The Opportunity Class Placement Test for entry in 2021 has been rescheduled to November to give schools time to comply with the latest NSW Health advice and minimise the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
Acting Deputy Secretary, School Performance at the Department of Education, Cathy Brennan said the test would now take place at the student’s own school rather than in examination centres where physical distancing would be more difficult.
“We acknowledge the challenges faced by students during the pandemic response but their safety is our number one priority and we must strictly follow any updated health guidelines,” Ms Brennan said.
“Under the health advice, mixing students from many schools into test centres across NSW is not permitted which means that, for Government school students, tests will be administered in the students’ own school and high schools won’t be used as test centres this year,” she said.
Ms Brennan said there would be reasonable adjustments made for students with disability.
“Only students whose parents have received a confirmation email from the High Performing Students Team are eligible to sit the test on the new date of 18 November,” she said.
“The application portal will not be re-opened for new applications.”
She said placement in an opportunity class would be based solely on the results of the test to ensure the fair and consistent assessment of students across all NSW schools and regions.
Ms Brennan said testing arrangements for non-Government school students would be announced as soon as possible.
