NSW · Year 3 and 4 parents · Updated October 2026

OC test preparation: a 6-month plan from November to May

The OC test is usually held in early May, and applications usually open in early November. That gives about six months, which is plenty if practice is short and regular. This plan is for a child in Year 4 in 2027 (Year 3 now) sitting the 2027 test.

The ground rules

• Short and often. 20 to 30 minutes, three or four times a week. A tired child learns little in a two-hour Sunday session.
• One skill at a time for the first months, then mix them.
• Explain every mistake. The question your child got wrong is worth more than five they got right.
• Keep reading every day. Reading supports all three sections, not only the Reading section.
• Protect sleep, sport and play. If practice starts to cause tears, cut it back for a week. A calm child thinks better.

The plan at a glance

Dates follow the usual pattern of past years. Always check the real dates on the NSW Department of Education website: the application process page and the placement test page.

Month by month

November: find the starting point

Submit the application as soon as it opens, so it is not forgotten. Then do one timed check to see which of the three Thinking Skills areas is strongest and weakest. Do not worry about the score. It is a map, not a verdict.

December: learn the types, no clock

Work through one type at a time: "must be true", ordering puzzles, time problems, number patterns, and so on. Our guides to critical thinking questions and logic puzzles for Year 3 and 4 each show a method for every type. Ask your child to explain answers out loud.

January: keep it light

School holidays are for rest. Keep the habit alive with puzzles, board games that need planning, and reading together. Ten minutes of "argument of the day" at dinner is enough.

February: add the clock

Check that the application has been submitted before it closes. Start sets of 10 questions in 10 minutes. The real test gives about one minute per Thinking Skills question, so this is the pace to aim for. Practise one new skill: if a question takes more than two minutes, pick the best guess and move on.

March: practise on a screen

The test is done on a computer at a test centre. Reading on a screen and scrolling feels different from paper, so move some practice onto a computer or tablet. Keep paper beside it for working out, as in the real test.

April: full sections

Once a week, do a full Thinking Skills section at test length: 30 questions in 30 minutes. Afterwards, go through every mistake together. Keep the other days short and positive.

Test week

No new topics. Light review of the mistake log, early nights, a normal breakfast, and a plan for getting to the test centre on time.

A sample week in March

Keep a mistake log

A notebook with three columns: the question type, what went wrong ("read 'not' too fast", "forgot to add the hour"), and the date to try it again. Redo each mistake a week later. Most children find the same two or three slips again and again; once they can name them, they start catching them.

Two quick questions to start tonight

Written by us for practice; they are not in our free check, so your child can still do that fresh.

Signs to slow down

• Your child dreads practice time or says they are "bad at thinking".
• Scores go down after a few weeks of extra work. That is often tiredness, not ability.
• Sleep, sport or friendships are being squeezed out.

Only a small share of applicants receive an OC place each year, and placement is decided by the test and the places available. Whatever the outcome, the reading and thinking habits from these months help in Year 5, in the Selective test in Year 6, and beyond. For the format and key dates, read the OC test 2027 guide.