We sit down with families before every enrolment, and the same questions come up — which year, what is on the test, what score is enough. Here are our answers, with the official source named for every date and figure, so you can check them yourself.
Opportunity class placement: why the application year and the entry year are different, the full calendar, the three test components, and why there is no pass mark.
Four sections, each worth exactly 25%, with official question counts and timings. Plus the application calendar and the rules that decide who receives an offer.
The Department gives every school the same estimate — band A is "within 1 month". In 2024 the reality ranged from lists that emptied completely to schools that did not move a single band in four months. Here is what each of the 51 schools actually did.
Same application calendar, different tests, two years apart. A side-by-side comparison of year levels, components, and what applying for one means for the other.
Reading and Writing carry 25% each — together, half the placement score. What the Department says each one assesses, and the marking rule that costs capable writers the most marks.
The Department states that no previous knowledge is required for this section. That single sentence explains why revising school content does not prepare a child for a quarter of the Selective test.
The deadlines fix the calendar. Working back from the February application close and the May test tells you what has to be decided, and when.
What the four proficiency levels mean, which domains are tested, and why NAPLAN is not a pass or fail — plus what it can and cannot tell you about placement testing.
Private school scholarships are not one exam. Three different providers set them, schools choose which to use, and the choice can change year to year. What to verify before preparing.
Ordered the way families actually move through it, not by when we wrote it. Where the Department has not stated something clearly, we say so rather than guess — we would rather you trust the parts we are sure of. Rules and dates change every year, so check the source before you act on anything here, and come and ask us if it still is not clear.
