What happens to the students from Randwick, Canterbury and Sydney Olympic Park who had their tests postponed?

Students scheduled to sit the test at Randwick, Canterbury or Sydney Olympic Park have been rescheduled to sit the test at allocated public high schools.

All students will be issued with a new Test Admission Ticket. This will include a new test date and test location. This will be available in the application dashboard.

Which students can re-sit the test?

Parents of students from Canterbury, Randwick and Sydney Olympic Park who sat a test on Friday 2 May can opt to have their child re-sit the test. These students will sit a new test to ensure fairness for all students.

These students will sit the test in public schools alongside those students whose test date was postponed.

Does my child need to re-sit the test?

No. If your child sat a placement test on Friday 2 May then they do not need to re-sit the test to be considered for placement. Their test attempt on Friday 2 May is valid and they will be considered for placement based on their performance. You should advise the department by 9 am Monday 12 May if you do not wish for your child to re-sit the test.

However, you may opt for them to re-sit the test if you feel that the issues experienced at a test centre on Friday 2 May impacted their performance in the test.

If you decide you do not want your child to re-sit the test, then you cannot appeal the placement decision based on the test centre environment before and after the test.

If you do not want to re-sit the test, but your child did experience an illness or misadventure on the test day you may submit an Illness or Misadventure request by 11:59 pm Sunday 11 May (refer to the department website to follow our usual process to submit an Illness and Misadventure request).

Where will the rescheduled tests be held?

The tests will be held at 39 public high schools throughout the Sydney metropolitan area.

All students will receive a new Test Admission Ticket with the date, location and time of the rescheduled test.

When will the tests be held?

The rescheduled Opportunity Class and the Selective High School Placement Tests will be held on two consecutive weekends, May 17 and 18, and May 24 and 25.

There will be one test session held per day at all 39 schools, starting at 10 am.

How will I know my child’s rescheduled test day and location?

Students will be issued with a new Test Admission Ticket (TAT) that will include their test date, test start time and the location. The TAT will also include any reasonable adjustments granted. This can be found in the application dashboard.

Will the test experience be different?

The test will be conducted with the same technology and will have the same degree of difficulty as all tests run on other days and at other test locations.

The experience for students and parents on the day moving into and out of the test venue will be different to the larger testing venues.

Smaller venues will make drop-off and pick-up procedures faster with less crowding. The presence of senior staff from the high school and additional education staff on site will ensure procedures are used that have proven to work with similar sized groups of students. Staff from the test provider Janison and additional marshals will also be on site to ensure the process runs efficiently.

For the vast majority of students, the test will also take place closer to home and, in most cases, with groups of familiar students from their primary school.

There is no advantage from sitting the test on a particular day and performance can be compared across multiple test versions.

How have students been allocated to a new testing location?

Students have been allocated based on the proximity of their primary school to the new test centres.

Where there are a high number of students, allocation to a test centre will be to the next nearest available venue that can accommodate students to sit the test.

How many students will sit the test at each school?

There will be between 60 - 200 students per day sitting the test at each school.

The schools hosting the tests have hosted placement tests in prior years with this number of students.

Can I change the location/time I have been allocated to?

Yes, if there are exceptional circumstances that prevents your child from attending their allocated test date or location, please contact the department by 9 am Monday 12 May via a message in the application dashboard. Note: tests will be only available on the scheduled dates for each test.

What if a student can’t make any of the new dates? Will there still be a make-up test?

There will not be a further opportunity to sit the Opportunity Class test after the 24 May or Selective High School test after the 25 May.

The department has regular procedures for considering placement of students who are unable to sit the tests. You should contact the department by 9 am Monday 12 May via a message in the application dashboard if your child is unable to sit any of the test dates.

Will the tests be different to the ones that students have already sat?

Yes, there will be new tests each day to ensure fairness for all students.

The coaching college my child attends is asking my child for information about the test content after they have sat the test? Is this practice of sharing content after the test allowed?

No, test content should not be shared in this way. Students should be aware that the sharing of test content, even after the test, is considered malpractice and can result in a student’s placement being cancelled.

Coaching colleges who solicit information about the test, from students after they have sat the test, may effectively be encouraging these students to engage in malpractice and jeopardising the consideration of placement of these students.

Additionally, test content should not be shared on social media.

Any incidents of coaching colleges soliciting information about the test from students should be reported to the department's Selective Education Team at set@det.nsw.edu.au

For more information about Malpractice refer to the Selective high schools and opportunity class placement procedures.

How will the department ensure fairness in the testing process?

There will be new tests to ensure fairness for all students. There are measures in place to ensure there is no advantage from sitting the test on a particular day and performance can be compared across multiple test versions.

If a student is sitting a different test, what if they get a test that is harder or easier?

The department had already planned for multiple versions of the computer-based test to allow the tests to be conducted on different days. All versions of the test are carefully calibrated to have the same degree of difficulty.

There is no advantage from sitting the test on a particular day and performance can be compared across multiple test versions.

My child’s test was postponed and they will only get one chance to sit the test. Why do some other students get two chances. How is this fair?

Students who sat the test at the large test centres on 2 May have been offered the opportunity to re-sit due to the unacceptable crowding issues. We want all children sitting the placement tests to have the opportunity to do their best in an environment that allows them to do so.

Children who had their test proceed in our usual test conditions have had the same the opportunity to perform at their best

Students who are sitting the test for a second time have had additional study time. How is this fair?

No student will sit the same test twice.

The selective high school and opportunity class placement tests are tests of potential and there is no credible evidence that coaching for the tests makes any significant difference.

Students who took the original tests were given a writing task and now some coaching colleges are giving students templates for writing. How is this fair?

No student will sit the same test twice. There will be new tests to ensure fairness for all students.

Students practise a wide range of text types at school. The writing component of the test is assessed based on the creativity and originality of the answer, as well as the ability of the students to communicate their ideas in written form. Our markers are highly trained and can easily identify memorised or template responses. Additionally, the move to computer-based testing means that the department’s ability to locate malpractice in the test has greatly improved.

Can I wait on site while my child does the test?

Parents are advised to leave the test centre when their child sits the test. Each school will have well-planned drop off and pick up arrangements in place.

What time do the tests start and finish?

The OC test will commence at 10 am and will be scheduled to finish at 12.30 pm

The SHS test will commence at 10 am and will be scheduled to finish at 2 pm. A short break is scheduled during the test.

What should my child do/bring to the test?

On test day your child should:

1. wear their school uniform
2. bring their Test Admission Ticket (available for download from your application dashboard).
3. bring the items listed in the test day checklist (see below). Students do not need to bring their own computer to sit the placement test.

I had already arranged to do a test on the ‘make-up’ date of 19 May, what do I do now?

FOR STUDENTS OUTSIDE OF METRO SYDNEY:

The make-up test on Monday 19 May will be available for students outside of Sydney metropolitan areas. Parents will receive communications about the make-up test, including a Test Admission Ticket.

FOR STUDENTS IN METRO SYDNEY AREAS:

A make-up test on Monday 19 May will NOT BE AVAILABLE for students in Sydney metropolitan areas.

These students will be allocated to one of the new public school testing sites on either 17 or 25 May for the Selective High School Placement Test, or 18 or 24 May for the Opportunity Class Placement Test.

Who will be running the new tests? Is it the department or Janison?

Senior department staff will have overall charge of the testing site. As with all other tests, the tests will be administered and managed by Janison.

What happens if my child re-sat the test, and they did better in their first attempt?

The department will compare the scores of students who took the test twice and the student’s final score will be the higher of the two scores used for placement.

How is it fair that students re-sitting the test get to use their highest test performance?

 This decision was very carefully considered by the department as the fairest way to provide all students with the opportunity to do their best on the placement test. 

No student will sit the same test twice. There will be new tests to ensure fairness for all students.

 The re-sitting of the tests and the use of the higher score for placement consideration is designed to provide students with an environment in which to demonstrate their academic potential.

There will be multiple versions of the computer-based test to allow the tests to be conducted on different days and to allow for a make-up test. There are measures in place to ensure there is no advantage from sitting the test on a particular day and performance can be compared across multiple test versions.

Computers will be provided. Students do not need to bring their own device on the day.

• copying answers from another student or allowing another student to copy your answers during testing
• collaboration and/or communication between students during testing
• using or trying to use unauthorised material during testing such as notes, study guides, mobile phones and electronic devices
• altering or attempting to alter any software, hardware devices or test materials, e.g. laptops or computer-based test interface
• using technology devices such as smart watches, hidden cameras, audio recorders, digital glasses or other wearable technology to capture test content and/or access information during the test
• not following the instructions of invigilation staff during testing
• student impersonation (pretending to be someone else) or arranging for another person to take the test on your behalf
• obtaining or trying to get the test questions before the test
• individual or multiple students submitting another person’s work as if it were their own
• removing test materials from the test room without authorisation, e.g. test materials, working out paper and test admission ticket (TAT)
• sharing answers or test content with others (individuals and/or educational business entities) before, during, or after the test
• any other conduct that provides an unfair advantage

For more information see the Selective high schools and opportunity class placement procedures.

Illness/misadventure requests applicable to the day of the placement test and/or the make-up placement test, must be submitted by parents and/or carers through the application dashboard by the cut-off date listed in the Key dates (typically 4 business days after the first day of the main test period or 4 days after the make-up placement test).

Illness/misadventure requests must include supporting documentary evidence showing why the child missed the placement test or why their test performance was impacted. Supporting documentary evidence includes:

• a medical certificate (if relevant) and/or
• any other evidence that covers the test day.

Supporting documents must be submitted when completing the Illness/misadventure request in your application dashboard by the due date – see 'When does the request need to be submitted?' above.

Any supporting documents sent outside of the application dashboard's illness/misadventure request (such as through a dashboard message or email) will not be accepted.

Invalid grounds for illness/misadventure request include:

• parent oversight – forgot test date, didn’t read emails/messaging in the application dashboard, generally busy with work or family activities.
• family holiday – child and family are away during the test period and no prior request was submitted to sit the test interstate or overseas with the child’s application.
• participation in school or local sporting activities, e.g. individual/team school or local sport activities, school fairs, school photo days etc.
• missing the whole make-up test – as no other forms of academic merit can be considered, if a student misses the test in the main test period and also the whole make-up test, they cannot be considered for placement in a selective high school or opportunity class.

1. Log in to your application dashboard.
2. Select Illness/misadventure: Select the 3 dots in the Action column next to your submitted application and select Illness/Misadventure.
3. Read the information: A new screen will appear. After reading the information, select Complete illness/misadventure form.
4. Choose your reason: Your child’s details will show at the top of the form. Pick the best reason for your request from these options:
   • Absent for the test (did not go to the test centre)
   • Absent for part/s of the test
   • Encountered issues that affected test performance
     
     Note: If you select Absent for the test (did not sit the test centre), you will need to answer Yes or No to whether the absence was due to a medical issue. If you answer Yes, upload a medical certificate which covers the day of the test in Step 6.
     
     If you are applying for missing the make-up test, choose either Absent for part/s of the test or Encountered issues that affected test performance.
5. Describe the issue: Enter a short description of the issue your child faced during the test or the reason for their absence. You have a limit of 1,000 characters.
6. Upload supporting evidence: Attach any necessary documents, such as a medical certificate. You can upload a maximum of 3 files.
   Note: Documents sent outside of this illness/misadventure online request (such as through a dashboard message or email) will not be accepted.
7. Review and Submit: After filling in Steps 4 to 6, check your request carefully and then select Submit request.
   Note: You have a limited time to submit your request – see the Key dates.

You will get the result of your request via the Applicant dashboard once it has been reviewed.

Parents and/or carers will receive advice on the outcome of their illness/misadventure request via message sent to the application dashboard. If the illness/misadventure request is approved, the student may:

• be eligible to sit a make-up test (date and location will be provided) or
• have their score adjusted, if they sat some or part of test during the main test period.

The test provider will investigate any illness/misadventure matters relating to performance in the test.