Australia's education ministers have agreed that NAPLAN will return to a pen and paper test for Year 5 students in a bid to lift learning outcomes.
The move follows recent data showing that while NSW Year 5 students edged ahead of the national average in writing, nearly one-third still fell below the expected standard. This has reignited calls from experts for a return to pen and paper, which research suggests is more effective for learning than using screens.
The decision, which will be subject to further advice from ACARA on the feasibility, costs and workload implications of implementation, will take effect from 2028.
"Most people would know if you write something down with [pen], it sticks in the noggin better than if you're typing it," Federal Education Minister Jason Clare told News24 Sunday Agenda.
Clare pointed to the findings of a Chinese study of 26,000 high school students which found an 18% improvement in homework results when students did a closed book exam compared to students who used AI and saw their results decline by 20%.
"What does that tell you? It tells you that’s pretty good for productivity, not good for learning," Clare said. "So they're the sorts of things that we agreed this week that we need to do."
At the recent Education Ministers Meeting, leaders also agreed ACARA would provide advice on returning to handwritten NAPLAN writing assessments for Years 7 and 9, and providing advice on handwritten NAPLAN numeracy assessments for Years 3 and 5.
The skill technology was never going to replace
According to Dr Ragnar Purje, an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at CQUniversity, good writing starts with the hand, not the keyboard.
“Writing is not simply a matter of putting words on a page. It is a complex skill involving the brain, body, eyes and hands, as well as the holistic development of fine and gross motor coordination,” Dr Purje said in a media release published by CQUniversity.
“We cannot expect children to become accomplished writers without first teaching them the physical skills that underpin handwriting.”
Dr Purje said chalk and slate offer a “simple, practical and inexpensive” way to introduce these skills, allowing children to practise, make mistakes, erase and try again.
“Once handwriting becomes automatic, children have greater capacity to focus on what they want to say, rather than concentrating solely on how to form the letters,” he said. “Writing, erasing and writing again is not wasted effort. It is how children practise, improve and develop confidence in their abilities. Repetition is one of the keys to knowledge.”
With writing once again on the national education agenda, Dr Purje believes it is time to reconsider whether some of the simplest yet increasingly overlooked teaching tools could offer significant advantages.
“Perhaps we need to stop looking to increased technology use to solve every educational challenge and rediscover the value of getting the fundamentals right,” he said. “As coaches are noted to say when problems arise, it’s time to get back to the basics. Sometimes, the way forward begins with a piece of chalk, a small slate and the opportunity for a child to write, erase, practise and repeat.”
A generation left stuck in the middle
Charles Sturt University Adjunct Associate Professor Noella Mackenzie said an entire generation of school students are now ‘in a pickle’ with their writing and typing skills.
“When handwriting becomes automatic, students can focus on what they want to say instead of using mental energy to form letters,” Associate Professor Mackenzie wrote in a recent op-ed published by Charles Sturt University.
“In contrast, poor handwriting fluency can interfere with the writing process, making it harder for students to plan, organise and communicate their ideas effectively.”
Associate Professor Mackenzie said the problem is not that students are using technology but that many have never been properly taught or given the necessary time to practice either handwriting or keyboarding.
“While early years teachers introduce handwriting to young students, this instruction often stops in Year 3, before automaticity and fluency have developed,” she said.
Associate Professor Mackenzie pointed to an example which she said summed up the findings of a study conducted with Year 7 students:
“At my primary school I was kind of taught half and half … no classes that focused on one or the other, which was bad because it meant that I didn’t learn enough keyboarding skills to be good at keyboarding, and . . . I didn’t get enough handwriting skills to be good at handwriting, so I’m kind of in a, what do you call it - a pickle?.”
Associate Professor Mackenzie said that student’s experience reflects a wider issue across Australian schools.
“When students lack automatic handwriting or keyboard skills, their cognitive load increases. In simple terms, they spend so much effort on the mechanics of writing that they have less brain power available for thinking, planning and expressing ideas,” she said.
“Research suggests that exam results are generally similar whether students handwrite or type, provided they are skilled in the method they use. Give students the choice to write exams by hand or type on a computer.”
Associate Professor Mackenzie said the debate should not be about handwriting versus typing - students need both.
“Whatever method is required, schools must teach it well and provide enough practice,” she said. “Right now, too many Australian students have been left with weak handwriting, slow typing and fewer opportunities to show what they really know.”
Why a little struggle still matters
Former head teacher James Lister is the National Head of Curriculum at Twinkl Australia, which gives educators access to more than one million teacher-created resources, including lesson plans, worksheets and digital learning tools.
Lister is also the host of The Better Question podcast which, in a recent episode, explored whether schools have mistaken technology for innovation.
He says one of the biggest challenges for school leaders is recognising that making learning easier doesn't necessarily make it better.
“Technology has enormous potential in our classrooms, but we need to be thoughtful about when we use it and why,” Lister told The Educator. “Are we helping children learn more deeply, or simply helping them get the task done? There's an important difference.”
Lister said some of the most valuable learning happens when students get stuck, make mistakes, question what they're being told and have to work things out for themselves.
“We shouldn't be too quick to remove that struggle,” he said. “Just because a student completes something quickly doesn't mean they've understood it, let alone retained it.”
For principals, this comes back to trusting teachers to make sound professional decisions about when technology adds value and when it might actually get in the way, Lister said.
“The measure of success should always be what children have learnt, not how efficiently they've finished the work.”
Rethinking how young writers are tested
Lister said the shift online raises a question schools can no longer ignore.
“When we assess a child's writing, what are we really trying to measure? Their ability to develop ideas, construct sentences and communicate effectively, or how quickly they can type?” Lister said. “The reality is that many schools simply don't have the technology or time to teach typing skills consistently.”
For children who haven't developed those skills, sitting a writing test online adds another layer of difficulty to an already stressful experience, Lister said.
“I'd like to see pen-and-paper writing assessments remain in Years 3 and 5, with a strong case for considering Year 7 too,” he said. “We can move towards online testing as students develop and solidify critical foundational skills, but there's no need to rush that transition.”
Children who are used to online testing will need some familiarisation with the paper format, although regular handwriting practice should already be part of classroom life, Lister said.
“Of course, students still need to learn to use technology confidently,” he said. “That's something we should teach deliberately, rather than expect them to demonstrate under test conditions.”
Lister said NSW's renewed focus on purposeful screen use provides a good opportunity to get that balance right.
“At Twinkl, we're supporting teachers with both printable and digital NAPLAN resources, allowing them to prepare students in ways that suit their learning needs.”