Selective School Thinking Skills Test: Free Practice
Thinking Skills is the critical-thinking and problem-solving section of the NSW Selective School Test. It asks students to work with information and reasons rather than recall facts about a school subject.
The original examples below practise three useful reasoning moves: testing a claim, following a rule and finding what must be true. Each has an explanation you can reveal after deciding on an answer.
The Thinking Skills test format
Students answer 40 questions in 40 minutes on a computer, with four choices for each question. The department says no previous subject knowledge is required.
The examples in this guide are a small teaching selection. Use the official practice materials to explore the range of question styles. A list of practice techniques should not be treated as a guaranteed blueprint for the next test.
Separate the conclusion from its reasons
The conclusion is what a writer wants you to accept. The reasons are the statements offered to support it. Before looking at options, try saying: 'They think this because of that.'
For a weakening question, look for information that makes the step from the reasons to the conclusion less convincing. An option can mention the same subject without affecting the argument. An alternative explanation matters when the argument claims one thing caused another.
- Notice the scope. A result from one group does not automatically apply to every group.
- Check the comparison. If two things changed together, either could help explain a result.
- Read the task word. Evidence that strengthens an argument will not answer a question asking what weakens it.
Follow a rule in the stated direction
If a rule says every member of a group has a property, you can apply that property to a known member. You cannot assume that everyone with the property belongs to the group.
For ordering puzzles, write the fixed relationships down. A 'must be true' answer has to hold in every arrangement that satisfies the clues. To reject an option, finding one valid arrangement in which it is false is enough.
Build a habit of checking alternatives
- Use only the given facts. Familiar real-world habits can tempt you to add a rule the question never stated.
- Draw a small table or ordering. Keeping the facts visible reduces the chance of forgetting a condition.
- Explain the nearest distractor. State which fact it contradicts, or why it is only possible rather than certain.
- Review before adding speed. Practise a reasoning move untimed, then see whether the same method holds under a timer.
Example questions (written by iClass)
A library moved its homework club from Tuesday to Thursday. Attendance doubled. The organiser says, 'Thursday must be a better day for families, so changing the day caused the increase.'
Which fact, if true, most weakens that explanation?
- A.The library uses the same room for the club.
- B.At the same time, the library began providing a free bus from the local school.
- C.Some children borrow books after the club.
- D.The organiser prefers working on Thursdays.
B supplies another change that could explain higher attendance: more children could reach the library. It weakens the claim that the day change caused the increase, without proving that the day had no effect. The other facts do not explain why attendance doubled.
Every robot entered in the final has passed the safety check. Some robots that passed the safety check are solar-powered. Pip has not passed the safety check.
Which statement must be true?
- A.Pip is solar-powered.
- B.Every solar-powered robot is in the final.
- C.Pip is not entered in the final.
- D.No robot in the final is solar-powered.
C follows because passing the safety check is required for every finalist. Pip has not passed, so Pip cannot be a finalist. The facts do not establish Pip's power source or which solar-powered robots reached the final.
Four presentations, A, B, C and D, take place one after another. A is before C. B is immediately after A. D is not last.
Which presentation must be last?
- A.A
- B.B
- C.C
- D.D
C must follow the adjacent pair A then B, because C is after A and cannot fit between A and B. Neither A nor B can therefore be last. D is explicitly not last, leaving C. The valid orders are D-A-B-C and A-B-D-C; both end in C.
Common questions
There are 40 questions in 40 minutes. That averages one minute per question, although individual questions take different amounts of time.
The department says no previous knowledge is required. Practise reasoning from the information in each question and checking what follows from it.
A possible statement fits at least one valid case. A certain statement holds in every valid case. For a must-be-true question, try to construct a counterexample before choosing an option.
Other NSW Selective School Test sections
Next steps
- NSW Selective School Test guide: format, dates and how placement works.
- Selective test practice books: full practice papers with worked solutions.
Sources
- NSW Department of Education: Selective test format and student guide
- NSW Department of Education: Selective practice tests
Last reviewed 16 October 2026