The move to online NAPLAN testing will be delayed and could still be several years away, despite the federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne's push to have all students sitting the exams via the web no later than 2016.
It is understood many schools will not be ready for the planned roll-out of the online national literacy and numeracy tests in less than two years, which would ensure a much faster turnaround of results for teachers and parents as well as delivering tailored exams to suit different student levels.
One of the key criticisms of NAPLAN, which tests all students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9, is the results are released too late in the school year to be used as a diagnostic tool for students, although for the first time, schools and parents will be sent reports by September 5, a month earlier than previous years.
But the push to have the tests marked and returned to schools and parents even earlier appears to have been dealt a blow because some schools will struggle to have enough computers, laptops or tablets, and the internet capability needed, to ensure the tests can be done online.
Education ministers from all states and territories, and Mr Pyne, will meet this month. It is understood the delays to the roll out will be discussed.
A spokeswoman for the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), which runs NAPLAN, said the planned roll-out date was a decision for the Education Council, which is made up of all the education ministers.
Mr Pyne said he wanted the tests online by 2016, or earlier, but the $38.4 million program to trial the online tests was scrapped in this year's federal budget.
When asked whether the roll out would be delayed, a spokesman for Mr Pyne said: "The Australian government remains committed to moving NAPLAN online and is working closely with the states and territories and the non-government sector as well as ACARA and Education Services Australia."
A spokesman for the NSW Department of Education said it supported online NAPLAN testing and was "working towards the move".
"There is more work that needs to be undertaken before this move is made," the spokesman said. "This includes ensuring school, student and teacher readiness. We have a NSW plan for online testing and we are supporting an independent national review to confirm options for online testing, which will be finalised later this year."
The dean of learning and teaching at Griffith University, Glenn Finger, said the move to online testing was always going to be a huge undertaking for many schools.
"I've thought from the beginning that the scale and complexity of this would be a problem for many schools," Professor Finger said.
But Professor Finger said online testing was the way forward because it would make NAPLAN "more layered and tailored" as well as preparing students for a digital life.
"If the last pen and paper NAPLAN was in 2015, I think a switch would be flicked and it would shift education much more to a 21st century landscape," he said.
In NSW, 345,746 students sat at least one NAPLAN test this year and about 1.8 million tests were marked.
