Opportunity Class Placement Test

Opportunity classes located in government primary schools cater to academically gifted Year 5 and Year 6 students with high potential. There are 76 primary schools with opportunity classes across NSW.

These classes help students to learn by grouping them with students of similar ability, using specialised teaching methods and educational materials at the appropriate level.

Parents normally apply when students are in Year 4. Opportunity classes are attended full time in Years 5 and 6 at a primary school with an opportunity class. It is a two-year placement program, and students who accept a place will usually leave their current school to attend the school with an opportunity class. It is not possible to apply for Year 6 placement only.

The Opportunity Class Placement Test

The Opportunity Class Placement Test is held once a year in designated test centres, usually government high schools, in NSW. It is a secure test, written by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), and papers cannot be viewed before or after the test session. The test does not normally contain any questions used in previous tests and measures ability rather than performance on the school curriculum.

There are two parts to the test, each comprising 35 multiple-choice questions in:

• English (total 20 questions)
• Mathematics (total 20 questions)
• General ability (total 30 questions)

Each correct question is awarded one mark, and students have 30 minutes to answer each part of the test.

Opportunity Class Selection Process

For each student, the final Opportunity Class placement score is calculated by combining two components:

• The school assessment score - moderated using the results of the Opportunity Class Placement Test
• The scaled Opportunity Class Placement Test score

Moderated School Assessment Score

Individual school assessment scores are provided for English and mathematics. These scores are then adjusted through a process of moderation, to allow comparison of student scores from different schools. Because each school has different assessment methods and marks differently, moderation is needed to allow fair comparison of scores statewide.

The moderation process adjusts the school assessment scores based on each school's performance in the Opportunity Class Placement Test. English tests are used to moderate the English school assessment score, and the mathematics test is used to moderate the mathematics school assessment score.

Scaled Opportunity Class Placement Test Score

Each component of the Opportunity Class Placement Test is marked out of the following totals:

• English - 20
• Mathematics - 20
• General Ability - 30

Each of these test components are adjusted so that they are weighted equally against each other. Additionally the test results need to have equal weighting with the moderated school assessment scores.

Calculated Opportunity Class Placement Score

The calculated placement score is a mark out of 300, which is made up of:

• Moderated school assessment scores for English and mathematics
• Scaled test marks for English
• Scaled test marks for mathematics
• Scaled test marks for general ability

This is summarised in the table below:

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