The Selective Placement Test is a test that students sit in March of Year 6 to gain entry into a Selective High School.

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The Selective High School Placement Test has been designed to allow students to demonstrate their abilities across a range of areas, including reading, mathematical reasoning, thinking skills and writing.

Selective high schools cater for academically gifted students with high potential who may otherwise be without sufficient classmates of their own academic standard.

There are fully selective, partially selective and agricultural high schools offering Year 7 placement throughout NSW.

The test consists of four sections and is structured as follows:

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Reading

Mathematical Reasoning

Thinking Skills

Writing

The reading test consists of 30 questions. Students have 40 minutes to complete the test. The questions are based on a diverse range of texts and assess a range of reading skills.

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The reading test questions are based on different genres such as non-fiction, fiction, poetry, magazine articles and reports.

The mathematical reasoning test consists of 35 questions. Students have 40 minutes to complete the test. The questions are all multiple choice.

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The mathematical reasoning test assesses the student’s ability to apply mathematical understanding and knowledge to problems, with questions drawn from a range of mathematical content areas.

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Calculators are not used in the mathematical reasoning test.

The thinking skills test consists of 40 questions. Students have 40 minutes to complete the test. The questions are all multiple choice.

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The thinking skills test assesses the student’s ability in:

problem solving

critical thinking

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There are a range of different question types in the test.

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Problem Solving questions

Relevant selection

Finding procedures

Identifying similarity

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Critical Thinking questions

Identifying the Main Conclusion

Drawing a conclusion

Identifying an Assumption

Detecting Reasoning Errors

Matching Augments

Applying Principles

The writing test consists of a topic about which students must write according to the instructions. Students have 30 minutes to complete the test. The test assesses the student’s creativity of ideas and ability to write effectively for a purpose and audience.

The test will also assess grammar, punctuation, spelling and vocabulary. Students who do not address the topic in their writing, regardless of fluency or creativity, will receive low marks.