Are you smarter than a 11-year-old? Take the test young students need to pass to get into selective high school – and some questions are VERY tricky
- Tests for entries to selective high schools for 2022 will be sat next March in NSW
- Estimated 15,000 students will take part, only spots for roughly 4200 pupils
- Coaching colleges and tutors will be in high demand over summer across state
Academically gifted students heading into Year 5 next year will spend a large portion of their summer school holidays combing over practice questions in a bid to gain entry into selective high schools across NSW for 2022.
The official practice test, endorsed by the NSW Department of Education, was released last Friday – and it is big business for tutoring companies.
Sample questions from the practice test require a high level of problem solving as well as critical thinking – and they are challenging to say the least.
One of the sample questions (pictured above) from the practice test for students looking to sit for selective schools in March ahead of starting Year 7 in 2022
‘Kai, Joe and Alice have 30 marbles each. They take it in turns to roll a dice. If the number rolled is even, then that player has to give the number of marbles shown on the face of the dice to each of the other two players,’ one sample question reads.
‘If the number rolled is odd, then that player receives the number of marbles shown on the face of the dice from each of the other two players. Kai rolls a 5, Joe rolls at 2.
‘If the friends end up with 41, 20 and 29 marbles respectively, which number does Alice roll?
The answers are either: A – 1, B – 2, C – 3, D – 4.
Students will need to display excellent problem solving and critical thinking skills to excel in the Year 5 exams across NSW in March
Competition will be fierce, with just over 4220 spots available to the 15,000 students who will look to be accepted into selective schools across NSW in 2022 (stock image)
About 15,000 Year 5 students across the state will sit for the selective high school exam in March 2021.
Only 4,226 positions are on offer for Year 7 entry in 2022 at schools such as James Ruse Agricultural College and North Sydney Girls High.
The Education Department is not recommending any specific coaching ahead of the exams, but numerous tutoring companies in NSW are hosting summer school holiday ‘camps’.
Global Education Academy owner Majeda Awawdeh said her 20 staff will host upcoming two-week holiday camps, at a cost of just under $2,600 per student.
‘We have 20 teachers here, they’re writing and working and modifying for the new structure,’ she told the Daily Telegraph.
Some tutors will be working over the summer holidays, with demand high ahead of the Year 5 selective school tests next March across NSW
The questions (pictured above) require students to display critical thinking and problem solving skills
‘Usually we do four hours a day during the holidays, we added an extra hour, now we do five hours a day to include the thinking skills.’
Primary focus will be placed on problem solving and critical thinking.
Mark Buckland, who runs Dymocks Tutoring in Parramatta, in Sydney’s west, doesn’t believe repeated tutoring ahead of the selective high school exam in March is the answer for every student.
‘We believe at times coaching for the selective school test focuses on the wrong thing,’ he said.
‘Some students need tutoring as they are lagging, others just want to do better, they are always individual cases.’
The answers (pictured above) to the sample questions for students preparing to sit for selective schools spots across NSW in 2022 for Year 7 students
