This guide explains what "Developing" and "Needs Additional Support" actually mean, how to use the result constructively, and what practical steps you can take to help your child move forward.
What Does 'Developing' Actually Mean?
NAPLAN results are reported using four proficiency levels:
- Exceeding: Your child is well above the national standard for their year level.
- Strong: Your child is meeting the national standard.
- Developing: Your child is working toward the standard but hasn't reached it yet.
- Needs Additional Support: Your child is below the standard and may benefit from targeted intervention.
"Developing" is not failing. It means your child has demonstrated some of the skills expected for their year level but has gaps in specific areas. It's a signal that targeted support could help them reach the "Strong" proficiency level - not a verdict on their intelligence or potential.
"Needs Additional Support" is a stronger signal that your child would benefit from focused intervention in the relevant domain - whether that's reading, writing, numeracy or conventions of language. Your school should already be aware of this result and may have support plans in place.
The old system vs the new system:
If you sat NAPLAN yourself, you might remember results reported as "bands" (Band 1-10) with a "national minimum standard." That system changed in 2023. The new proficiency levels are not directly comparable to the old bands. "Developing" is not the same as the old "below minimum standard" - the thresholds have shifted. Focus on what the current result tells you, not on how it maps to an older system.
Isabella K, Learnmate Tutor
A Developing NAPLAN result can really help the teacher, and their chosen tutor, tailor lessons to help students become stronger in that particular area or skill. It is merely a guide to ensure goals are set to improve in a certain area, and by no means is a score that is fixed in time.
How to Talk to Your Child About Their Result
How you respond to this result matters more than the result itself. Children pick up on parental anxiety quickly, and a panicked reaction can turn a manageable situation into a source of stress and shame.
- Don't catastrophise. Avoid language like "you failed" or "you're behind." A Developing result means there are specific skills to work on, not that your child is struggling overall.
- Frame it as useful information. "This tells us which areas we can focus on to help you get even better" is a much more productive conversation than "what happened?"
- Ask how they felt about the test. Some children know they found it hard. Others may be surprised by the result. Their perspective gives you context that the score alone doesn't provide.
- Separate the result from the child. NAPLAN tests specific literacy and numeracy skills on a specific day. It doesn't measure creativity, problem-solving, social skills, resilience, curiosity, or any of the other qualities that make your child who they are.
What to Do Next: Practical Steps
1. Book a meeting with your child's teacher
The NAPLAN report is most useful when discussed alongside classroom performance, work samples and your child's own feedback. Your child's teacher sees them every day and can provide context that a standardised test cannot.
Questions to ask:
- Does this result align with what you're seeing in class?
- What support is already in place for this skill area?
- What can I do at home to help?
- Is there a specific sub-skill we should focus on (e.g. inference in reading, place value in numeracy, sentence structure in writing)?
2. Look at trends, not just this year's result
If your child has sat NAPLAN before (Year 3 to 5, Year 5 to 7, or Year 7 to 9), compare across years. A child who moved from Needs Additional Support to Developing is making genuine progress, even if Developing isn't where you want them to end up. Improvement matters more than any single result.
Conversely, a child who was previously Strong but has dropped to Developing may have a new or emerging gap worth investigating - especially if the drop is in a specific domain rather than across the board.
3. Consider whether targeted tutoring could help
If the gap is in a specific domain - reading comprehension, numeracy fluency, written expression - a tutor who specialises in that area can work on it directly. This is different from generic homework help. Effective tutoring for a Developing NAPLAN result focuses on diagnosing the specific sub-skill gap and building it systematically.
Research from Evidence for Learning confirms that one-to-one tuition adds the equivalent of five additional months of academic progress, with primary school students gaining even more (+6 months on average). A focused block of sessions targeting the specific skill flagged by NAPLAN can make a meaningful difference before the next school year.
Find targeted support for your child
Learnmate connects families with experienced tutors who can diagnose specific skill gaps and build them systematically - not just help with homework.
4. Don't compare your child to others
NAPLAN measures your child against the national standard, not against their classmates. A Developing result tells you where your child sits relative to a benchmark, not relative to the child next to them. Focus on their individual progress and their individual needs.
5. Keep perspective
NAPLAN does not determine your child's future. It doesn't affect their school grades, their class placement (in most cases), or their pathway through secondary school. It is a diagnostic tool designed to help schools and families identify where support is needed. That's it.
Many children who receive Developing results in primary school go on to perform strongly in secondary school and beyond. Early identification of a gap is an advantage, not a setback - it means you can act while there's plenty of time to make a difference.
What Kind of Tutoring Actually Helps?
Not all tutoring is equally effective for addressing NAPLAN-identified gaps. The most impactful approach is targeted skill-building, not general homework support.
- A good tutor diagnoses the specific sub-skill gap. "Developing in reading" is too broad. Is it decoding? Vocabulary? Inference? Comprehension of non-fiction vs fiction? A tutor who can pinpoint the exact issue will make faster progress than one who works through generic reading exercises.
- Sessions should be structured around the gap, not around homework. If your child's NAPLAN result flags numeracy, the tutor should be working on the specific numeracy skills that are weak - not just helping them finish this week's maths homework.
- Progress should be measurable. After 4-6 sessions, you should be able to see improvement in the specific skill area. If you can't, the approach needs to change.
- Consistency matters more than intensity. One session per week over a school term is more effective than a daily boot camp over school holidays. The brain needs time to consolidate new skills between sessions.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. NAPLAN is a diagnostic tool, not a high-stakes exam. It doesn't affect your child's school grades, their class placement in most schools, or their pathway to secondary school or university. Its purpose is to give schools and families information about where a child's skills sit relative to the national standard, so support can be targeted where it's needed.
No. The proficiency levels introduced in 2023 (Exceeding, Strong, Developing, Needs Additional Support) are not directly comparable to the old band system. The thresholds have been recalibrated. "Developing" indicates a child is working toward the proficiency standard but hasn't reached it yet - it's a broader category than the old minimum standard cutoff.
NAPLAN is administered once per year at specific year levels (Years 3, 5, 7 and 9). You can't request a re-test. If you want to understand your child's progress between NAPLAN years, speak to their teacher about school-based assessments and standardised tools like PAT (Progressive Achievement Tests) that many schools use for ongoing monitoring.
If your child was unwell, distressed or otherwise not at their best on the day, the result may not reflect their true ability. Discuss this with their teacher and compare the NAPLAN result against their day-to-day classroom performance. If there's a significant mismatch, the classroom evidence is likely a more reliable indicator.
NAPLAN 2027 is confirmed for Wednesday 10 March to Monday 22 March 2027. If your child received a Developing result in 2026, you have a full school year to work on the identified gap before the next test. For a full overview of NAPLAN including test format, domains and preparation tips, see our NAPLAN Guide for Students and Parents.
Get the Right Support for Your Child
Learnmate connects families with vetted tutors who specialise in building foundational literacy and numeracy skills. Whether your child needs help with reading comprehension, written expression, or maths fluency, a tutor on Learnmate can diagnose the specific gap and work on it systematically. No lock-in contracts - book sessions as you need them.
