Last-Minute Tips for the NSW Selective Test (2026)

The NSW Selective High School Placement Test is on 1–2 May 2026. If your child is sitting the test this week, the preparation is mostly done. What matters now is logistics, mindset, and a good night's sleep.

Here's a practical guide to the next 48 hours.

What to pack

Your child will need the following at the test centre:

Must bring	Why
Printed Test Admission Ticket	Digital copies on phones are not accepted
Two 2B pencils	For working on draft paper
Eraser and sharpener
Clear water bottle
School uniform	Required even on Saturday
Snack or lunch	There's a 20-minute lunch break

Optional but recommended: a non-smart wristwatch (silent, no calculator function), a jumper or hat depending on weather, glasses if needed, tissues.

Not allowed: pens, rulers, calculators, phones, smart watches, pencil cases, dictionaries, note paper. The test is computer-based — all equipment is provided at the centre. Draft paper for working out is also provided.

Pack the bag tonight. Don't leave it for the morning.

The night before

Don't cram. Research consistently shows that sleep quality in the days leading up to a test matters more than last-minute revision. A restless study session the night before raises stress hormones and disrupts sleep — exactly the wrong combination.

If your child wants to do something test-related, that's fine — a short, familiar practice set can build confidence. But intensive review of new material tonight will do more harm than good.

Stick to the normal bedtime. A dramatically earlier bedtime often backfires — children lie awake because they're not tired, then worry about not sleeping. Aim for their usual routine. The National Sleep Foundation recommends 9–11 hours for this age group.

If your child is anxious, try one of these research-backed techniques:

• Write it out. A University of Chicago study published in Science found that spending 10 minutes writing about test worries — not solving them, just getting them on paper — freed up working memory and improved test scores. Give your child a piece of paper and say "write down anything you're worried about."
• Reframe the feeling. Harvard research found that saying "I'm excited" works better than trying to calm down. Excitement and anxiety feel similar in the body — reframing gives the feeling a productive meaning. You might say: "That butterflies feeling means your brain is getting ready."
• Walk through tomorrow. Have your child close their eyes and picture arriving at the test centre, sitting down, starting the first section. This simple visualisation reduces the "unknown" factor that amplifies anxiety.

What not to say: Avoid emphasising how important the test is. Your child already knows. Focus on effort and process: "I'm proud of how hard you've worked" rather than "you need to do well."

Test morning

Breakfast matters. Multiple studies confirm that what children eat on test morning measurably affects attention and processing speed. The key is sustained energy — not a sugar spike followed by a crash.

Good options: rolled oats with banana, eggs on wholegrain toast, Greek yoghurt with fruit. Avoid sugary cereals or pastries. Stick to familiar foods — test day is not the time to try something new.

Check the Admission Ticket for your child's start time and test centre location. Most centres are local public high schools. Arrive at the time shown — late arrivals receive no extra time.

Leave yourself extra time for drop-off. There will be other families arriving. Parents must leave the school grounds once children enter the test area.

During the test

The test has four timed sections:

Section	Questions	Time	Per question
Reading	17 questions (38 answer points)	45 minutes	~70 seconds
Mathematical Reasoning	35 questions	40 minutes	~70 seconds
Thinking Skills	40 questions	40 minutes	60 seconds
Writing	1 prompt	30 minutes	—

Here are the strategies that matter most:

Don't get stuck

The single biggest time trap is spending too long on one question. Teach your child the two-pass method: answer every question you're confident about first, flag the hard ones, then come back. This ensures easy marks aren't lost to time spent puzzling over one question — and the brain often works on flagged questions in the background.

A good rule of thumb: if a question isn't coming together after about 90 seconds, flag it and move on.

Never leave a question blank

There is no penalty for wrong answers on the selective test. A guess has a 25% chance of being right; a blank has a 0% chance. If time is running short, fill in every remaining question — even a random selection is better than nothing.

Use elimination

For multiple choice, crossing off obviously wrong answers is one of the most effective test-taking strategies. Eliminating even one option raises the chance of a correct guess from 25% to 33%. Two eliminated? That's a coin flip.

Watch for extreme answers (unreasonably large or small numbers in maths) and absolute words like "always" or "never" — these are often distractors.

Check the halfway mark

Rather than watching the clock continuously, teach your child one simple check: "Am I halfway through the questions at the halfway point in time?" If not, it's time to pick up the pace and skip harder questions for now.

Writing: plan before you write

The writing section is 30 minutes for one prompt. Spending 3–5 minutes planning — jotting a quick structure on the draft paper — almost always produces a better response than diving straight in. A clear beginning, middle, and end counts for a lot.

After the test

Resist the urge to debrief every question. Your child has just concentrated intensely for over two and a half hours — they need to decompress, not relive it.

A good approach: "How did it feel?" rather than "How did you go?" Focus on the experience, not the outcome. Celebrate that the hard work is done.

Results are expected in late August 2026. Between now and then, there's nothing to be gained from post-mortem anxiety. If you'd like to understand how preferences and placement work, we've written a detailed guide to how selective school preferences work.

One last thing

If your child has been practising consistently, they're as ready as they can be. One test on one day doesn't define them — it's a snapshot of certain skills at a particular moment.

Good luck this week.

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Want to see how your child handles selective test questions? Try a free 5-question sample quiz — it takes about 5 minutes and covers reading, maths, and thinking skills.

For a broader overview of the test, read our guide: NSW Selective Test 2026: What Parents Need to Know.