Public Demonstration Site User Guide
Public demonstration site
User guide
NAPLAN Online
October 2016
Public Demonstration Site User Guide
Contents
Starting the tests .................................................................................................. 3
Session code screen ................................................................................................. 3
Student code screen ................................................................................................. 3
Identity confirmation screen....................................................................................... 4
Test holding screen ................................................................................................... 4
Navigating through the tests.............................................................................. 5
Question Number ...................................................................................................... 5
Back / Next/ Flag ....................................................................................................... 5
Progress summary screen......................................................................................... 5
Filtering the progress summary screen............................................................... 6
Sections of the test .................................................................................................... 6
Locked sections ........................................................................................................ 7
Tools in the demonstration tests ...................................................................... 8
Zoom ......................................................................................................................... 8
Timer ......................................................................................................................... 8
Reading tests ........................................................................................................ 9
Multiple texts ........................................................................................................... 10
Conventions of Language tests.................................................................. 11
Spelling dictation questions ..................................................................................... 11
Play / pause ............................................................................................................ 11
Volume .................................................................................................................... 12
Progress bar............................................................................................................ 12
Writing tests ........................................................................................................ 13
Writing prompt ......................................................................................................... 13
Writing response page ............................................................................................ 14
Writing tools ..................................................................................................... 14
Paragraphs and line spacing ............................................................................ 15
Navigating in the writing test.................................................................................... 15
Numeracy tests ................................................................................................... 16
Question types .................................................................................................... 17
Multiple choice ........................................................................................................ 17
Multiple choices ....................................................................................................... 17
Checkbox ................................................................................................................ 18
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Public Demonstration Site User Guide
Text entry ................................................................................................................ 18
Drop-down list ......................................................................................................... 19
Hot text.................................................................................................................... 19
Hotspot.................................................................................................................... 20
Draw lines ............................................................................................................... 21
Place items in the correct order ............................................................................... 22
Drag and drop ......................................................................................................... 23
Finishing the test ................................................................................................ 26
Progress summary screen....................................................................................... 26
Confirmation screen ................................................................................................ 26
Exit screen .............................................................................................................. 27
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Public Demonstration Site User Guide
STARTING THE TESTS
The demonstration tests are designed to closely match the experience of NAPLAN
tests. This includes the introductory screens which are presented when you click on a
test link.
In NAPLAN, students will type information to identify themselves and register
themselves to a test session. In the demonstration tests, this information will be
completed automatically.
Session code screen
Student code screen
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Public Demonstration Site User Guide
Identity confirmation screen
Test holding screen
In NAPLAN tests, students will be held at this point until the test administrator allows
the session to start.
Some NAPLAN tests will have practice questions; in those tests, the blue bar will
direct students to the practice questions rather than straight to the test.
In the demonstration tests, you can start by clicking Test.
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Public Demonstration Site User Guide
NAVIGATING THROUGH THE TESTS
Question Number
Your current question number is displayed at the top of the screen.
Back / Next/ Flag
At the bottom of your screen, there are three buttons.
The Back button takes you back to the previous question.
The Next button takes you to the next question.
The Flag button lets you flag or highlight a question that you might want to come
back to later. To turn on the flag for a question, click on the flag, and to turn it off,
click on it again.
Progress summary screen
You can check your progress at any time by clicking the blue grid icon next to the
question number.
This will bring up the progress summary screen. Clicking on the icon again will return
you to your position in the test.
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In the screen above:
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13 questions have been answered.
2 have not been answered (Questions 7 and 11)
2 have been flagged to return to later (Questions 6 and 11)
Clicking on a question number in the progress summary screen will take you to that
question, provided you have already seen that question. You can’t jump ahead by
using the progress summary screen.
Filtering the progress summary screen
Clicking on Show All, Answered, Not Answered, Not Read or Flagged will filter the
screen to show only those questions.
Here, clicking on Not answered has filtered to show only Questions 7 and 11.
Sections of the test
The tests are designed in sections. In NAPLAN, your answers to one section of the
test will determine the next section you see, so it is important to check your answers
at the end of each section.
At the end of a test section, you will see a notification screen that will remind you to
check your answers before proceeding to the next section. You can click Back, or
use the progress summary screen.
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Locked sections
The Numeracy tests for Years 7 and 9 start with a section in which the calculator tool
is not available. Once you have finished this section, you will not be able to change
your answers. This is so that you will not be able to use the calculator to answer noncalculator questions. In NAPLAN, you will not even be able to return to these
questions; in the demonstration tests, you can return, but your answers cannot be
changed.
At the end of the non-calculator section, this will be explained on a notification
screen. Check your answers carefully. You can click Back, or use the progress
summary screen.
Once you have moved on to the next section, the progress summary screen will
show that the questions in the non-calculator section are locked.
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Public Demonstration Site User Guide
TOOLS IN THE DEMONSTRATION TESTS
The tests offer many tools. Not all tools will be available in each test; this will depend
on the domain and year level. For example, the calculator tool is only available in the
Numeracy tests for years 7 and 9.
Zoom
In the top left hand corner is a Zoom icon.
The Zoom icon makes the screen go bigger or smaller. Click on the Zoom to choose
an option of 150, 200 or 300%. Click on the same icon to turn magnification off.
When you move questions the zoom will reset to 100%. You may need to use the
scroll bar as a result of changing the magnification.
Timer
The timer is next to the zoom icon.
This tells you how much time you have spent on the test. You can choose whether
you display or hide the timer by clicking on Hide/Display, but the timer will always be
locked to display in the last five minutes of the test.
The demonstration tests show the same time allocated as the NAPLAN tests, even
though they are mini-tests with fewer questions; you can take the time you need to
familiarise yourself with the test features.
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Public Demonstration Site User Guide
READING TESTS
In the Reading tests, you will have to read one or more texts. The texts and
questions will appear side-by-side.
You can click on the arrow between the text and the question to expand the text. This
will show the text alone, without the question.
You can return to the split-screen view by clicking the arrow again. It is still to the
right of the text, but now at the right of the screen.
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Multiple texts
When the question refers to two different texts, these can be viewed by clicking on
their title tabs.
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Public Demonstration Site User Guide
CONVENTIONS OF LANGUAGE TESTS
Some questions in the tests require you to listen to sound through headphones.
In the Conventions of Language tests, you will be asked to spell words that you can
hear spoken by playing a sound file.
Spelling dictation questions
A sentence is shown on the screen with a space where the word you have to spell should be.
You can listen to the sentence and the word you need to spell using the audio player on your
screen. The audio player controls are on the blue bar.
Play / pause
The play button lets you play back the sound file. It will change to a pause icon while the
sound is playing.
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Volume
The volume control lets you adjust the volume within the audio player.
The volume cannot be adjusted higher than the level at which it is set on your device. You
may need to adjust the volume on your device so that you can hear the sound files clearly; in
NAPLAN, the device volume should be set to about 75% of its maximum level before the test
session.
Progress bar
The audio progress bar lets you select a position in the sound file to play from.
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WRITING TESTS
Each Writing test contains one prompt, for which you have to write a response. All of
the demonstration tests use the same prompt; in NAPLAN, there may be many
different prompts.
Writing prompt
When you start the test, you will see the writing prompt.
Read the prompt to find out what you should write about.
You can have the prompt read to you by using the audio player bar.
The audio player bar works the same way as for spelling items. It can be hidden or
shown using the icon circled in red at the top right of the screen.
The smaller audio icon (circled in green) is just an indication that audio is available
for this prompt. Clicking on it will not do anything. All writing prompts for NAPLAN will
have audio available.
Click on Start writing to type your response.
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Public Demonstration Site User Guide
Writing response page
The writing response page shows some of the text from the prompt, and a response
box to type your response in. There is no word limit.
Writing tools
You can edit your response with the tools on the toolbar:
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Undo
Redo
Cut
Copy
Paste
Font Sizes
Bold
Italic
Underline
Justify left
Justify centre
Bulleted list
Numbered list
These generally use standard word-processing icons and functionality. The exception
is Font Sizes: it offers 14pt and 16pt as available sizes.
The tools do not seek to replicate full word-processing capabilities. They are
designed to allow you to emphasise, organise and edit your response.
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Paragraphs and line spacing
As you write your response, your sentences will naturally wrap onto to the next line
within a paragraph without the need to press ENTER.
Pressing ENTER will begin a new paragraph – this will create a vertical space
between the two paragraphs.
To start typing on a new line without adding a paragraph space, press SHIFT +
ENTER.
Navigating in the writing test
If you want to read or hear the prompt again, you can return to it by using the
navigation bar at the bottom of the screen.
When you are finished writing, click Finish on the navigation bar.
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Public Demonstration Site User Guide
NUMERACY TESTS
For some sections of the numeracy tests, you can use a ruler or calculator. Not every
question in the section will require you to use the tools.
The icons to activate the tools can be found on the top right hand side of the screen.
Select them by clicking on the icon. Once selected the tool can be moved around by
dragging. It will remain on your screen until you close it by clicking the icon again, or
you reach a section for which the tool is not available.
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Public Demonstration Site User Guide
QUESTION TYPES
When you take a demonstration test, you’ll see a range of different question types.
For instance, you may have to click a radio button to answer a multiple choice
question, or drag a word into an answer box, or place a selection of items in their
correct order. You’ll find examples of each question type you might encounter in the
examples below.
Multiple choice
In a multiple choice question you’ll be asked to select one answer out of a number of
options by clicking one radio button. To change your answer, just click a different
radio button.
Multiple choices
In a multiple choices question you’ll be asked to select more than one answer out of
a number of options by clicking a number of checkboxes. When you do this you’ll see
ticks appear in the checkboxes. To change your answer, click on the tick/checkbox
you don’t want any more, then click the checkbox next to your new answer.
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Public Demonstration Site User Guide
Checkbox
Checkbox questions are similar to multiple choices questions, but you’ll see that the
layout is a little different. You can change your answer the same way you’d change a
multiple choices answer.
Text entry
Text entry questions ask you to write your answer in an answer box. You can change
your answer by placing your cursor at the end of what you’ve typed and using the
backspace key, or by highlighting your answer and hitting the delete key. Sometimes
the answer box will accept only certain types of characters. For example, numeracy
questions may allow only numbers to be typed, and spelling questions won’t allow
spaces in the answer.
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Drop-down list
In this type of question, you will be asked to select your answer from a drop-down
list. To change your answer, click the answer box to display the drop-down list again,
then click on a new answer.
Hot text
Some hot text questions will have possible answers highlighted, while others have no
highlighting. In both types, though, you will have to click on a word or phrase in a
short piece of text to answer the question. You will see that your selection turns darkblue. To change your answer, click again on the word or phrase you previously
selected – you’ll see that your selection loses its dark-blue colour. You can now click
on a new word or phrase.
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Public Demonstration Site User Guide
Hotspot
In a hotspot question you will be asked to click on one or more images, blocks of text,
or other items. When you click on an item it will turn green. To change your answer,
click again on the item or items you previously selected – you’ll see that your
selection loses its green colour. You can now click on a new item.
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Public Demonstration Site User Guide
Draw lines
In some questions you may be asked to draw lines between two sets of options. To
do this, place your cursor on one of the options, click and hold, then drag your cursor
to another option. You’ll see that the colour of the options turns dark-blue. To change
your answer, click on the line you want to remove (click on the line itself). The line will
disappear and you can then make a new selection.
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Place items in the correct order
“Order” questions ask you to place items in their correct order. To do this, position
your cursor on an item, click and hold, then drag the item to its correct place. Repeat
until all items are in their correct order. To change your answer, simply drag an item
to a new position.
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Public Demonstration Site User Guide
Drag and drop
Drag and drop questions ask you to move one or more items into one or more
answer boxes. These items may be words, phrases, sentences, numbers, pictures,
or even coordinates on a graph. To drag an item, position your cursor on it, click and
hold, then drag it to the correct answer box. To change your answer, drag the item
back to its starting position, then choose a new item and drag it to the answer box.
Some of the different drag and drop questions you might see are illustrated below.
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FINISHING THE TEST
At the end of the test, you will be taken to the progress summary screen.
Progress summary screen
Once you have checked that you have finished, you can click Finish. This will take
you to a confirmation screen.
Confirmation screen
Click Yes. This will take you to the exit screen.
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Exit screen
This screen may contain acknowledgements of material used in the test.
In the demonstration tests, you should close your browser at this point.
In NAPLAN tests, there are further logout screens, where students will be held until
the test administrator finalises the test session.
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