Outcome
Placement outcomes for Year 7 entry in 2024
When are outcomes released?
Outcomes were released on Friday evening, 18 August 2023.
How do I get my placement outcome?
You will receive an email as soon as your placement outcome is available in the application dashboard.
- Log in to the application dashboard using the email and password you registered with.
- Click on the 3 dots under the Action column to the right of each of your school preferences, then select 'Outcomes' to view outcome and Performance report.
Having trouble logging in? Refer to the Guide to logging into the application dashboard.
Outcomes
One of four possible outcomes will be indicated in your application dashboard:
- Offer
- Reserve (with reserve list position indicator)
- Unsuccessful
- Not applicable
Please read the Placement Outcome Information for further details and any next steps to take.
Offer
If one of your choices is showing as an offer, congratulations, your child has been made an offer for placement at this school. You now need to select whether to accept or decline the offer in the application dashboard by the response date.
Offers will lapse if a response is not submitted by the response date.
Students will get an offer only to the highest listed school for which they qualify. If a student is made an offer to school choice 1 or 2, they would not be able to decline the higher choice offer and choose a lower choice instead.
If you accept an offer, you can decline the offer later if you change your mind. However, once you have declined an offer you cannot change your mind and accept it again. If you declined your offer by mistake, please contact us as soon as possible through the application dashboard. If you accept an offer, the school will contact you later in the year to enrol your child.
Aurora College
Aurora College requires a lengthy liaison period with the host schools they will be partnering with. Accordingly, offers to all eligible applicants are made at the same time. There is no reserve list for Aurora College.
Reserve list
If one or more of your choices is showing as a reserve list, your child has been placed on the reserve list for the school shown. You may be made an offer after the initial outcome notification if your child’s position on the reserve list is reached before all vacancies are filled.
Applicants whose children are on a reserve list only, can be offered a place if their child’s position on the reserve list is reached until at least the end of Term 1 of the entry year..
Students on reserve lists are not guaranteed an offer of a place.
Reserve list and an Offer
If you accept an offer for one school your child may also be placed on the reserve list for a school (or schools) listed as a higher preference on their application.
If your child’s reserve list position for a higher preference school is reached, you will receive another offer. If the subsequent offer is accepted, the original offer is automatically declined. If, however, you decide to decline the second offer, you will not lose your child’s original offer (unless you actively decline that as well). If your child remains on a higher reserve list, you may still receive a third offer if your child’s position on that reserve list is reached, regardless of any previous offers you have declined.
Reserve lists - decision date
For placement in 2024, at 3:00pm on 18 December 2023, if you have accepted an offer to a selective high school and your child also has a place on a reserve list, your child’s name will be removed from the reserve list on the last day of the school year. You need to make the decision whether to keep the offer or decline it in order to stay on a reserve list or lists.
To remain on the reserve list after this date the currently accepted offer must be declined before that date.
Declining a reserve outcome
If your child is on a reserve list but you are sure you do not want your child to be placed in that selective high school, please select ‘Withdraw reserve’ in the application dashboard.
Reserve band
Along with the notification that a child is on a reserve list there will be an accompanying reserve band (A, B, C, D, E, F) that gives a general idea of how long it took for students in a similar position to receive an offer during the previous year’s placement process.
These are estimates only. There is no guarantee that an offer will be made during the estimated time period; the number and timing of declined offers is not necessarily similar from year to year.
Offer time frame estimate:
A = within 1 month of the outcome notification
B = within 2 months of the outcome notification
C = within 3 months of the outcome notification
D = within 4 months of the outcome notification
E = within 5 months of the outcome notification
F = Offer not likely by the end of the year
[Transcript of video animation: Selective high school reserve bands (2 mintues 30 seconds)]
If your child has been placed on a reserve list for selective high school placement, they will be given a reserve band. This information is displayed in the 'Reserve band' column of the application dashboard next to the relevant school.
It is important to note, that students who are placed on a reserve list for a particular school are not guaranteed an offer.
Reserve bands range from 'band A' to 'band F' and are an estimate of the timeframe in which your child might receive an offer from a school.
These estimates are based on the timing of reserve band offers from the previous year and are designed to help you and your family make educational plans. Importantly, they should only be treated as a guide and may change due to variations in the number and timing of declined offers each year.
If your child's position on a reserve list is reached, you will receive an email asking you to view the updated outcome in the application dashboard. This is where you can choose to 'accept' or 'decline' the placement offer.
Offers are provided for a limited time and will expire if no action is taken before the response due date.
If you have accepted a placement offer from a school and receive an offer from a different school, you can choose to 'accept' or 'decline' the new offer. If you accept the new offer, the original offer is automatically declined.
You may accept an offer while remaining on a reserve list for a higher choice school until the last day of the school year. To remain on a reserve list for a higher choice school after the last day of the school year, you must decline the current offer. This means that students who have accepted an offer for placement are unable to remain on the reserve list for a higher choice school after that date.
Students who haven't accepted any offers can remain on the selective high school reserve list until the end of Term 1 in Year 7. If you no longer want your child to be placed in a particular school, select ‘Withdraw’ from the reserve list in the application dashboard. Please note that this decision cannot be changed later.
Visit the selective high schools and opportunity classes website for reserve list progression updates and additional information.
Unsuccessful
Regrettably, your child has been unsuccessful for placement in one or more of your choices. If your child is unsuccessful for all choices, the individual choices will not be listed.
Not applicable
Where your child would have qualified for a lower choice but has qualified for an offer to a higher choice, the outcome for the lower choice school will be shown as ‘Not applicable’.
Transcript of video animation: ‘Understanding your child's Performance report Transcript’ (4 minutes 25 seconds)
[music]
There are three test components that make up the opportunity class placement test. Reading, Mathematical Reasoning and Thinking Skills.
The Selective High School Placement Test is made up of four components: Reading, Mathematical Reasoning, Thinking Skills and Writing.
The Performance reports show how a child performed compared to the other students who sat the test.
The white box with the coloured icon shows a child's performance. For each component of the test, the students are placed in rank order. For example, if 15,000 students sat the Selective High School Placement Test roughly 1,500 students form the top 10% for each test component. The next 15% of students make up the top 25% of students. The next 25% of students make up the top 50% and the remaining 50% of students form the final 50% of students. In this example, that is 7,500 students.
It is important to understand that the Performance report does not show the percentage of correct answers a child has achieved for any of the test components.
For example, if a child is in the top 10% for Reading, this does not mean that they scored 90%. It means the child has achieved a result that places them in the top 10% of students who completed that reading test.
Likewise, a score in the lowest 50% for Thinking Skills does not mean a child failed that test component. It means the child's results place them in the lowest 50% of students that took the Thinking Skills test. In fact, for each test component, half of the students will be placed in the lower 50% and there is no pass or fail mark for any of the test components.
The placement tests are designed for one specific purpose. To identify students who will benefit from placement in an opportunity class or selective high school.
The questions do not measure knowledge of the school curriculum, but rather problem solving and critical thinking ability, and therefore cannot be used as a diagnostic tool to identify curriculum areas where children can improve.
For many children, the Opportunity Class Placement Test or the Selective High School Placement Test is one of their first formal testing experiences. Therefore, it is important to consider if and how you will share a child's results with them.
Many children who sit the tests are used to performing well academically, and they may be disappointed if they did not achieve similar results to those they achieve at school. If sharing the Performance report with a child, please emphasise that the test is not an indication of how well they are doing at school or how well they are doing in comparison to other students in their grade.
The questions on the test are designed to challenge gifted and high potential students who are already able to perform at the very top of their grade level. There is no pass or fail mark, and only about one in eight students are successful in gaining a place in an opportunity class and a quarter of students are successful in gaining a selective high school place.
Also, it is important to highlight what the child has achieved. Taking the test is an achievement in itself, and it can help to acknowledge and celebrate this.
For further information about the opportunity class and selective high school placement process, please visit our website.
[music fades]
[End of transcript]
Performance report
The Performance report shows how your child performed in comparison to the other students who took the test in that year.
For each of the test components, the report shows where your child performed in one of four bands:
- top 10% of candidates
- next 15% of candidates
- next 25% of candidates
- lowest 50% of candidates
Download a Performance report example [PDF, 235KB].
It is important to understand that the Performance report does not show the percentage of correct answers a child has achieved for any of the test components, rather how many other students performed within the same range.
The Performance report does not provide an individual’s test scores or placement rank.
Test scores or placement rank are not available.
Why can’t I receive my child’s test score?
Parents, students and schools have raised student wellbeing and privacy concerns with how scores have been reported and used beyond their intended purpose, including unhealthy competition between students.
The placement tests are designed for one specific purpose. To identify students who will benefit from placement in an opportunity class or selective high school.
The questions do not measure knowledge of the school curriculum, but rather problem solving and critical thinking ability, and therefore cannot be used as a diagnostic tool to identify curriculum areas where children can improve.
Why doesn’t the department publish minimum entry scores?
There are no minimum entry scores for opportunity classes or selective high schools. The scores required to receive an offer change year to year.
The level of test performance required to receive an offer is determined by the number of applications for each school, the performance of those students who applied for that school and the number of families that decline an offer for that school.
All of these factors change on an annual basis so referring to past scores is not a reliable or suggested method of making school choices.
Results enquiry and appeals
If you have valid grounds to appeal the outcome or query the Writing test marking, go to Results enquiry and appeals for more information.
Results enquiries and appeals must be submitted within 7 days of the release of outcomes.
The outcome of results enquiries are expected to be available at the end of September. The outcome of appeals is expected to be available at the end of October.
Enrolment
Selective high schools will contact parents who have accepted offers about enrolment procedures and open days later in the year.
In mid-late January an Authority to attend letter will be available in the application portal. The letter needs to be printed and taken to the school on the first day, along with any other original documents required, to finalise enrolment.
You will need to meet all other NSW Department of Education enrolment conditions—learn more at Enrolment.
Requests for delayed entry
If you need to delay your child’s attendance beyond the first day of the school year you must discuss it with the selective high school principal (or message the Unit if you need to negotiate a delay during school holidays) before submitting enrolment forms. The principal may or may not approve the delayed start. You cannot delay enrolment past the first day of Term 2 in the year of entry*.
Any extended leave after enrolment must be negotiated with the school principal and is subject to the Department’s enrolment policy.
* Parents who wish to defer placement until Year 8 will have to apply again by following the placement processes for selective high schools Year 8-12 entry.