Selective School Test Preparation Online
Online tutors for selective school test preparation. The New South Wales placement test is now fully computer-based with all four components equally weighted, which has changed what effective preparation looks like.
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The Four Components
Sat in Year 6 at designated test centres on department-supplied computers, with all four sections completed in one sitting.
Reading
25% of the test
- Comprehension across text types
- Vocabulary cloze items
- On-screen scrolling passages
Mathematical Reasoning
25% of the test
- Multi-step problem solving
- Applied reasoning
- Speed under time pressure
Thinking Skills
25% of the test
- Verbal and logical reasoning
- Abstract and non-verbal items
- No prior subject knowledge needed
Writing
25% of the test
- One typed extended response
- Marked by human assessors
- Idea development and structure
What Changed, and Why It Matters
The test was redesigned, and preparation strategies built around the older format now misallocate effort.
Writing Now Carries Equal Weight
All four components contribute 25 per cent. Under earlier schemes Thinking Skills carried more and Writing less, so families who deprioritise Writing are working from outdated advice.
Fully Computer-Based
Delivered digitally at external test centres on supplied devices. Reading passages scroll on screen, and navigating between text and questions is a skill in itself.
The Writing Task Is Typed
Handwriting speed no longer matters; typing speed does. A child who composes fluently by hand but hunts for keys will lose marks that have nothing to do with their writing ability.
Bands, Not Scores
Families are not given a mark or a rank, which surprises almost everyone and makes third-party claims about required scores worth treating sceptically.
What you receive
A band per component: top 10 per cent, next 15, next 25, or lowest 50
What you do not receive
An exact score, a placement rank, or an official cut-off for any school
Placement score
Combines the scaled test components with a moderated school assessment contribution
Preferences
Families nominate schools in order; one offer is made against the highest qualifying preference
Where it is sat
Designated test centres in New South Wales, on department-provided computers
Competition
Roughly 4,000 Year 7 places against a far larger field of applicants
Test structure, weighting and placement processes are set by the NSW Department of Education and are revised periodically. Anyone quoting an exact score required for a named school is estimating rather than citing.
A Year 5 to Year 6 Project
Preparation compressed into the final term rarely produces the reasoning fluency the test rewards.
Year 5
Build reading volume and mathematical fluency. Thinking Skills rewards reasoning that develops slowly, and cannot be crammed in a term.
Early Year 6
Applications open and close months before the test. Missing the deadline ends the process regardless of ability.
Term 1
Format familiarisation on the official practice materials, including typing practice for the Writing component.
Test day
All four components in one sitting at a designated centre. Outcomes follow several months later, with an appeals window afterwards.
Frequently Asked Questions
What families ask us most often about selective placement and preparation.
Prepare for the test as it is now
Book a free assessment lesson and we will show you where your child currently sits across all four components, including the one most families neglect.
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