The National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual national assessment for all students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9. Although not compulsory, all students in these year levels are expected to participate in tests in reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.

The results are used nationally and also on the My School website which provides comparative NAPLAN results for other schools across Australia.

But a representative of Lumen Christi Catholic College said that the school had "a few difficulties with the online NAPLAN" which took place on May 14. It is understood that some students, but not all, chose to re-sit the tests on Tuesday, May 28 and no further problems were experienced.

Federal, state and territory education ministers agreed that NAPLAN would move online over a two to three year period from 2018, moving it from paper-based tests to computer-based assessments.

ACARA the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority said that in 2018, 15 per cent of schools took the NAPLAN tests but in 2019 it moved to 50 per cent of schools.

Despite ACARA stating that significant planning, development, research and trialling had been carried out in respect of the online NAPLAN, a number of schools experienced connectivity issues on the first day of testing. As a consequence a further date of May 28 was given for students to re-sit NAPLAN.

ACARA admitted that up to 30,000 students across the country would re-sit the tests adding that it was the writing test that was mainly affected.

"Investigations are ongoing regarding the cause of the original connectivity issue," ACARA said.

But the disruption to the tests throws into question how the results for 2019 can be used, if at all.

ACARA said the reporting of NAPLAN 2019 results will be considered by Education Council in due course.