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Free OC-style thinking skills practice paper

30 questions in 30 minutes, for Years 3 and 4. Free, with no sign-up.

Thirty thinking skills questions in thirty minutes, the count and time of the real OC test section, for a child in Year 4 or getting ready in Year 3. Your child picks an answer for each. Then you see the marks, what the paper found and the skills to look at first.

The real section
In the OC test, the thinking skills section has 30 questions in 30 minutes, as the parent guide sets out from the NSW Department of Education's pages. This paper has the same number of questions and the same time. Its questions are Learnest's own, in the style of the test.
What it covers
  • If-then chains 3 questions
  • Ordering and seating puzzles 3 questions
  • Letter and word codes 3 questions
  • Word analogies 3 questions
  • Who is right 3 questions
  • Numerical reasoning puzzles 3 questions
  • Read a figure 3 questions
  • Pattern rules in words 3 questions
  • Number series 3 questions
  • Spatial reasoning in words 3 questions
What it leaves out
The OC test also has reading and mathematical reasoning. Learnest has an OC-style mathematical reasoning paper, and no OC-style reading paper.
How to sit it
A quiet table, a pencil and spare paper for working, and no calculator. Press Start the clock below, or set a timer for 30 minutes. Your child picks one answer for each question.
Sitting it again
The questions are the same every time, so your child can sit this paper again. Leave a few weeks first, so the second try shows what they can do rather than what they remember.

Learnest marks the answers and keeps none of them. There is nothing to sign up for and no email to give.

Prefer paper? Print the paper, with the answers on the last page.

  1. Question 1 of 30

    If the drum beats, then the dancers spin. If the dancers spin, then the ribbons wave. The dancers spin. What follows?

  2. Question 2 of 30

    Four friends stand on the relay track. Priya ends the line. Lana stands right before Priya. Omar is ahead of Raj. Which child is third in the queue?

  3. Question 3 of 30

    The letters advance one place. How do you write TOP?

  4. Question 4 of 30

    Four friends stand at the pool steps. Raj ends the line. Leo comes before Kai. Ava is directly in front of Raj. Who waits in first place?

  5. Question 5 of 30

    Noah joins wing to bird, so finger joins which one?

  6. Question 6 of 30

    If the card is scanned, then the shelf slides. If the shelf slides, then the book drops. The shelf slides. What must be true?

  7. Question 7 of 30

    A basket holds some eggs. Lana thinks the number is at least 10. Ivy thinks the number is at most 7. Sam thinks the number is at most 9. Just one child has made a mistake. Which child is wrong?

  8. Question 8 of 30

    Nadia joins termite to mound, so spider joins which one?

  9. Question 9 of 30

    In a sudden death tennis draw 10 juniors take part. How many matches crown the champion?

  10. Question 10 of 30
    5 rows of 5

    For the fete the hall tiles are laid as in the block below. How many tiles were laid?

  11. Question 11 of 30

    In how many different ways can 5 swimmers be placed across 5 lanes, one swimmer in each lane?

  12. Question 12 of 30

    A tiled edge repeats the set aqua, chalk, chalk, rust. After 43 tiles, the last group is not finished. How many tiles are in it?

  13. Question 13 of 30

    In a code, every letter is shifted along two places. What code stands for BIRD?

  14. Question 14 of 30

    A chant repeats the words yo, hey, yo. Over 50 words, how many complete rounds are spoken?

  15. Question 15 of 30

    On the nature walk the sign posts show 4, 10, 11, 17, 18. Find the following number.

  16. Question 16 of 30

    The basket has eggs inside. Zara believes the count is between 1 and 4. Nadia believes the count is more than 9. Noah believes the count is between 10 and 17. Two of the guesses are right and one is not. Whose guess is wrong?

  17. Question 17 of 30

    Ayla has a code. Each letter moves forward by two places. What word was coded to make UKPI?

  18. Question 18 of 30

    Hana says dancer goes with studio, so banker goes with which word?

  19. Question 19 of 30
    ABCDE12345startend

    A garden snail slides along the drawn path shown. How many steps does the snail take?

  20. Question 20 of 30

    Making cards, Lily folds one in half four times and pushes a single hole through every layer. How many holes appear once the card lies open?

  21. Question 21 of 30

    A necklace is threaded as jade, pearl, pearl, over and over. After 47 beads, the last repeat stops partway. How many beads are in that last repeat?

  22. Question 22 of 30

    On the hiking trail the distance posts show 3, 6, 9, 15, 24. Find the following number.

  23. Question 23 of 30

    A shop stacks oranges 1 on top, 2 under, and so on down to 7 at the bottom. How many oranges?

  24. Question 24 of 30

    At the airport the boarding gates list 5, 7, 12, 20, 31. What is the next term?

  25. Question 25 of 30

    Five friends wait on the bus. Sam stands before Zara. Raj is directly in front of Zara. Kai is ahead of Omar. Zara is ahead of Kai. Name the fourth child, counting from the front.

  26. Question 26 of 30

    When the button glows, the track hums. When the track hums, the pod rolls. When the pod rolls, the platform clears. The track hums. What follows?

  27. Question 27 of 30

    A show leaflet is folded in half twice, then three holes are punched through all the layers. How many holes does it have once opened out?

  28. Question 28 of 30
    sack + 8 kg23 kgboth pans balance

    At the farm the big balance hangs dead even with one loaded sack on it. How many kilograms does the sack hold?

  29. Question 29 of 30

    For a party, a large watermelon cube gets 4 straight cuts in each of three directions: across, down and front to back. How many equal cube pieces result?

  30. Question 30 of 30

    The crate is full of apples. Mia says there are at least 8. Raj says there are between 8 and 12. Ruby says there are less than 7. Two of the guesses are right and one is not. Which child guessed wrongly?

Leave a question blank if your child does not know. It shows as not answered.

Learnest is not affiliated with ACARA, NESA, the NSW Department of Education or the Australian Maths Trust. Every question in this paper is Learnest's own, written for practice. None comes from a past paper.