Does coaching help for the Selective test?

It is the question every parent of a Year 4 or Year 6 child in NSW hears sooner or later, usually at pick-up: "Are you getting a tutor for the test?" Coaching centres advertise heavily. The people who set the test have a clear view of it.

What the department says

The NSW Department of Education publishes the same message on both of its practice test pages, for the Selective High School Placement Test and the Opportunity Class Placement Test. In its words, in summary:

• The department considers coaching or tutoring unnecessary for the placement test.
• Nothing on the test calls for new or special knowledge, which means paid coaching outside school cannot hand a child an edge.
• It neither recommends nor endorses coaching.
• It also says that no credible research shows coaching helps a child gain entry, that a coached child who gets in would probably have earned a place anyway, that many coached students miss out, and that too much coaching can harm wellbeing.

That is a strong statement from the body that runs the test. It is worth reading the original page rather than relying on what someone else says it says.

Why the department says this

The placement tests assess what the department calls intellectual abilities. The OC test draws on the NSW curriculum up to Year 4 and the Selective test on the curriculum up to Year 6. Every question is reviewed to make sure students do not need extra knowledge. The department says students do not need to memorise facts about specific subjects: they need to apply what they know to find the best answer.

The approach is to find high potential children, not the children who have had the most preparation. The department's description of the program says selective high schools and opportunity classes cater for high potential and gifted students, and are set up so that students qualify on their placement test results.

So is practice a waste?

No, and the department does not say so. It provides its own free practice material because familiarity matters. The point of its online practice tests is to simulate the real software and tools, show the kinds of questions and let a child see what they got right and wrong. It also offers a Student Resource Hub with interactive quizzes and practice items, and encourages students to use it.

The difference is between:

• Familiarity. A child knows what the screen looks like, how the timer works, what a thinking skills question feels like. Everyone should have this.
• Intensive coaching. Months of weekly lessons, hours of homework and a heavy focus on beating the test. The department's advice is that this is not needed.

For most families a reasonable plan is: use the department's resources first, add a small amount of timed practice if your child is happy to do it, and keep life normal.

Where other practice resources fit

Some families want more questions than the department publishes. A set of independent practice papers can be a sensible extra, provided it is described honestly: written to follow the format, not taken from the real test, and not a promise of a place. Our papers are Selective and OC practice, and we are not affiliated with the NSW Department of Education. We would rather you tried the department's free tests and our free samples first, and bought nothing if your child is already comfortable.

Before paying for any resource or course, ask:

1. Does it promise a result or a place? If so, walk away.
2. Does it use the real test's questions? It cannot legitimately do so.
3. Is the child's time being used well, or are they being drilled?
4. Can you stop whenever you want?

"But everyone else is being coached"

This is the worry that drives most decisions, and it is hard to test from the outside. Some of the children you hear about at pick-up will be coached and some will not, and you will rarely hear about those who were coached and did not get a place. The department's observation, that a coached child who gets in would probably have won a place regardless, is worth sitting with before spending money out of fear.

A more useful question than "what is everyone else doing?" is "what does my child need?" A child who has never seen a thinking skills question may benefit from a few sessions to see how the questions work. A child who tires quickly may need practice with pacing across sections. A child who is already confident needs very little. Matching help to a real need is better than matching it to the neighbours.

What helps more than coaching

The department points to some simple things:

• Regular attendance. It says students who are away too often without good cause are reported to the selection committee, which may decline to place them.
• Routine and sleep. Going to school regularly helps maintain a routine, which supports general learning.
• Knowing what to expect. The Test Admission Ticket, the test centre, the day, the checklist.
• A calm approach at home. Children often pick up on a parent's anxiety. Saying "this is a chance to try something, and either result is fine" lowers the stakes.

If your child enjoys puzzles, reading and maths already, that enjoyment is a more reliable foundation than extra lessons.

Where to go next

• The Selective test is on a computer: how to practise
• OC and Selective tests compared
• Free Selective and OC questions are on our samples page, and our guides cover the test day.

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Not affiliated with ACARA or the NSW Department of Education.