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  • 2026 test, 2027 entry

What do the OC results mean?

SelectiveReady is an independent practice product. We're not part of or endorsed by the NSW Department of Education.

The OC performance report places your child in one of four bands for each of the three sections, compared with everyone who sat the test; it gives no score, rank or pass mark. For the 2026 test (Year 5 entry in 2027), outcomes were released on 9 September 2026.

Facts checked Last updated Sources

Practice: the Department publishes free OC practice tests. SelectiveReady's practice tests are for the selective test.

When did the OC results come out?

Outcomes for the 2026 test came out in early September, and the appeal window closed a week later. For Year 5 entry in 2027, placement outcomes were due for release on 9 September 2026. For Year 5 entry in 2027, the last day to submit an outcomes appeal was 16 September 2026 at 11:59 pm.

OC results dates: the 2026 test (Year 5 entry in 2027) and the 2027 test (Year 5 entry in 2028)
WhatWhenStatus
OC outcomes releasedsourceWednesday 9 September 2026Published
Last day for an outcomes appealsourceWednesday 16 September 2026, 11:59 pmPublished
OC outcomes (expected)sourceExpected: 3–10 September 2027Expected

The Department's pages don't agree on when results come out. The key dates give one day, but the same page's stage diagram, the placement timeline PDF and the student page use looser or different words:

  • The application process page's stage diagram says OC outcomes come in September.
  • The OC placement timeline PDF says outcomes are released in Term 3 2026.
  • The Department's page for students says parents get a message in late September, although the key dates gave 9 September 2026.

We print the key-dates day because it is the most exact. The student page's “late September” is not just vaguer: it falls after the published day. For the 2027 test, the Department has not announced a results date yet, so the row above is our forecast from past cycles. Every OC date, with its status, is on OC test dates.

What does the OC performance report show?

The report gives one band for each of the three sections (Reading, Mathematical Reasoning and Thinking Skills), and nothing else about how your child did. The performance report is in the application dashboard: open View outcomes, then select Student performance report.

For each section, the report places your child in one of four bands: top 10%, next 15%, next 25% or lowest 50% of candidates. Pick the band shown for each section below, and the reader repeats what it means in plain words.

  1. Top 10%
  2. Next 15%
  3. Next 25%
  4. Lowest 50%
Bands show a share of students who sat the test, not a percentage of correct answers.

Read your child's report (stays on this device)

This reader is not a prediction. It only restates the Department's band meanings.
  • The bands do not show the percentage of answers your child got right. They show how your child compares with other students who sat the test that year.
  • There is no pass or fail mark for any section of the test.

So a band is about position, not marks. “Next 25%” in Reading means your child was below the top quarter of children who sat the test that year, but in the top half. It says nothing about how many questions your child got right, and it is not a school grade. The lowest band holds half of all the children who sat, so it covers a very wide range of results.

The selective report uses the same four bands, with Writing as a fourth section; see what the selective test results mean. What each OC section asks is on how the OC test works.

Can I find out my child's score or rank?

No. The performance report does not give a test score or placement rank, and the Department will not provide them.

The Department says parents, students and schools told it that reporting scores harmed student privacy and wellbeing, for example by encouraging unhealthy competition. The Department also says the test has one purpose: to identify students who will benefit from a selective high school or opportunity class place.

An appeal won't open it up either. No appeal will result in your child's test score or placement rank being given. Scores from practice tests don't fill the gap: Practice and sample test results do not show how a student will perform, and selection committees do not consider them.

This means no website or calculator can turn bands into a score, a rank or a likelihood of a place. The information to do that is not published. Our reader above only restates the band meanings, on your device.

Do the bands tell me whether my child gets an OC place?

Not on their own: offers come from your child's overall place in the test and the order of your school choices, and the report doesn't show that overall place. Parents are offered a place based on their child's test performance and the order of their school choices.

The Department gives one figure for how many children get a place:

“only about one in eight students are successful in gaining a place in an opportunity class and a quarter of students are successful in gaining a selective high school place”
NSW Department of Education, Outcomes · © State of NSW (Department of Education), CC BY 4.0

There are 1,840 places in Year 5 opportunity classes across NSW for entry in 2027. Read together, the Department's figure means most children who sit the OC test do not get a place, so an outcome without an offer is the common result, not a failure. The bands also can't tell you which of your choices a place would be at, because that depends on the order of choices as well.

We got an OC offer. What happens now?

Accept it in the application dashboard by the response due date, then wait for the school to contact you. When outcomes are first released you can get an offer from only one school: the highest of your choices your child qualifies for.

  1. Accept or decline by the due date

    Accept by the response due date or you lose the offer. You can accept now and decline later, but a declined offer can't be got back.

  2. Wait for the school

    After accepting an OC offer, the school contacts you about its enrolment procedures and orientation days.

  3. Plan for the start of Year 5

    Enrolment in an opportunity class cannot be deferred. If your child can't start on the first day, talk to the principal.

Accepting doesn't take your child off the reserve list for a school you ranked higher. If you accept a new offer from a higher-choice reserve list, your original offer is declined automatically. If you decline the new offer, you keep the original.

What if we didn't get an offer?

Your child may be on a reserve list, and offers from those lists keep coming for months. For Year 5 entry in 2027, offers from OC reserve lists continue until the end of Term 1 2028 (Term 1 of Year 6), if vacancies arise. What the reserve bands mean and when offers tend to arrive is on how the OC reserve list works.

Selective high school entry, for Year 7, is a separate test with its own application; the OC and selective comparison sets out how the two differ, and the OC guide has every OC page in order.

Can we appeal an OC outcome?

Only in limited cases, and for the 2026 test the window has closed: the last day was Wednesday 16 September 2026, 11:59 pm. Appeals are usually due 5 business days after outcomes are released. Late appeals are not accepted.

An appeal is a one-shot form, so the rules on evidence matter:

  • An appeal can include up to 3 documents. Nothing can be added once it is submitted.
  • Once submitted, an appeal cannot be edited. The Department will not ask for more evidence, and evidence sent outside the appeal form is not considered.
  • Test questions cannot be re-marked. Multiple-choice questions are computer-marked, with manual reliability checks.

The Department lists reasons it will not accept. These are not valid grounds:

  • Asking for any part of the test to be re-marked, or the performance report changed, is not a valid ground for appeal.
  • Results from the Department's practice tests, IQ tests, NAPLAN, ICAS, school reports, or scholarship or coaching college tests are not valid grounds for appeal.
  • Travel convenience, being with friends or siblings (including twins or triplets), or benefits to the family are not valid grounds for appeal.
  • Disappointment, the student's young age, lack of test preparation, educational disadvantage or a feeling the student didn't show their potential are not valid grounds for appeal.
  • Concern about changes to the selection process or the use of computer-based testing is not a valid ground for appeal.

Valid appeals go to a panel, which the outcomes page describes in two ways. Valid appeals go to an appeals panel of two principals of selective high schools or schools with opportunity classes, and a Director, Educational Leadership. Further down the same page, the Department says the appeals panel includes a selective high school or opportunity class principal and a Director, Educational Leadership. Appeal decisions are final.

Sources

Each fact on this page, the page we checked it against and the source's own words. An “Expected” date is our estimate from past years, not the Department's.

  1. Application process

    NSW Department of Education · page last updated 12 August 2026

    • OC outcomes releasedPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “9 September 2026 | Placement outcomes expected to be released”
    • Last day for an outcomes appealPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “16 September 2026 (11:59 pm) | Last day for parents to submit an outcomes appeal”
    • Results timing: stage diagram wordingPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “Year 4 Outcome September”
  2. Outcomes

    NSW Department of Education · page last updated 5 August 2026

    • OC outcomes (expected)ExpectedChecked

      Our estimate: OC outcomes came out on 5 September 2025 and 9 September 2026. Expected window 3 – 10 September 2027 (our confidence about 0.55).

    • The report is in the application dashboardPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “Select the Student performance report button to see how your child performed on the placement test.”
    • Four bands per sectionPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “For each of the test components, the report shows where your child performed in one of four bands: top 10% of candidates next 15% of candidates next 25% of candidates lowest 50% of candidates”
    • Bands are not percentage correctPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “The performance bands do not show the percentage of correct answers that your child achieved. Instead, the report shows how many other students performed within the same range.”
    • No pass or fail markPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “there is no pass or fail mark for any of the test components.”
    • No score or rank is givenPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “The Performance report does not give individual test scores or placement ranks. Test scores or placement ranks are not available and cannot be provided”
    • Why scores aren't givenPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “Parents, students and schools have told us that past reporting of scores was impacting upon student privacy and wellbeing. For example, encouraging unhealthy competition between students.”
    • The test has one purposePublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “Also, the placement tests are designed for one purpose – to identify students who will benefit from placement in a selective high school or opportunity class.”
    • An appeal won't reveal the scorePublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “No appeal will result in your child's test score or placement rank being given.”
    • About one in eight get an OC placePublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “only about one in eight students are successful in gaining a place in an opportunity class and a quarter of students are successful in gaining a selective high school place”
    • One offer, from the highest choice you qualify forPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “You cannot get more than one offer when outcomes are first released. And you will always be offered the highest choice school for which your child qualified.”
    • Accept by the due date; a decline is finalPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “If you don't accept by the due date you will lose the offer. You can accept now and decline later if you change your mind. But once you decline an offer you can't get it back again.”
    • OC: the school contacts you about enrolmentPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “If you accept an offer, the school will contact you about their enrolment procedures and their orientation days.”
    • OC enrolment can't be deferredPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “Enrolment into an opportunity class cannot be deferred.”
    • Accepting a reserve offer declines the earlier onePublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “You now need to choose to accept the new offer or decline it and keep your original offer. If you accept the new offer, the original offer is automatically declined.”
    • Appeals: usually 5 business days, no late appealsPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “(typically 5 business days after placement outcomes are released). No late appeals will be accepted.”
    • Appeals: up to 3 documents, no editsPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “A maximum of 3 documents can be provided. Note: no additional documents or information can be added to the appeal after it is submitted.”
    • Appeals can't be editedPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “Once submitted, appeals cannot be edited or updated. The Selective Education Team will not request additional evidence, and any evidence received outside of the appeal form will not be considered.”
    • No re-markingPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “It is not possible to have any test questions remarked. All multiple-choice test questions are computer-marked and manual reliability checks are already carried out to ensure their accuracy.”
    • Invalid appeal: asking for a re-markPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “requests to re-mark any part of the placement test or adjust the performance report”
    • Invalid appeal: practice tests, IQ, NAPLAN and other resultsPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “or other measurements or reports, such as IQ score, NAPLAN results, International Competition and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) testing, school reports or certificates and scholarship or coaching college testing”
    • Invalid appeal: travel, friends or siblingsPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “including but not limited to, travel convenience, attendance with friends or siblings (including twins/triplets), or benefits to the family.”
    • Invalid appeal: age, lack of preparation, disappointmentPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “parent, carer or student disappointment at not receiving an offer or not being placed on a reserve list young age of the student, lack of test preparation, educational disadvantage and the perceived failure of the student to demonstrate their potential”
    • Invalid appeal: concerns about computer-based testingPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “concern about changes to the selection processes or the use of computer-based testing”
    • Appeals panel: two principals and a DirectorPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “All valid appeals will be considered by an appeals panel. The panel will include two principals of a selective high school or school with an opportunity class, and a Director, Educational Leadership.”
    • Appeals panel: a principal and a Director (other wording)PublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “The appeals panel includes a selective high school principal or an opportunity class principal and a Director, Educational Leadership.”
    • Appeal decisions are finalPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “Appeal decisions are final.”
  3. Opportunity class placement timeline (PDF)

    NSW Department of Education

    • Results timing: timeline PDF wordingPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “Placement outcome released: Term 3 2026”
  4. Get ready for the Opportunity Class Placement Test

    NSW Department of Education · page last updated 3 December 2025

    • Results timing: student page wordingPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “We will message your parents in late September to tell them if you have a place in an opportunity class.”
  5. Selective high schools and opportunity classes placement procedures (PD-2002-0006-06)

    NSW Department of Education · page last updated 5 November 2025

    • Practice scores are not consideredPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “Results of practice and sample tests do not show how a student will perform in the test and selection committees do not consider performance on sample or practice tests.”
  6. Opportunity classes (list of schools)

    NSW Department of Education · page last updated 23 July 2026

    • Year 5 opportunity class placesPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “There are 1,840 places available in Year 5 opportunity classes across NSW.”
  7. Choosing a school

    NSW Department of Education · page last updated 18 June 2026

    • How offers workPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “Parents are offered a place based on test performance and the order of their school choices.”
  8. Opportunity class reserve list bands

    NSW Department of Education · page last updated 11 August 2026

    • OC offers continue to the end of Term 1 2028PublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “Offers will continue to be made from the reserve list up until the end of Term 1 2028, should vacancies arise.”

Quotes from NSW Department of Education pages are © State of New South Wales (Department of Education), used under CC BY 4.0.

Not affiliated with the NSW Department of Education. SelectiveReady (ABN 53 930 169 401) is an independent practice product. Every fact here is checked against the Department's own pages, and changes are logged.

How we check our facts