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  • 2027 test, 2028 entry

What is in the selective Thinking Skills test?

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The selective Thinking Skills test is forty multiple-choice questions in forty minutes, worth a quarter of the result, and it tests critical thinking and problem solving with no previous knowledge needed. Your child sits it in the 2027 test for Year 7 entry in 2028.

Facts checked Last updated Sources

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How long is the Thinking Skills test and how many questions?

Thinking Skills has the most questions of any section, at the fastest pace. Thinking Skills has 40 multiple-choice questions in 40 minutes, and is worth 25% of the test. Every Thinking Skills question is multiple choice with four possible answers.

The selective Thinking Skills test at a glance
WhatThinking Skills
Questions40 questions
Time40 minutes
Answer options per question4 options per question
Share of the whole test25%

In plain terms, that is about a minute for each question, with no texts to read first as in Reading. It is one of four sections, each worth the same share: The Selective High School Placement Test is a computer-based test with 4 sections: Reading, Mathematical Reasoning, Thinking Skills and Writing. How the sections fit together is on how the selective test works, and the selective guide covers applying, results and offers for Year 7 entry in 2028.

What does Thinking Skills test?

It tests how your child reasons with 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, Selective high school practice tests · © State of NSW (Department of Education), CC BY 4.0

“No previous knowledge” means every question carries what your child needs to answer it. There is no list of facts to learn for this section. What counts is reading the question closely, keeping track of the conditions it sets, and checking each option against them. The questions draw on concepts from the NSW curriculum up to Year 6, and the Department says students do not need extra knowledge.

What kinds of questions are in 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 on its page. The clearest view of the real types is the Department's own selective 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 reasoning: whether a conclusion really follows from what is said, what a claim takes for granted, or what would make an argument stronger or weaker.Separating what the question states from what it only seems to suggest.
Problem solvingUse a set of given facts or rules to work out the one answer that fits all of them.Writing the conditions down on paper and ruling options out one by one.

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

What does this kind of reasoning look like?

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: a finishing order

Ava, Ben, Chi and Dev run a race. Ben finishes ahead of Ava. Chi finishes ahead of Ben. Dev finishes last. Who came second?

The finishing order, worked outFour boxes in a row, from first to last: Chi, Ben, Ava and Dev.firstChisecondBenthirdAvalastDev
  1. Place the fixed fact first: Dev is last.
  2. Chi is ahead of Ben, and Ben is ahead of Ava, so the other three run Chi, then Ben, then Ava.
  3. Check every condition against that order. All three hold, so Ben came second.

Worked example

Critical thinking: does the conclusion follow?

Everyone in the chess club stays back on Tuesdays. Mia stays back on Tuesdays. So Mia must be in the chess club. Is that reasoning sound?

  1. The first sentence says chess club members stay back. It does not say only chess club members stay back.
  2. Mia could stay back for another reason, such as choir or a sport.
  3. So the conclusion does not follow. The reasoning runs the rule backwards.

How should my child use the time?

Keep moving: with about a minute a question, one hard question should not take the time of three easy ones. Some habits that suit this section:

  • Use paper for the conditions and diagrams. Each student is given two A4 sheets of paper for working out at the start of the test, and can ask for more.
  • Find what the question is asking before working through the detail, so the reading has a purpose.
  • Rule options out. With four options, removing the ones that clearly break a condition often leaves one.
  • Calculators are not allowed in any part of the test. Any working out goes on paper, as it does in Mathematical Reasoning.

How can my child practise for Thinking Skills?

The Department's own practice tests are the place to start, because they show the real question types and the real screen. 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, 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.
  • For students with disability, practice materials are available in large print, black-and-white or braille.

A good order is the online test first, to learn the format, then the PDF sets for more Thinking Skills questions, bearing in mind they come from the older paper test. Treat a practice score as a guide to what to look at again, not a forecast. Practice and sample test results do not show how a student will perform, and selection committees do not consider them.

On paid preparation, the Department's view is plain: 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. How the results are reported is on selective results.

How is it different from the OC Thinking Skills test?

The opportunity class (OC) test has a Thinking Skills section of the same kind, but it is shorter and counts for a bigger share. The OC test has 3 sections (Reading, Thinking Skills and Mathematical Reasoning). Unlike the selective test, there is no Writing section.

Thinking Skills in the selective and OC tests
DetailSelectiveOC
Questions40 questions30 questions
Time40 minutes30 minutes
Answer options4 options per question4 options per question
Share of the test25%33.3%

The OC version of this page is OC Thinking Skills, and the two tests are compared on OC vs selective. The other selective sections have their own pages: Reading, Mathematical Reasoning and Writing.

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. Selective high school practice tests

    NSW Department of Education · page last updated 20 March 2026

    • 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.”
    • 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.”
    • Four sections, all on computerPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “The Selective High School Placement Test is a computer-based test that has 4 sections. All questions (multiple-choice and the writing question) are answered using the computer.”
    • Concepts up to Year 6PublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “The questions draw upon concepts from the NSW curriculum up to Year 6 that your child learns at school. We review all questions to make sure students do not need any extra knowledge.”
    • No calculatorsPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “Students cannot use a calculator during this, or any other, test.”
    • 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 practice tests |”
    • 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.”
    • 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.”
  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 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.”
  4. 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.”
    • No Writing sectionPublishedChecked
      The source's words
      “There are 3 test sections: reading, thinking skills and maths.”

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.

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