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Opportunity Class

OC Test Prep Books – [2023 Update]

Written by Shefali Sundram

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As the new school year approaches each August, students from all corners of the country take on an intense challenge to gain access to Opportunity Classes.

To help give these students a leg up in this demanding exam here is the list of 10 best OC test prep books!

10 best OC test prep books

Getting your kids into the best schools isn’t easy, but having the right materials can provide a helping hand.

Supplementing tutoring with self-study through quality textbooks gives them an extra edge

With so many books on offer purporting to be “the best”, it’s difficult for students to choose wisely and maximize their potential in OC classes.

Here’s the list of the top 10 books for OC test prep

OC Maths Test

This book was written by Elyse Methven and published by Five senses. It is one of the chief books that can be utilized for the preparation of scholarships. The book helps to improve student’s critical thinking and mathematical skills.
The book contains a total of 16 tests with an extension of test papers. These questions range from entry-level to high-level. Multiple choice questions along with the explanation for the answers were discussed this helps in improving the confidence and confidence of the students.

Mastering O.C. General Ability

Mastering O.C. General Ability opportunity class tests was written by Yvonne Kang and published by five senses. The book mainly focuses on improving IQ tests, building cognitive skills, and questions that will upskill problem-solving ability. The book consists of 10 chapters and each chapter contains 30 questions. The answer key is also provided in the book.
It is a specially designed questionnaire book that mainly focuses on cognitive functions and IQ. The general ability test does contain a second part that was released in the year 2018 while the first part was released in 2017. Though the pattern of the questions and chapter remains the same some questions and answers were verified and modulated. Grabbing both books could be useful.

Mathematics: 100 Mini Exams for Selective Schools Entrance and Scholarships

This is a tailored book that is made for students who are preparing for scholarship exams in independent schools or for students who are preparing for selective schools. The author of the book was John Smith and it was published by five senses. A mixture of questions that are based on previous selective maths exams and scholarship exams were marked in the book. There are about 1200 questions to solve. Though the book is mainly curated for students preparing for special exams, the book also helps to build a strong knowledge about primary mathematics that is required in high schools.

Top Skills Comprehension & Top Skills Advanced Comprehension

Both of these books were by Therese Burgess and published by five senses. These books focus on increasing the comprehensive ability of students who are looking forward to selective schools. It provides a good foundation skill to students in secondary school hence it can be used by students who are willing to improve their comprehension skills. The book covers the learning area including fictional comprehension, non-fiction comprehension, ways to approach multiple choice questions, and cloze passages. The primary trick to attaining comprehensive skills is perseverance and consistency.

Both of these books provide the best comprehensive questions and methods that will help the students. Top-skill advanced comprehension provides the utmost coverage and challenging questions at different levels of hardness that will help the students to get into the desired school.

Top Skills Writing

The author of the book was Therese Burgess published by five senses. The book consists of 40 work chapters. Narrative, descriptive, exposition, explanation, review, and procedure are some of the primary topics that are covered in the book. Answers were provided for both the writing test and the skill-based exercises. Students were highly motivated to learn the writing skills that will help them in the selective class and also in the future. This is one of the best books that help young writers to tune in their words and improve their skills.

Top Skills Vocabulary

The entire series including writing, comprehension, and vocabulary was written by Therese Burgess and published by five senses. The book can be used by both upper-primary students and students who wanted to ace their selective tests and scholarship tests. It is one of the best books for anyone willing to improve their vocabulary. 

There are about 20 units in the book and each has its vocabulary list and a closure exercise at the end. The topics covered by the book include:

  • Idioms
  • Homophones
  • Analogies
  • Proofreading
  • Similes
  • Antonyms and Synonyms
  • Understanding the misuses of words

This book ultimately forms a strong foundation for secondary school students. All the reading, writing, and comprehensive skills require consistency to master these skills.

Further Mathematics Tests for Selective Schools and Scholarship Examinations (Basic Skills No. 42)

It is one of the best books that was highly recommended by most students and teachers who are in selective classes. The book was written by James An, John Smith, and Jim Coroneos and published by Coroneos publications. 

The book includes:

  • Around 760 multiple-choise questions (mainly based on the previous year’s questions)
  • All questions have answers and for the difficult ones, the outline for the solution is also available

Other Advantages of the Book:

  • Students in Junior school can utilize the book for enrichment exercises
  • The question pattern is standard and students in secondary and middle senior school can also benefit from the book
  • The general mathematical ability can be tested with the help of some diagnostic tools

The book is popular among tutors. It is also one of the widely used books utilized by students who are preparing for selective schools and scholarship tests.

Excel Opportunity Class English Tests Years 3-4

It is one of the best English textbooks that help enhance reading skills. The book was written by Alan Horsfield. This book indeed is a mixture of questions containing comprehension, vocabulary, map interpretations, and other data described along with the practice test.

The topics include:

  • Information, purpose and ways of opportunity classes
  • Passage from various text types
  • All the question have answers
  • Focussing on various English skills
  • Tougher questions have an explanation attached

OC Thinking Skills Book 1

The book was written by Rebecca Gismondo and published by five senses. This book was published in the year 2021 that focuses on improving the basic thinking skills in students and enhancing critical thinking and problem-solving abilities in children. This topic was replaced in place of general ability tests hence focusing primarily on metacognitive skill set.

The book covers topics such as:

  • High verbal and visual reasoning
  • Higher level comprehensions
  • Drawing conclusion by applying strategic and cognitive ability

The format of the book:

  • The book contains eight practice tests with eighteen questions in each section
  • Solutions with explanation
  • Includes verbal and visual questions
  • Discusses approaches to tackling questions

These are some of the best books that help students in preparing for the opportunity class test.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

What is the best book for the preparation of OC maths?

OC Maths Test and Mathematics: 100 Mini Exams for Selective Schools Entrance and Scholarships are some of the good books that you can refer to while preparing for an OC maths exam.

What are the online courses for reading?

Top Skills Vocabulary and Excel Opportunity Class English Tests Years 3-4 are some of the good books that you can refer to while preparing for an OC reading test or if you need to improve your vocabulary.

What are the steps to prepare for an OC test?

1. Start early
2. Create a schedule for study 
3. Have good and valid notes, Look for a comfortable space to study
4. Practice and rectify the mistakes

What is an Opportunity class in NSW?

Opportunity class is specially curated for students who are gifted academically. Students with the same physical and mental IQ will be catered to and nurtured under one roof where they can find themselves.

What is the full mark for an OC test?

The full mark for an Opportunity test is 300. 

Written by

Shefali Sundram

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