NSW Opportunity Class (OC) Mock Tests 2024

• 

  ihbh on 08/03/2024 - 13:29

  +6

  Pity the days of long ago when the teacher would decide that kid should be in OC because he's brighter than the rest and needs more of a challenge, which might be based on stage rather than age.

  Nowadays, we have average kids who rote practice tests and get tutored to get in and it becomes an arms race.

  • 

    mskeggs on 08/03/2024 - 14:55

    +4

    And bad for those kids who suddenly find themselves bottom of the class and struggling, instead of doing quite well at normal school.

  • 

    Unified on 08/03/2024 - 15:00

    Thanks for the reply, in this case the teacher thinks the child should try for the OC and recognises that there are additional parctice required to get used to the timing etc. Hence this seeking of opinion in this forum.

  • 

    star-ggg on 08/03/2024 - 15:15

    +1

    I prefer a system based on merit vs one based on favoritism and nepotism.

    • 

      ihbh on 08/03/2024 - 15:27

      merit

      By that do you mean natural brightness vs preparedness to do rote practice over and over?

      When I think of merit, it would be the bright kids who might play up on normal classes because it's too easy for them and they can't be arsed repeatedly doing practice tests, but might thrive in a class where there are bright kids of many different ages.

      • 

        sharkyoz on 08/03/2024 - 15:56

        -1

        yup, that was me in high school, always causing trouble cos I was bored, but would still score 90+ on tests

      • 

        star-ggg on 08/03/2024 - 17:00

        +2

        natural brightness vs preparedness to do rote practice over and over

        Both. Discipline to do things you don't want to do for an end goal is a meritous trait too.

        and they can't be arsed repeatedly doing practice tests

        and these kids won't ever realise their intellectual potential either so why waste an OC place on them. It's called OC. Let's take kids that will take opportunities. Do you go into your job and tell your manager you can't be bothered doing some task because it's boring and not intellectually stimulating enough for you?

        • 

          fantombloo on 08/03/2024 - 23:19

          @star-ggg:

          Do you go into your job and tell your manager you can't be bothered doing some task because it's boring and not intellectually stimulating enough for you?

          No, but a good manager will know that's not your penchant and will do their best to cater around that because your other qualities are too valuable to quash.

          Same thinking as above.

          • 

            star-ggg on 09/03/2024 - 09:45

            @fantombloo:

            best to cater around

            No manager can pick apart every aspect of a project and just let you choose the bits you want to do. What if nobody wants to do that bit? Tell the CEO the project can't be done because "We could do it but it'll just be quashing our other valuable qualities".

            • 

              fantombloo on 09/03/2024 - 12:29

              @star-ggg: Of course not. But this is not the Implication. It is about the structural approach of seeing everyone as the same rather than seeing each for their own specific abilities. Some people are not great at "taking opportunities" but are otherwise excellent when coaxed into them.

              It's a bit like being a parent - you treat your kids differently according to their needs and abilities, it doesn't mean you love or preference them differently. You look for the most favorable outcome for each and all. It's an ongoing balancing act with continual feedback and adjustments, not a rote execution from a task book. It's hard work for sure to maintain fairness but it's potentially a lot more unfair to not make such considerations.

              • 

                star-ggg on 09/03/2024 - 12:53

                @fantombloo: No school including private is going to do an in-depth study on every student's pros and cons and tailor specific individual plans to maximise their outcomes.

                • 

                  fantombloo on 09/03/2024 - 13:01

                  @star-ggg: Considerate teachers do. "In depth" is obviously constrained by resources and the abilities of the teachers involved but good teachers in a supportive environment absolutely do this in either public or private schools. It's why a lot of teachers feel overstreched and burnt out, and largely unappreciated - because they're trying to juggle this with lots of other less essential but mandatory tasks that are secondary to this type of attention. Red tape in other words.

                  That said lots of teachers also don't, but that says something about them and/or their environment.

                  • 

                    star-ggg on 09/03/2024 - 13:24

                    @fantombloo: So how do we determine which student gets accees to the intense individual customized teaching plans and which don't? Maybe some kind of standardized entry assessment….

                    • 

                      fantombloo on 09/03/2024 - 13:27

                      @star-ggg: That's one part of it.

  • 

    vct101 on 08/03/2024 - 22:27

    +2

    nothing wrong with academic coaching imho. Sports coaching & clinics are the same thing, theyre just as popular but dont get the same flak. Some kids have talent, some kids just work harder.
    Sports coaches take kids through repetitive drills, discuss strategies and similute game time environments. Academic coaching does the same thing, yet it gets frowned upon. Whats the diff?

    • 

      ihbh on 08/03/2024 - 23:35

      +1

      Whats the diff?

      Sports coaching is like school.

      Repetitive drills is similar, from say 4 (as in table tennis), might get you to national level, but so many waste their lives and amount to nothing.

      With rote test taking, etc, if you're just average, you're just wasting your time. When you get to university and there's no one to coach you, you could flounder compared to the average student that got a balanced life and learnt to learn from normal processes such as school, and discovered by themselves, and had time to socialise. It also fosters a false sense of expectation and you might end up lying flat after school when you realise how average you are and that there are many people the same as or even better than you, when say a trade might be better suited to you.

      Finally, we're humans, and repetitively doing something will reduce balance and breath, which, and can stifle originality and creativity.

      • 

        morse on 09/03/2024 - 08:07

        Test taking practice isn’t really rote learning though, as it won’t be the same content, just similar, so you’re learning how to solve a problem and write an answer in the format others can understand it. There’s also nothing to say kids that get tutoring/coaching don’t do other creative, athletic or play based pursuits the rest of their time.

      • 

        star-ggg on 09/03/2024 - 10:01

        but so many waste their lives and amount to nothing

        How will your preferred selection criteria of basing it on a teacher's observation and gut feel that a student will suddenly excel in a different environment do better?

        repetitively doing something

        If your test can be gamed just by repetitively doing past tests ad inifinitum then there's a problem with your test.

        • 

          ihbh on 09/03/2024 - 16:19

          @star-ggg:

          How will your preferred selection criteria of basing it on a teacher's observation and gut feel that a student will suddenly excel in a different environment do better?

          Not sure what you mean, but if you've got a group of kids for a meaningful period of time, it's clear which ones are clearly brighter vs average ones who practice doing a lot of tests and score well in the tests.

          In my days it wasn't so regimented and set in stone. E.g. teacher thinks I'm gifted (year 4 student) and I go into the OC class with other gifted children from years 4 to 6. It's a bit hard at first, especially with the more confident outspoken year 6 students. But after a few months I adapt. If it didn't work out, no problems, I go back to normal class. In class we mainly discussed things, if I recall correctly; I'm not sure what happens nowadays.

          If your test can be gamed just by repetitively doing past tests ad inifinitum then there's a problem with your test.

          Friends, the dad is a university lecturer, complain how disenchanted their kids are at school when the other kids get outside tutoring a year ahead and effectively do that year again in school. Their kids spend most of their time playing, as kids should do.

• 

  mini2 on 08/03/2024 - 14:49

  +1

  The usual suspects - Pre-Uni, CS, Scholarly, Eduvision.

• 

  tyarrhea on 08/03/2024 - 14:53

  All are about the same.

  The bigger challenge is getting them use to exam like conditions, the confidence to skip questions (and guess) the ones they don't know and how to pace themselves.

  • 

    Unified on 08/03/2024 - 15:04

    Thanks for the reply, as there are so many offerings on the web, a real feedback from a parent is what looking for. If its found all the same and no point, may not take any mock test and let the child try at the exam itself.

  • 

    mini2 on 10/03/2024 - 14:42

    The bigger challenge is getting them use to exam like conditions, the confidence to skip questions (and guess) the ones they don't know and how to pace themselves.

    This. Time management is something they need to learn. You've got 5.5 months to sort this out - good luck.

• 

  bobokingdom on 08/03/2024 - 16:50

  +2

  As Thinking Skills is NEW for 2021, most (if not all) coaching schools questions are based on the 2021, 2022 exams AND get their teachers (high school students from famous high schools) to spin off variations from the 2021/2022 exam questions. (But these "teachers" didn't even had Thinking Skills exams when they were younger.)

  Surprisingly, the best materials are the free ones. There are 3 sets of sample questions from the NSW Education Department, if your child can understand and master all the questions in these sample sets, s/he will be ready for the exams.

  https://education.nsw.gov.au/schooling/parents-and-carers/ch…

  • 

    mini2 on 10/03/2024 - 14:48

    +1

    Despite what the department and Cambridge want you to think, the Thinking Skills questions aren't that different from the old GA questions.

    Public servants doing things for the sake of doing things, not to achieve an outcome - it's all smoke and mirrors.

• 

  localhost on 08/03/2024 - 23:01

  +1

  Better try some online tests, as they will prepare your kid for the exam. Very important is time management. Usually kids are stressed with 40 questions for 40 min but after few tests will get used to it.