NSW Selective

Overview

The Selective High School Placement Test is run by the NSW Department of Education to help decide placement into the state's academically selective high schools. It is sat by students in Year 6 who are applying for entry into Year 7 the following year. The test is computer-based and delivered at designated test centres, and it is designed to measure problem-solving and critical thinking rather than knowledge of the school curriculum.

Who can apply

A child is in Year 5 when applications open and in Year 6 when the test is sat and applications close. To apply, a child must be in Year 6 (or the equivalent) at the time of the test, be an Australian citizen or permanent resident holding an eligible visa category, and be enrolled at a NSW government, Catholic or independent school, or be home-schooled in NSW. A parent or carer submits the application on the child's behalf and can list up to three preferred selective high schools.

Exam pattern

For 2026, the test has four equally weighted components, each contributing 25 per cent of the scaled test score. There is no penalty for an incorrect answer.

Marking and results

For 2026, the final Selective High School Placement Score is out of 120. It combines a scaled test score out of 100, drawn from the four equally weighted test components, with a moderated school assessment score out of 20 based on the child's primary school results. Raw test marks are scaled on a state-wide basis so that different test forms and the make-up sitting are comparable regardless of which school a student attends. There is no fixed pass mark: offers are made to the highest-ranked applicants for each school a family has listed as a preference, and the ranking needed to receive an offer varies by school and by year.

Important dates

For 2027 entry (children in Year 6 during 2026), the NSW Department of Education's published calendar sets these dates:

Applications for the following year's entry (2028 entry, Year 6 in 2027) are expected to open in early November 2026 and close in late February 2027, with the test held in early May 2027; exact dates are confirmed by the NSW Department of Education each year.

How to apply

Parents or carers apply online, during the application period, through the NSW Department of Education's selective high school and opportunity class application website. The online application takes about five minutes and asks the family to list up to three selective high schools in order of preference. Late applications are not accepted once the window closes.

After the exam

Every applicant receives one of three outcomes: a placement offer at a preferenced school, a place on a school's reserve list, or no offer in that round. Families who disagree with an outcome can lodge an appeal before the published deadline, though an appeal cannot produce a new test score, a new placement rank, or a re-mark of any part of the test. Reserve-list offers can continue to be made after the initial outcomes, up to the department's reserve decision date, and in some cases into the start of the following school year.

Preparation tips

• Use the NSW Department of Education's own released practice tests to get used to the computer-based format and question types before trying commercial practice material.

• Practise all four components under timed conditions, since each section has a tight time limit relative to the number of questions.

• For Mathematical Reasoning, practise working without a calculator across number, geometry, measurement, and pattern and data questions.

• For Writing, practise planning and completing a full typed response within 30 minutes.

• Read widely and practise comprehension of unfamiliar texts, since Thinking Skills and Reading both draw on general reasoning rather than memorised content.

• The department does not recommend or endorse coaching for the placement test; focus preparation on practice tests and general reasoning skills rather than rote-learned content.

FAQs