How should we prepare for the selective test?

A plan for the selective test can be short and steady: a first look at the real test format now, light regular practice over summer, timed practice in the new school year and one or two full runs in the last month. The 2027 test date is not yet announced. Our estimate from past years is Expected: 30 April to 9 May 2027, so the plan below counts back from early May 2027.

The plan follows the shape of the test. The Selective High School Placement Test is a computer-based test with 4 sections: Reading, Mathematical Reasoning, Thinking Skills and Writing. Both placement tests are computer-based and held in May. Only one test is held on each test day. Because everything is answered on screen, practice on a computer matters more than it did for the old paper test, especially for Writing. Writing is one open-response task in 30 minutes, and is worth 25% of the test.

If you are starting later than October, compress the rows rather than adding hours. What each section asks, with ideas for practice, is on the pages for Reading, Mathematical Reasoning, Thinking Skills and Writing. The dates, including when the test date is announced, are tracked on selective test dates.

The Department says coaching is not necessary, and we found no Department advice on when to start. A few months of light, regular practice is enough to learn the format and the pace. The Department says coaching or tutoring for the placement test is not necessary, and that extra paid coaching will not give a child an advantage.

• The Department says the test needs no new or special knowledge, so extra paid coaching outside school will not give a child an advantage.
• The practice test pages say the Department does not recommend or endorse coaching for the placement test.
• The placement procedures say the Department does not recommend or endorse any coaching for the tests.

The questions draw on concepts from the NSW curriculum up to Year 6, and the Department says students do not need extra knowledge. In practice, that means the most useful preparation is familiarity: knowing the four sections, the timing and the test software, so nothing on the day is a surprise. Some families still choose a tutor or a course. That is their call, but the Department's position is that it gives no advantage, and it is worth knowing before you spend.

Start with the Department's own practice tests, before anything else. 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.

• The Department publishes 3 PDF sample tests, each with Reading, Mathematical Reasoning, Thinking Skills and a Writing sample question.
• The PDF practice tests come from older paper-based versions of the test, so they do not reflect the current format. Use them for the kinds of questions, not for the look of the test.
• For students with disability, practice materials are available in large print, black-and-white or braille.

All of them are on the Department's practice test page. A score on any practice test is a guide for what to work on, not a forecast. Practice and sample test results do not show how a student will perform, and selection committees do not consider them.

Ask any practice platform the same handful of questions, and judge it on the answers, not on its claims. Our interest first: SelectiveReady sells selective test practice, so we are not neutral here. These are the questions we think a parent should ask of every platform, including ours.

• Does it match the current test: four sections, on a computer, with Writing typed rather than handwritten?
• Where do its questions come from? Its questions should be its own, written for practice, not copied from the Department's tests.
• What do its scores mean? A practice score cannot tell you how your child will do on the day, and a platform should say so.
• How is Writing marked: by a trained person, by software, or not at all? What feedback does your child get?
• What exactly is free, do you need an account, and what does the paid part cost? Can you cancel easily?
• Does it promise a place, a score or a result? No one can promise that. There is no pass or fail mark on the placement test. Places go by ranking, so be wary of any promise of an outcome.

We do not rank platforms or compare named providers. The Department's own practice tests are the fair baseline: anything you pay for should add something they do not, such as more questions or feedback on Writing.

We found no Department guidance on using AI to prepare for the selective test, either as a tutor or as a marker. So anything said about AI here is our view, not the Department's.

The real Writing task is marked by people. Each Writing response is marked by two different examiners. AI feedback on a practice piece can be quick and sometimes useful, but it is not how the test is marked, and it can be confidently wrong. Treat it as a second opinion: read the piece together, ask whether the feedback makes sense, and let your child do the rewriting. For maths and thinking questions, check any AI explanation against the worked answer before relying on it.

Keep practice short and regular, beside normal school, sport, friends and sleep, not in place of them. The placement procedures say parents must not take their child out of school to prepare for the tests, and too many unjustified absences may put an offer at risk.

It helps to say out loud that the test is one day, and that a selective school is one option among several good ones. How the test runs, from the sections to test day, is on how the selective test works, and the main selective guide covers applying, results and offers. Preparing for the OC test instead? See preparing for the OC test.