Frequently Asked Questions

• Must I list four schools?
• Does the order in which I list my choices matter?
• What provision is made for students from non-government schools?
• What can I do to prepare my child for the Selective High School Placement Test
• What happens if my child gets sick on the day of the test?
• If my outcome advice indicates that my child is unsuccessful, can his or her name be placed on a reserve list?
• What does the Selective High School Placement Test tell me about my child's performance?
• If my child was unsuccessful for opportunity class placement, does it mean he or she will be unsuccessful for selective high school entry?
• If I receive an offer to one of my lower choices as well as being on the reserve list for one of my higher choices, do I have to give up the offer to stay on the reserve list?
• If my child is one of the last to be made an offer, does that mean he or she will struggle at a selective high school?
• What should I do if my child does not get into a selective high school?
• What score does a student have to gain to be successful for selective high school placement?
• How can I find out my child’s score?
• How does the reserve list work?
• Why do some partially selective high schools combine selective and comprehensive students in the senior years?

You should list only those schools you are prepared to accept. You can list from one to four choices. Please consider carefully the choices made.

Before applying for each school, you should consider available transport and the time your child will take to reach each school of choice. Selection committees do not consider travelling times and transport arrangements when offering places.

Yes. If your child qualifies for more than one of your choices, you will be offered a place only at the school of highest choice for which your child qualifies. See page 9 of the application package.

The selection procedures are exactly the same for all students. Principals of non-government primary schools have been asked to accept your application, add relevant school assessment scores and comments and send it to the Selective High School and Opportunity Class Placement Unit. In circumstances where this is not possible, you should complete the Application for exemption form (pdf 31kb).

Children should be encouraged to familiarise themselves with the kinds of questions they will be asked. Students can practise answering the questions in the past test papers available on the Unit’s website. Students will also be given practice questions before the test begins.

You should contact the Selective High School and Opportunity Class Placement Unit immediately for an illness/misadventure form or download from Illness/misadventure form (pdf 24kb). You should complete the form, whether or not the student attempted the test, enclose a medical certificate which covers the day of the test, and return the completed form to the Selective High School and Opportunity Class Placement Unit within 14 days of the test.

Illness claims must be made at this stage. The selection committee will consider the student's illness/misadventure claim as part of the application. Remember, it is generally better to attempt the test than to miss it.

You will not be able to appeal on the grounds of illness after the outcome is known.

No.Three key expressions are used in outcome letters: ‘offer’, ‘reserve list’ and ‘unsuccessful’. The selection committees decides the students who will receive offers and those who will be placed on the reserve list. These students have higher scores than those who are unsuccessful. Students placed on the reserve list will be given a number indicating their position on the reserve list. Progress on the reserve list varies from year to year. When offers begin to be made from the reserve list, the progress of each school’s reserve list is available on this web site.

The Selective High School Placement Test is designed to help identify students for entry into selective high schools on the basis of academic merit. It is not meant to identify the student's strengths and weaknesses in English or mathematics performance. The student's primary school is in a far better position to advise you on your child's performance in these areas.

Not necessarily. The entry requirements for opportunity class and selective high school placement can vary quite significantly. Moreover, there is scope for improvement in the ability and performance of students over the time since they applied for opportunity class placement. Conversely, not all students from opportunity classes are successful for selective high school entry. Remember there are about twice as many Year 7 places in selective high schools as there are Year 5 places in opportunity classes.

You can accept an offer to one school while remaining on the reserve list for one or more of your higher choices until the end of the school year in 2010. After that time no further offers will be made to students who have already accepted an offer of a place in a selective high school.

There are many things which can affect student performance, including your child's willingness to learn, his or her response to teachers and interaction with other students. While some students who receive late offers might have problems, the majority should have no difficulties. The selection committee offers places or reserve list positions only to those students considered capable of doing well at a selective high school.

As there is one place for approximately every four or five people applying, many capable students cannot be placed. Be supportive and explain to your child that he or she can be very successful at a comprehensive high school. Students from comprehensive high schools can achieve results which are as good as, or even better than, results gained by selective high school students.

 There is no pre-determined score that a student has to achieve to be successful for selective high school placement. The minimum entry score for each selective high school depends on the score achieved by the candidates applying for that school and can vary from school to school and from year to year.The greater the demand for the school the higher the entry score is likely to be. For example, in a school with 150 places, the entry score achieved for the 150th ranked student offered a place at that school becomes the entry score.

The entry scores required for the previous year are available on the Unit’s web site.

Most applicants will receive their child’s profile score at the bottom of their outcome advice in July. To receive further details of your child’s scores in the selective high school placement process, after you have received your outcome advice, please complete a request for scores form which is available from this web site.

If the student is on a reserve list for a selective high school the number on the outcome advice shows the student’s position on the list. The progress of the reserve list depends on whether students accept or decline an offer, and whether other students receive subsequent offers, to a school of higher choice. If a student’s position is reached on the reserve list, parents will be contacted by the Unit with an offer.The Unit maintains a web page which shows where on the reserve list the latest offer was made for each selective high school.The page is updated regularly as reserve offers are made.

Some partially selective high schools do this. It allows the school to better organise the timetable and offer more electives than would be possible if the selective students were kept as a separate group. This organisation advantages selective students as the school can offer a wider range of electives.