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The Otis-Lennon School Ability Test® (OLSAT®)is published by Pearson NNC (previously Harcourt Assessment Services). The OLSAT® is widely used throughout the U.S. as a screening test for gifted program entry. It is also used in conjunction with the Stanford 10 Achievement test® to help ascertain whether or not children are working up to their abiilty level.
Pearson NNC describe their test as follows:
"OLSAT-8® is a group administered assessment that evaluates students’ thinking skills and provides an understanding of their relative strengths and weaknesses in performing a variety of reasoning tasks. This information allows educators to design educational programs that will enhance students’ strengths while supporting their learning needs.
OLSAT-8® specifically assesses those abilities that are related to success in school. Tasks such as detecting similarities and differences, recalling words and numbers, defining words, following directions, classifying, establishing sequence, solving mathematical problems, and completing analogies are included."
A more detailed description of the types of questions included on the OLSAT-8® can be found here
The most recent version of the test is the OLSAT-8® but some school districts still use the OLSAT-7® and the information here is relevant to that version too. There is only one OLSAT® test. The same test is used throughout the country for many years. It is a protected test and only those qualified to administer it, or study it, can see it. Pearson NNC makes a "sample test" available for school districts to purchase but it is designed to illustrate the format used rather than provide an indication of the scope of the questions or the difficulty. The OLSAT® is completely different from tests like the SAT® where there is a history of released tests that you can use to prepare.
Your child's OLSAT® test score will give you an idea of how smart they are but it isn't comparable to an IQ score. An IQ test, such as the WISC® or Stanford-Binet®, done one on one with a psychologist is a much more comprehensive, and accurate, test of cognitive ability.
The OLSAT® is completely different from achievement tests like the ITBS, CAT, MAT, SAT etc. These later tests are designed to measure how well a child has learned what they should have been taught. Can they read and do mathematics at grade level? The OLSAT®, in contrast, is intended to provide an indication of intrinsic ability. How well can your child problem solve in different contexts?
There are seven different level of the OLSAT® designed for use from Kindergarten to 12th grade. Some school districts test preschoolers. The OLSAT® is a timed multiple choice test taking approximately one hour to administer.
You can find more information about the OLSAT® at the following locations
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