Parent guides
Ten plain guides to the questions NSW parents search for: the two placement tests, NAPLAN, what the syllabus expects of times tables, spelling and reading in Years 3 to 6, and the first years of school from Kindergarten to Year 2. Each one says where the facts come from and leads to a free 10-question check or a demo your child can try with no sign-up.
Tests and the syllabus, Years 3 to 7
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The NSW OC placement test: a parent's guide
What the NSW Opportunity Class placement test covers, who sits it, how applications and results work, and how to prepare a Year 3 or 4 child without burnout.
Free check: OC-style thinking skills.
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The NSW selective high school test: a parent's guide
What the NSW selective high school test covers, who sits it in Year 6, how applications, school choices and results work, and how to prepare without burnout.
Free check: selective-style thinking skills.
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NAPLAN in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9: a parent's guide
When NAPLAN runs, what the four tests cover in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9, how the results are reported, and what a parent can usefully do before and after.
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Times tables in NSW: what each year learns, and how to practise
Which multiplication facts the NSW maths syllabus expects in Years 1 to 6, in what order, and five-minute ways to practise times tables at home.
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Spelling in Years 3 to 6: what the NSW syllabus expects, and how to help
What the NSW English syllabus expects of spelling in Years 3 to 6: sounds, letter patterns and word parts, the patterns by year, and how to practise at home.
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Reading comprehension in Years 3 to 6: what it is, and how to help
What reading comprehension means in the NSW English syllabus for Years 3 to 6, the skills behind it, and how to build it at home in fifteen minutes a day.
Kindergarten to Year 2
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Starting Kindergarten in NSW: what your child learns in the first year
What a Kindergarten child learns in NSW in maths, English and science, in plain words from the syllabus, and what a parent can do at home in the first year.
Demo: Kindergarten.
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Learning to read in Kindergarten to Year 2: phonics, sight words and reading at home
How NSW schools teach reading in Kindergarten to Year 2: phonics, decodable books, sight words, the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check, and reading at home.
Free check: Year 2. Demos: Kindergarten and Years 1 and 2.
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Maths at home for Kindergarten to Year 2: counting, place value and early addition
What the NSW maths syllabus expects in Kindergarten to Year 2, from counting to 30 to numbers to 1000, and everyday ways to build counting and adding at home.
Free check: Year 2. Demos: Kindergarten and Years 1 and 2.
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Handwriting and spelling in Kindergarten to Year 2: what the NSW syllabus expects
What the NSW English syllabus expects of handwriting and spelling in Kindergarten to Year 2: letter formation, spelling by sounds and the first patterns.
Free check: Year 2. Demos: Kindergarten and Years 1 and 2.
Twelve to twenty minutes a day, planned for your child.
Learnest finds the level, teaches the gap and tells you that night which skill is slipping. The guides explain the tests and the syllabus; the daily work is what moves a child.
Learnest is not affiliated with ACARA, NESA, the NSW Department of Education or the Australian Maths Trust. The guides explain the published facts in Learnest's own words; the official pages they link are the record.