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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.
The most recent version of the test is the OLSAT-8® but the books and software recommended here for test preparation are relevant to the OLSAT-7® and earlier editions of the test. The OLSAT® may also be referred to as a school ability test, a cognitive ability test or an IQ test. 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 ability.
The OLSAT® includes tasks such as detecting likenesses and differences, recalling words and numbers, defining words, following directions, classifying, establishing sequence, solving arithmetic problems, and completing analogies. Its intent is to assess thinking skills and provide an understanding of a student's relative strengths and weaknesses in performing a variety of reasoning tasks. It is designed to get a measure of your child's ability level independent of what they're being taught at school. Tests of how they're doing in school (standardized tests of reading and math which differ from state to state) are called ability tests. Of course ability and achievement tests are not truly independent but the skills the OLSAT® tests for aren't often explictly taught to children whereas reading and math are.
There are seven different level of the OLSAT® designed for use from Kindergarten to 12th grade. Some school districts test preschoolers. Pre K students take the A level of the test designed for K students but their score is compared with that of their age peers meaning that a 3 year old wouldn't need as high a raw score as a 5 year old to achieve the same percentile ranking. In New York City 3 year olds are tested using 40 of the questions from the Level A OLSAT® test. 4 year olds are tested using the entire Level A test which has 60 questions. The performance of children is compared with that of their age peers in 3 month bands (so, as an example, children born Oct 04 - Dec 04 are compared with each other and children born Jan 04 - Mar 04 with each other). Younger children do not have to answer as many questions correctly to be identified as gifted.
The OLSAT® is a timed multiple choice test taking approximately one hour to administer.
My number one recommendation in every grade is Building Thinking Skills. This series teaches verbal and non-verbal reasoning skills. The presentation of many of the questions is similar to that of the OLSAT®. Building Thinking Skills doesn't cover everything but if you want just one book this is the best place to start for most children.
Choose your child's grade level above for specific recommendations. Since the OLSAT® is most commonly used as a screening tool for gifted program entry these recommendations assume that you do indeed have a bright child. Most gifted and competitive entry programs attempt to identify children with cognitive abilities 2-3 years above those of their typical age peers. To answer the most difficult questions on the OLSAT® given at your child's grade level your child will need to be working at this higher level.
You may find that your child's abilities are not even across the different reasoning skills. This is quite normal and you may decide to purchase different levels of books for verbal, non-verbal and quantitative skills. If you have any doubts please email or phone and I'd be happy to help you make your selection. Email is usually faster. I can respond with links directly to the products I recommend so that you can browse at your convenience.
If your child will be tested above grade level, for example a 5th grader will be taking the OLSAT® Level F (recommended for use in Gr 6-8) then initially browse the recommendations for the level of test they will be taking and if they look too challenging move down to lower levels. To score well your child will need to be able to do the more difficult material but they are likely to benefit from starting with something that isn't quite as much of a reach. This is particularly true for a young child. In New York children as young as 3 are being tested using the A version of the OLSAT® designed for Kindergarteners. It is unlikely that your 3 year old is ready for the K recommendations so start with Pre K. Remember that your child's performance will be compared with that of their age peers. While a 3 year old may be given much the same test as a 5 year old they are not expected to do as well to be identified as gifted.
If your child is being assessed for program placement or as part of annual homeschool screening select from the same series I've recommended but choose product at their grade level, rather than above.
Sometimes I'm asked if children should guess when they don't know the answer. Scoring of the the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test® doesn't penalize for incorrect answers so your child's score can only go up if they guess the answers to questions they don't know. If they guess the correct answer their score will go up. If they guess the incorrect answer their score will be the same as if they left that question blank. If the objective is to get the highest score possible to give your child the best chance of being selected for entry to a gifted program then guessing is a sensible strategy. If the OLSAT® is being used to get an idea of how your child's classroom performance (in subjects such as reading and math) compares with their cognitive ability then your child should be instructed not to guess unless they're pretty certain they know the answer. Correct guesses may lead to the conclusion that your child is not working up to their ability level.
OLSAT® and Otis-Lennon School Ability Test® are registered trademarks of NCS Pearson (previously Harcourt Assessment Services). The recommendations made here are those of Think Tonight and are not endorsed by NCS Pearson.
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