"Selective school tutoring" is a large industry in Sydney, a growing one in Melbourne and Perth, and a confusing one for parents, because the colleges sell years of Saturday sessions and the entry tests are reasoning tests that cannot be crammed. This page says what moves a child's rank and what does not, when to start and how many hours, what it costs in each city, how the rankings parents read are produced and what they measure, the signs a child is a candidate, and a year-by-year plan from Year 4 with a weekly tracker to print.
Download the selective school tutoring year-by-year plan and weekly tracker (PDF) (the plan from Year 4 to the test for NSW, Victoria and WA, what to do each term, the five checks for choosing a tutor or college, and a twelve-week tracker; two pages, free).
What the tests examine, and what a tutor can change
Every selective entry test in Australia (the NSW placement test, the Victorian selective entry exam, WA's ASET, Queensland's academy tests, South Australia's Ignite) has the same shape: reading, mathematical reasoning, some form of abstract or thinking-skills reasoning, and writing, under time, at and above the child's year level. The formats and dates are in the selective school exam, state by state.
| Component | What it really tests | What tutoring changes | What it cannot change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematical reasoning | Multi-step problem solving on number, measurement, patterns and data, at and above year level, without a calculator | A great deal: a child taught to read a problem, draw it, name the unknown and check the answer moves from guessing to method; being a year ahead in mathematics makes the "above year level" items ordinary | Speed without method; a child who is behind in the year's arithmetic |
| Thinking skills and abstract reasoning | Deduction from statements, assumptions and flaws in arguments, sequences, grids and spatial puzzles | A lot: these have a small number of question types, each with a method, and a child who has seen every type is not surprised on the day | Native quickness; but most of the gap between children on this test is familiarity, not quickness |
| Reading | Inference, vocabulary in context, the writer's purpose, matching extracts across texts | Some: going back to the text for evidence, eliminating options, pacing the cloze and poetry items | The vocabulary and stamina of a child who has not read for pleasure for years; that is built at home from Year 2 |
| Writing | One timed piece marked on ideas, structure, vocabulary, sentences and accuracy | A lot in a short time: planning in three minutes, a structure for each task type, the criteria made explicit, two timed pieces a week marked against them | Nothing, if the child does not write between lessons |
The honest summary: mathematical reasoning, thinking skills and writing are where tutoring moves a rank; reading is where a childhood of books does.
What does not work
- Past papers without teaching. A child who sits a practice test every Saturday for two years and is never taught the methods behind the wrong answers has the same rank in May as in the previous March, with better stamina. The test is diagnosed, the methods taught, then the next test.
- Starting in Year 2. The tests are sat in Year 6 (NSW, WA) or Year 8 (Victoria). Before Year 4 the preparation that matters is reading and mathematics; test practice that early buys the college four years of fees and the child a dislike of Saturdays.
- Large groups for reasoning. A group of 20 hears the method once; the child who did not follow it does not say so. Reasoning is taught by watching one child's working and asking why.
- Memorised essays. Markers see the same "sudden storm" narrative a hundred times. The criteria reward a planned structure and control of language, which can be taught in a term and applied to any prompt.
- Preparing one component. Places go to the children ranked highest across all components. A child at the top in mathematics and at the middle in writing is placed below a child who is strong in all four.
When to start, and how many hours
| Test | Sat in | Start taught preparation | Hours a week | Before that |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW Opportunity Class test | May of Year 4 | Start of Year 4 (two terms) | 1 to 2 | Reading at home; Year 3 mathematics secure |
| NSW Selective High School Placement Test | May of Year 6 | Start of Year 5 (four or five terms) | 2 in Year 5, 3 in Year 6 | Year 4 mathematics a year ahead; a book a week |
| WA ASET | March of Year 6 | Start of Year 5 | 2, rising to 3 in Term 4 of Year 5 | The same |
| Victorian selective entry exam | June of Year 8 | Start of Year 7 | 2, rising to 3 in Term 1 of Year 8 | Year 7 mathematics ahead; wide reading; essays at school taken seriously |
| SEAL (Victoria, Year 7 entry) | June to August of Year 6 | Start of Year 5 | 1 to 2 | Reading; mathematics ahead |
Two hours a week of 1-on-1, one for reasoning and one for mathematics ahead of school, with a timed writing piece in alternate weeks, is the shape that works. The hours rise in the last two terms as the timed sets take over. More than three hours a week in Year 5 is usually the college's timetable, not the child's need.
What it costs
| Sydney | Melbourne | Perth | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coaching colleges: about A$60 to A$120 a week for a three-hour Saturday or after-school session; A$2,500 to A$5,000 a year; some charge per term in advance | A$50 to A$100 a week; fewer colleges, growing | A$50 to A$90 a week, mostly GATE-specific | A group of 10 to 25, a test or homework set every week, marked; the method taught to the room |
| Private tutors: A$60 to A$120 an hour; the known selective specialists more | A$55 to A$110 an hour | A$50 to A$100 an hour | One child; depends entirely on the tutor |
| Online 1-on-1 with a master's-qualified tutor from India (us): A$14 to A$19 an hour | The same | The same | One child on a shared whiteboard, every class recorded, the same tutor through to the test |
A year of two classes a week with us is about A$1,400 to A$1,900, which is less than a year at a Sydney college for a group of twenty. The comparison that matters is not the price but the format: reasoning is taught by watching one child's working, and the colleges' own best students are usually the ones who also have a private tutor. Prices for ordinary maths tutoring in the two cities are in maths tutor Sydney and Melbourne price.
How the rankings are made, and what they tell you
No department publishes a ranking of selective schools or a minimum entry score. The rankings parents read are compiled by newspapers and websites each December from the public exam results:
- NSW: from NESA's HSC data, usually the percentage of a school's exam entries that scored Band 6 (90 and above) or E4, the "success rate". James Ruse, North Sydney Boys and Girls, Baulkham Hills, Sydney Grammar and the top selective and independent schools fill the first places every year.
- Victoria: from VCE results, usually the percentage of study scores of 40 or more and the median study score. Melbourne High, Mac.Robertson, Nossal and Suzanne Cory sit near the top with the leading independent schools.
So a ranking measures what a school's students achieved at 17 or 18, which depends on who got in, the teaching, and the culture. It does not measure how hard the school is to enter at 11, though for the first ten or so schools the two go together because the same families chase both. What it tells a parent: the band of schools a child's rank might reach; what it does not: the number the child needs, which is set each year by the applicants, or whether the child will be happy there, which is the question the school visit answers.
The signs a child is a candidate
Exceeding in NAPLAN numeracy and reading in the Year 3 and Year 5 reports; finishes the class work and asks for more; reads above the year level for pleasure; likes puzzles; and wants the place after a visit. Three of five is a candidate. A child with one or two is better served by being taught the subject they love well, at a school that suits them, and that is also what we tell families in the free class when it is true.
The plan, year by year
The printable has the full version with tick boxes and a weekly tracker. In outline, for the NSW test (shift it by two years for Victoria):
| When | Mathematics | Reasoning | Reading and writing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 4 | Secure the year; start the OC test preparation if the family wants OC | Puzzles, not tests | A book a week; a paragraph a week on it |
| Year 5, Terms 1 and 2 | A year ahead: the Year 6 strand taught in order | Thinking skills, one question type a week, untimed | A book a week; one short timed piece a fortnight, marked to the criteria |
| Year 5, Terms 3 and 4 | Problem solving: the four-step method on multi-step problems | Mixed sets, 10 questions, timed loosely | Reading questions on real texts; the structures for each writing task |
| Year 6, Term 1 | Above year level: the items the test uses to separate the top | Timed sets at the exam's pace, 40 questions in 40 minutes, marked by type | One timed piece a week; vocabulary from reading |
| Year 6, Term 2 to the test (May) | Full practice tests, one a fortnight, then one a week in the last month; the errors by type between them | The same | The same; the last fortnight is confidence, not new material |
Where to get help
A 1-on-1 online class for the selective school exam with a tutor who holds a master's in mathematics: mathematics a year ahead of the school, mathematical reasoning and thinking skills taught as methods with timed sets, and writing to the NSW and Victorian criteria with a qualified English teacher, at Australian after-school times, every class recorded, A$14 to A$19 an hour. The free 30-minute first class is a timed ten-question set marked with the child, and an honest answer about whether the child is a candidate. The NAPLAN signal and the Australian curriculum work are on the NAPLAN tutoring page and the Sydney, Melbourne and Perth pages.
Download the selective school tutoring year-by-year plan and weekly tracker (PDF)
Questions parents ask
1Is selective school tutoring worth it?
2When should selective school tutoring start?
3How much does selective school tutoring cost?
4How are selective school rankings made?
5What are the signs my child is a selective school candidate?
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Shobha
Founder and lead tutor, Science with Shobha
Teaching maths, science and English to children online since 2018. 500+ students, 20+ tutors, families in nine countries.