The Thinking Skills section is a major component of the Opportunity Class (OC) and Selective School Placement Tests in Australia. It was introduced to replace the previous General Ability section, with a more modern focus on assessing students’ reasoning, problem-solving, and critical thinking capabilities.

This change reflects the growing importance of higher order thinking in today’s education system. Rather than just testing knowledge or memorisation, Thinking Skills evaluates how well students can analyse information, identify patterns, draw logical conclusions, and solve complex problems—skills that are essential for success in school and beyond.

Why Thinking Skills Matter

In the 21st century, students are exposed to vast amounts of information daily—through school, the internet, and media. It is no longer enough to simply know facts. Students must be able to:

• Make informed decisions
• Evaluate arguments and claims
• Identify valid reasoning
• Solve unfamiliar problems logically and effectively

The Thinking Skills test is designed to assess whether students can do these things under exam conditions. It encourages deeper learning, intellectual flexibility, and independent thinking—all key traits of high-achieving learners.

Two Main Areas of Thinking Skills

The Thinking Skills section is divided into two broad categories:

1. Problem Solving

Problem solving focuses on the ability to use logic, numeracy, and reasoning to work through unfamiliar problems. This part of the test is mathematical in nature but doesn’t just test calculation—it looks at whether students can interpret information, choose strategies, and apply methods to solve novel problems.

It includes three main types of questions:

• Relevant Selection

Students must identify and extract only the essential information needed to solve a problem while ignoring irrelevant data. This tests their ability to filter out distractions and focus on what truly matters in a question.

• Finding Procedures

These questions require students to determine a method or procedure that will lead to a solution. They might involve numerical reasoning, working systematically, trial-and-error, or understanding the logic behind a process.

• Identifying Similarity

Here, students must find patterns or similarities between sets of information—such as in numbers, diagrams, or sequences. They often involve recognising relationships or completing missing elements in a structured set.

2. Critical Thinking

Critical thinking questions assess a student’s ability to evaluate arguments, detect flaws in reasoning, and assess the strength of evidence. These questions are largely verbal or text-based and are designed to reflect real-world thinking skills, particularly important in the digital age, where distinguishing fact from misinformation is crucial.

The Australian Curriculum highlights critical thinking as “the core of most intellectual activity”, involving skills such as forming arguments, using evidence, drawing conclusions, and evaluating information.

The Critical Thinking component of the test targets seven key skills:

1. Identifying the Main Conclusion

Students must determine which statement is best supported by the rest of the information in the passage.

2. Drawing a Conclusion

This involves making a logical inference that isn’t directly stated, but can be reasonably concluded from the given information.

3. Identifying Assumptions

Assumptions are things the argument takes for granted. These questions ask students to find the “hidden” ideas the argument depends on but doesn’t explicitly state.

4. Assessing the Impact of Additional Evidence

Students are given new pieces of information and must judge whether they strengthen or weaken the argument.

5. Detecting Reasoning Errors

This type of question involves spotting flaws or fallacies in the logic of an argument.

6. Matching Arguments

Students must find an argument with a similar structure or reasoning pattern as the one presented.

7. Applying Principles

Here, a principle or rule is given, and students must apply it correctly to a new situation or argument.

Why is Thinking Skills Important in the OC & Selective Tests?

The OC and Selective tests are not just about testing academic content—they’re designed to find students who show exceptional potential for learning. Thinking Skills plays a critical role in this, as it reveals how students approach problems they may have never seen before.

It reflects the student’s ability to:

• Think independently
• Adapt their reasoning to new situations
• Interpret and analyse complex information
• Justify and evaluate ideas logically

In short, Thinking Skills provides a more accurate measure of a student’s cognitive abilities than traditional rote-learning tests. It levels the playing field by testing reasoning over knowledge, ensuring that students who are naturally curious, logical, and analytical are recognised for their talents.

Final Thoughts

As education shifts towards developing lifelong learners and critical thinkers, the inclusion of Thinking Skills in the OC and Selective tests aligns with these goals. It gives students the chance to demonstrate how they think—not just what they know.

Preparing for Thinking Skills involves more than just practice—it requires developing a mindset of curiosity, logical reasoning, and the ability to question assumptions and see patterns. These are not just test skills—they’re life skills.