Opportunity Class (OC) Guide
A comprehensive guide to the NSW Opportunity Class for Year 5 & 6.
Opportunity classes and how they work can be confusing. To help you, we have created a comprehensive guide about everything you need to know - from what they are, application process, what is in the test and how results are calculated.
About Opportunity ClassesWhat are Opportunity Classes?
Opportunity Classes (OC) are accelerated streams designed to accommodate for academically gifted students in Years 5 and 6. By grouping high achieving students together, these classes aim to provide a more challenging learning environment.
Students must undertake the Opportunity Class Placement Test during Year 4 in order to qualify for entry for an OC class in one of NSW’s public primary schools.
Is OC the Right Choice for my Child?
Many factors could influence whether or not an Opportunity Class is appropriate for your child’s education.
These classes provide peers who have similar academic capabilities a high achieving environment where they can tackle more advanced materials, giving them an advantage in their future studies.
However, this academically challenging environment could potentially cause too much stress for younger children. In addition, not all schools offer OC streams so students may have to apply for a different school if they wish to enter an OC class.
In saying this, even if you are not sure the OC stream is right for your child, taking the test is always a great learning experience. This will help students become more familiar with testing conditions and allow them to develop a better idea of what to expect in future exams such as the Selective Test and any private school scholarship test.
ApplicationThe Application Process
To be eligible for the 2024 OC Test for 2025 entry, you must register and apply via the Department of Education website. A full list of steps for the application process can be found on the Department of Education website.
Any updates will be first released on the Department of Education’s key dates.
Choosing the Right School
Deciding on the best school to send your child to is always a difficult decision due to all the factors that need to be considered. Here are the main points to consider to help your decision making process.
DISTANCE
One of the major factors to consider when making a decision is how far the school is from home. For Year 5 & 6 students, commuting for long periods of time can be a huge concern, from coordinating transport to having to wake up earlier to get to school in time.
SCHOOL RANKING
Although the rankings for school vary year to year, it is a good idea to refer to previous years’ rankings to determine the quality of schools. Schools with higher quality teaching will have higher demand, and as a result higher entry scores and rank. Many of the top performing primary schools generally float around the same rank each year, making them a safe bet to apply for.
YOUR CHILD’S ACADEMIC CAPABILITIES
In order to choose the most appropriate school preferences for your child, it is important to choose schools that have an entry score that matches what you expect your child to achieve in the exam. This gives your child a higher chance of entering an OC class.
Of course, your child’s opinion is also extremely important when making the decision for where they spend the last two years of primary school. While they may not have strong opinions about the academic side of things, they may prefer specific schools because of friends, extra curricular or may not want to move schools.
For more information on choosing schools, read our blog How to Choose the Right OC or Selective School for your Child.
If you would like to discuss what the best options for your child are, feel free to contact us for a free consultation.
The TestThe OC Test
The 2024 OC Test will be held on 1st of August for 2025 entry.
The test will be a three part paper-based multiple choice examination:
Reading (30 minutes) - 25 questions
Mathematical Reasoning (40 minutes) - 35 questions
Thinking Skills (30 minutes) - 30 questions
Each section will be tested in the order as listed above with short breaks between them. Questions from each topic will be at a higher level of difficulty than what students will have attempted at school.
READING
The first two sections of the reading exam will consist of two reading comprehension articles of different genres/text types including science fiction, poetry, visual texts, news reports, and non-fiction. This is followed by a cloze passage where students must fill in missing sentences of a full passage using the options provided. The final section presents four excerpts written about a common theme. The student will then have to answer which of the four best fits in each of the questions asked.
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Identifying the text types and time period/context the piece was written will help in understanding what the author is trying to say as well as what some of the hidden meanings could be. Summarising texts to grasp key concepts are also a great way to save time in the exam.
For more tips and tricks to best tackle the reading section, read our blog Analysing Different Text Types.
MATHEMATICAL REASONING
The Mathematical Reasoning exam will examine a variety of topics including fractions, ratios, volumes and percentages. While students may have encountered all of the topics at school, the questions in the OC Test may be at a higher level of difficulty than the questions they have attempted before.
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When attempting a question, identify which topic it is examining and write down the relevant formula. Be careful of units and always write all your working out (even though it isn't marked) to help keep track and prevent calculation errors.
THINKING SKILLS
The Thinking Skills exam has replaced the General Ability component which was tested in previous years. While a few visual pattern type problems may have carried over to the new format, all other questions will be drastically different. The exam focuses on problem solving and critical thinking questions split into two main components: numerical reasoning and logic based critical thinking. The numerical aspect will be very similar to a maths question, but the emphasis will be on problem solving. The logic based critical thinking questions will test the students’ understanding of arguments and ability to identify flaws in reasoning.
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Summarise each paragraph in the question and identify the main argument by examining the stance of the writer. Also make sure to look through all the answer options as you will often find that another answer is a better match than the one you originally thought.
Numerical reasoning questions in this section most likely do not require a high level of maths so it is key to not be thrown off by the question.
The Department of Education has released a sample paper which will be very similar to what is expected in the Opportunity Class placement test.
Alpha One offers three OC Preparation courses that are designed to help students tackle the OC Test. Find out more and claim your free trial today.
Calculation of Entry Scores.
The calculation of entry scores have been revamped many times over the past few years. Currently, the NSW Department of Education has not released how they are calculating the scores in the future.
The report received by parents upon release of the test results has also been changed this year. Previously, students would receive an overall mark. The new report no longer shows a score but will convey your child’s performance by placing your child in one of four bands for each subject:
Top 10% of all students
The next 15%
The next 25%
The bottom 50%
For more specific information regarding the release of results, visit the NSW Government Education page on outcome information.
Parents are able to select two school choices in order of preference in the application. Students will receive an offer from only one school - this will be whichever school their results qualify for and is listed as the higher preference. If their results do not qualify for any of the schools on their preference list, they will not receive an offer.
While past entry marks are no longer relevant to the current marking scheme, previous school rankings still reveal the general popularity/strength of each school. Visit Better Education's page on minimum entry scores for information regarding previous years’ primary school OC stream rankings.
The Equity Placement Model
The equity placement model is a recently introduced policy which aims to provide fairer access to under-represented groups of students in the OC and Selective Tests. Only 20% of spots will be reserved for students who have not been offered a place, have scores within 10% of the minimum first round entry score and are a part of these following groups:
Students from low socio-educational advantage backgrounds (10% of available spots)
Aboriginal students (5% of available spots)
Students from remote areas (2.5% of available spots)
Students with disabilities (2.5% of available spots)
There is any additional 5% allocated to students who were unable to sit the test on the exam date due to legitimate reasons.
For more information on how this entire process works, read our blog on the equity placement model.
After the testResults.
If your child’s marks are sufficient for the entry of an OC stream, directions to accept the offer will also be provided. Generally, there is a two week period to accept offers online, however, some cases (eg. receiving results by phone) may require a faster acceptance time. If the position is not accepted in time, the non-response is registered as a declination of the offer.
What is a Reserve List?
A reserve list is a list of students who have just missed out on the entry requirements. If a student who has received an offer decides that they will not accept the offer, the first person on the reserve list will be contacted and offered that spot. This continues down the reserve list until all vacancies are filled and accepted.
If your child has been placed on the reserve list, the performance report will display this information along with a general estimate of how long it may take to receive an offer for the school. This is represented through the following reserve bands*:
A = within 1 month of the outcome notification
B = within 2 months of the outcome notification
C = within 3 months of the outcome notification
D = in January
E = Remainder - students were either made a very late offer after January or remained on the reserve list
*Please note that reserve bands are based on when students in similar positions were given offers during the previous year’s placement process. There is no guarantee that an offer will be made during this estimated time period as the number and timing of declined offers are not necessarily the same year to year.
What to do if your child is not accepted?
While it may be disappointing to see your child miss out on a spot for an OC stream, there are many opportunities ahead in later years. If they continue to work hard, they may be able to achieve a high mark in the Selective Test which determines which Selective High School they are able to attend. This selection process is generally easier to enter compared to OC as there are more vacancies - schools will be admitting entire grades as opposed to a single class.
We offer a range of course to help your child prepare for the OC Test, including Foundations, WEMT (Writing, English, Maths and Thinking Skills) and Trial Test Courses. To find out more and get your free trial, visit our OC Test Preparation Courses page.