OC & Selective Placement Tests: What Went Wrong in 2025 — and What’s Changing for This Year’s Digital Tests

If you had a friend or an older child who sat the OC or Selective placement test last year, you may recall that the initial tests at a number of centres ran poorly, to say the least. This year, here’s the good news: the NSW Department of Education has accepted the independent review’s recommendations in full, and confirmed the tests will continue to be digital.

We’ve read the entire 53 page report for you and summarised it below.

What went wrong in 2025 (the short version)

• Huge crowds, poor comms, weather - Long queues, rain, inconsistent announcements and mixed finishing times created tense handovers and unsafe congestion, which led to police being called in to handle crows
• Schedules slipped while two sessions were run in one day - Morning tests slated for 8:30am in practice began up to two hours late at some rooms, compressing breaks and intensifying the afternoon change-over
• Scale magnified everything - The three big venues were allocated 3,079 (Randwick), 2,594 (Canterbury) and 1,020 (Olympic Park) students respectively — far beyond what typical school sites handle and required massive amounts of supervision which didn’t always run to plan

How the late-May tests ran better

When tests were rescheduled across 39 public schools on the weekends of 17–18 and 24–25 May, the model shifted to one session per day, a 10:00am start, and students testing at a closer host school. Families reported a much more positive experience under this local, school-based approach.

What’s changing this year (approved recommendations)

The Department has approved the review’s recommendations and confirmed the test will remain digital this year. In practice, that means:

1. One test session per day. No midday cross-overs and no second daily sitting to “rush” towards
2. Local, school-based venues with caps. Testing will run in school settings, with upper limits (up to ~300 students at large sites; ~180 at smaller sites) to keep flows manageable and familiar for children
3. A Presiding Officer at each host school + trained staff. Clear on-site leadership, better face-to-face training, and explicit roles for crowd management, invigilation and parent communication
4. Stronger communications and clear policies. The Department will publish resit/makeup policies in advance and use feedback channels (surveys/SMS/email) to keep parents informed and improve continuously
5. Site readiness and technical support. Up-front checks for Wi-Fi, power and devices, with dedicated technical and crowd-flow support built in

The review also noted there were different tests available across dates, which limited any advantage from coaching centres seeking content leaks. They also noted no evidence of advantage for students re-sitting the test. There were minimal differences between the scores on the first and second test for students who sat the test twice. All test versions, including re-sits, were also of equal difficulty.

Will there still be digital testing?

Yes, this year’s testing continues to remain digital, and studies show that the best way to practice is to create confidence with the format in advance. Note that a third party is writing the tests, not the teachers themselves. While the schools will handle the supervisory aspect of tests, they are not involved in test creation.

• Practise on a computer, under time - The test is digital; most children perform best when they’ve already built comfort with the on-screen format and timing
• Focus on confidence, not cramming - Short, regular practice beats last-minute marathons for this age group and helps reduce test-day nerves
• Build stamina gradually - 100 minutes of focused screen time is a lot for anyone. Gradually take full tests and practice at least 1 full end-to-end test, matching breaks to help simulate the day

If you’re looking for a platform that can give you digital tests to mirror the on-screen feel and pace, consider OC Test Prep.

In addition to detailed dashboards showing your child exactly where they’re strong and where they can improve, we provide question-by-question explanations so your child learns how to arrive at the answer.

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Sources: Independent Review of the 2025 Opportunity Class and Selective High School Placement Testing (Dr Michele Bruniges AM, July 2025).

Ministerial Media Release (Professor Jim Tognolini, Director of the Centre for Educational Measurement and Assessment at the University of Sydney.)