For some of our parents and students, the words Opportunity Classes and Selective High School tests are commonly heard and understood. For others, these are new and there is a lack of understanding about their purpose, what they are and how they work.
So we are going to do our best and try and shed some light. Here is a good starting point for a read about Opportunity Classes: https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/year-5/what-are-opportunity-classes
You can also read more about Selective High School Tests here: https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/year-7/the-test
The Opportunity Classes (OC) are an initiative of the NSW Government and are an opportunity for academically gifted children in Year 4 to be placed in Year 5 and 6 classes with children of similar abilities. These OC are placed within various state schools – some in the Inner West include Ashfield, Balmain and Summer Hill. The test is sat once a year for placement in the following year. The tests cover content of Maths, English and General Ability through multiple choice questions.
Selective High School Tests (SHS) is similar to the OC as they are classes for Year 7-12 placed within state schools (with some high schools only having selective classes). These tests focus on the reading, mathematics, general ability and writing skills of each student. The reading aspect tests interpretation abilities as it positions children to critically engage with the text and select the most appropriate answer. The Mathematics test also focus on reasoning skills rather than straight forward equations that are usually covered during school content. Students are given a stimulus for the writing task and must wright in any given format as noted in the test. This could be a speech, interview, narrative or feature article. There is also a general ability aspect has a strong focus on problem solving and analytical skills. This part of the test is not content that students generally learn in class so some may find it challenging if they haven’t had previous exposure to this content.
In order to prepare best for the tests, we recommend the following:
- Practice: Complete as many practice papers as possible to have exposure to the types of questions that are being asked. The style of questions asked in the OC and SHS are uniquely different to ordinary class work so it is important that the day of the test isn’t the first time you see the paper.
- Read: Ensure that you read each question carefully. Sometimes understanding exactly what the question is asking of you is half the battle. We often find that when our students answer incorrectly, it’s not because they don’t understand the question but rather have misinterpreted what is being asked.
- Instructions: It is important that you follow the instructions and complete the answer sheet correctly. If you don’t complete the answer sheets correctly, the computers won’t be able to read it and then you might lose your answers.
If you’d like our tutors to assist your child prepare, please get in touch as we would love to help!