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What is in the OC Thinking Skills test?

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OC Thinking Skills is thirty multiple-choice questions in thirty minutes, worth a third of your child's result, testing critical thinking and problem solving with no previous knowledge needed. Your child sits it in the 2027 test, in Year 4, for Year 5 entry in 2028.

Facts checked Last updated Sources

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

How long is OC Thinking Skills and how many questions are there?

Your child has about a minute for each question. Thinking Skills has 30 multiple-choice questions in 30 minutes, and is worth 33.3% of the test. Every Thinking Skills question is multiple choice with four possible answers.

OC Thinking Skills at a glance, from the Department's practice test page
WhatOC Thinking Skills
Questions30 questions
Time30 minutes
Share of the test result33.3%
Answer options per question4 options per question
All three sectionsReading; Mathematical Reasoning; Thinking Skills

It is the shortest of the three sections, but it counts for the same share as the others, so it matters just as much. These are the Department's current figures. This page is for families whose child sits the 2027 test in Year 4, for Year 5 entry in 2028. If the Department changes the format, we will update this page. How the three sections fit into one morning is on how the OC test works, and the OC guide covers applying, results and offers.

What does OC Thinking Skills test?

It tests how your child reasons with the information in front of them, not what they have learnt. In the Department's words:

“This test will assess your ability in critical thinking and problem solving. No previous knowledge is required. There are a range of different question types in the Thinking Skills Test.”
NSW Department of Education, Opportunity class practice tests · © State of NSW (Department of Education), CC BY 4.0

“No previous knowledge” means each question gives your child what they need to answer it. There is no list of facts to learn for this section. What counts is reading the question slowly enough to catch every condition, then checking each option against them. The questions draw on concepts from the NSW curriculum up to Year 4, and the Department says students do not need extra knowledge.

For a child in Year 4, this is often the least familiar section. School tests rarely ask “does this conclusion follow?”, so a few relaxed practice questions before the day help the style feel normal.

What kinds of questions are in OC Thinking Skills?

The Department names two kinds of reasoning, critical thinking and problem solving, and says the question types vary. It does not publish a list of types. The clearest view of the real questions is the Department's own OC practice tests. The table explains the two kinds in our own words.

The two kinds of reasoning the Department names, explained in our words
Kind of reasoningWhat your child is asked to doWhat helps
Critical thinkingJudge a short piece of reasoning: whether a conclusion really follows, what must be true from what is said, or which extra fact would make a claim stronger or weaker.Separating what the question actually says from what it only seems to suggest.
Problem solvingUse a set of clues or rules to work out the one answer that fits all of them, often an order, a position, a pattern or a shape.Jotting the clues on paper, drawing a quick picture and ruling options out one by one.

These are our explanations of the Department's terms, not its official list. SelectiveReady is independent of the Department, and we do not reproduce its questions here.

What does this kind of reasoning look like?

It looks like setting out the clues, using the fixed ones first, and checking every option. Here are two short examples we wrote ourselves to show the style of thinking. They are not test questions, and real questions vary in length and difficulty.

Worked example

Problem solving: who sits where?

Four children sit in a row of four seats. Lily sits in the seat at the left end. Sam sits next to Lily. Noor does not sit next to Sam. Who sits in seat 3? Options: (A) Lily, (B) Sam, (C) Noor, (D) Jack.

The seating order, worked outFour seats in a row from left to right: Lily in seat 1, Sam in seat 2, Jack in seat 3 and Noor in seat 4.Seat 1LilySeat 2SamSeat 3JackSeat 4NoorSeat 3 sits next to Sam, so Noor must take seat 4
  1. Place the fixed clue first: Lily is in seat 1.
  2. Sam sits next to Lily, and seat 2 is the one seat next to seat 1.
  3. Seat 3 is next to Sam, so Noor cannot sit there. Noor takes seat 4.
  4. Jack is left with seat 3. Check every clue against the finished row: all of them hold, so the answer is D.

Worked example

Critical thinking: what must be true?

Every child in Ms Lee's class has a library card. Ella is in Ms Lee's class. Which of these must be true? (A) Ella has a library card. (B) Ella reads every day. (C) Only Ms Lee's class has library cards. (D) Ella borrowed a book this week.

  1. Look only at what the two sentences say: everyone in the class has a card, and Ella is in the class.
  2. Put those together and Ella must have a card, so A must be true.
  3. B and D might be true, but nothing in the sentences tells us so.
  4. C goes further than the sentences: they say nothing about other classes. The answer is A.

The trap in both is the same: an option that sounds likely but is not backed by what the question says. Talking a question through aloud like this is a good way to build the habit of checking.

How should my child use the time?

Keep moving. With about a minute a question, one hard puzzle should not eat the time of three easier ones. Some habits that suit this section:

  • Use paper for the clues and quick drawings. Each student is given two A4 sheets of paper for working out at the start of the test, and can ask for more.
  • Read what the question is asking before the detail, so your child knows what to look for.
  • Rule options out. With four options, removing the ones that clearly break a clue often leaves one.
  • Calculators are not allowed in any part of the test. Any counting goes on paper, as it does in OC Mathematical Reasoning.
  • If a question is taking too long, choose the likeliest option, note it and come back if there is time.

Where can my child practise OC Thinking Skills?

The Department publishes its own OC practice tests, and they are the place to start. The Department offers 2 types of practice test: online computer-based tests and PDF tests.

  • The online practice tests simulate the real test, so your child can get used to the test software and its tools.
  • In the online practice tests each response is worth 1 mark; questions that ask for several responses are worth more.
  • The Department publishes 3 PDF sample tests, each with Reading, Mathematical Reasoning and Thinking Skills.
  • The PDF practice tests come from older paper-based versions of the test, so they do not reflect the current format.
  • For students with disability, practice materials are available in large print, black-and-white or braille.

Use the online test to get used to the screen and the pace, and the PDF questions to talk through on paper together. The Department says the range of Thinking Skills question types can be seen in these practice tests. Find both on the Department's OC practice test page.

The other two sections have their own pages: OC Reading and OC Mathematical Reasoning. For when the 2027 test is held, check the OC test dates.

How is it different from selective Thinking Skills?

The OC version is shorter and counts for a bigger share of the result. The kind of reasoning is the same and both use four options, but the OC test is sat in Year 4 and the selective test in Year 6. The share is bigger because the OC test has three sections where the selective test has four. The OC test has 3 sections (Reading, Thinking Skills and Mathematical Reasoning). Unlike the selective test, there is no Writing section.

OC Thinking Skills compared with selective Thinking Skills
WhatOC (sat in Year 4)Selective (sat in Year 6)
Questions30 questions40 questions
Time30 minutes40 minutes
Share of the result33.3%25%
Answer options4 options per question4 options per question

If your child may sit both tests, the selective Thinking Skills page covers the Year 6 version, and OC vs selective compares the two tests as a whole.

Does my child need coaching for Thinking Skills?

The Department says no: coaching or tutoring for the placement test is not necessary.

“It is important to know that coaching or tutoring for the placement test is not necessary.”
NSW Department of Education, Selective high school practice tests · © State of NSW (Department of Education), CC BY 4.0

This section asks for no previous knowledge, so there is nothing extra to learn for it. Talking through puzzles and “does that follow?” questions at home, and a look at the online practice test so the screen isn't new on the day, both match what the Department describes. For everything else about the opportunity class test, start at the OC guide, and see how we check our facts.

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. Opportunity class practice tests

    NSW Department of Education · page last updated 22 July 2026

    • Thinking Skills: 30 questions, 30 minutes, 33.3%PublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “Thinking Skills Test 30 30 minutes 33.3%”
    • Thinking Skills: four optionsPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “For the Thinking Skills test, you'll have 30 minutes to answer 30 questions. The questions are all multiple choice with four possible answers.”
    • Thinking Skills: critical thinking, no prior knowledgePublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “This test will assess your ability in critical thinking and problem solving. No previous knowledge is required. There are a range of different question types in the Thinking Skills Test.”
    • Three sections, all multiple choice on computerPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “The Opportunity Class Placement Test is a computer-based test that has 3 sections. All questions are multiple-choice and are answered using the computer.”
    • Concepts up to Year 4PublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “The questions draw upon concepts from the NSW curriculum up to Year 4 that your child learns at school. We review all questions to make sure students do not need any extra knowledge.”
    • Official practice: online and PDFPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “There are 2 types of practice test: online computer-based practice tests PDF practice tests.”
    • Online practice simulates the real testPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “The online computer-based practice tests will simulate the actual placement tests. This helps your child get familiar with the test software and its tools.”
    • Practice marking: 1 mark per responsePublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “Each individual response is worth 1 mark. Some questions ask for multiple responses and so are worth more than 1 mark.”
    • Three PDF sample testsPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “Sample practice test 3 Section Links to samples Reading Reading sample questions”
    • PDF tests are from the old paper testPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “The PDF practice tests below are from older paper-based versions of the test. So they do not reflect the current test format.”
    • Accessible practice materialsPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “For students with disability, practice materials are available in different formats. For example, we can provide test material in: large print black-and-white braille.”
    • No Writing sectionPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “There are 3 test sections: reading, thinking skills and maths.”
  2. Placement test

    NSW Department of Education · page last updated 18 August 2026

    • Two A4 sheets of working paperPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “each student will be given two A4 pieces of paper for working out at the start of the test. They may ask for more paper if needed.”
  3. Selective high school practice tests

    NSW Department of Education · page last updated 20 March 2026

    • No calculatorsPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “Students cannot use a calculator during this, or any other, test.”
    • Thinking Skills: 40 questions, 40 minutes, 25%PublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “Thinking Skills Test | 40 | 40 | Multiple-choice | 25%”
    • Thinking Skills: four optionsPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “For the Thinking Skills test you will have 40 minutes to answer 40 questions. The questions are all multiple choice with four possible answers.”
    • The Department says coaching is not necessaryPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “It is important to know that coaching or tutoring for the placement test is not necessary.”
  4. 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.”

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