Skill Matrix and Recommendations to Prepare for the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test®
This page documents the skills tested at each level of the OLSAT® (information sourced from Pearson Assessment, the test publisher) and provides some suggestions as to resources which can be used to work on those skills.
If you're a parent looking for suggestions for your child you'll probably find it easier to browse recommendations by grade level. If you are a teacher or tutor looking for material to use in a particular area this is for you.
The levels provided here are suitable for highly capable children. If you are working with a child who has an unexpected area of weakness you may find it easier to browse the links at on our What Can I Do? page
OLSAT-8® Level D recommended for administration in Gr 3
Skills Tested
Verbal Comprehension – Antonyms, Sentence Completion, Sentence Arrangement
Verbal Reasoning – Arithmetic Reasoning, Logical Selection, Word/Letter Matrix, Verbal Analogies, Verbal Classification
Figural Reasoning – Figural Classification, Figural Analogies, Pattern Matrix, Figural Series
Quantitative Reasoning – Number Series, Number Inference, Number Matrix
Recommended titles to prepare a highly capable child for testing
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Antonyms |
Building Thinking Skills Level 2 book or software
Vocabulary Smarts Book 2
Cranium Crackers Book 1
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Sentence Completion |
Run-on Riddlers A1
Spectrum Test Prep Grade 4
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Sentence Arrangement |
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Arithmetic Reasoning |
Spectrum Test Prep Grade 4
Math Detective Beginning book or software
Mathematical Reasoning Book 1 student and instructor
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Logical Selection |
Creative Thinking Puzzlers A1
Mind Benders A1
Cranium Crackers Book 1
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Word/Letter Matrix |
Creative Thinking Puzzlers A1
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Verbal Analogies |
Think Analogies A1 or Thinkanalogy Puzzles A1
Building Thinking Skills Level 2 book or software
Spectrum Test Prep Gr 4
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Verbal Classification |
Building Thinking Skills Level 2 book or software
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Figural Classification |
Building Thinking Skills Level 2 book or software
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Figural Analogies |
Building Thinking Skills Level 2 book or software
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Pattern Matrix |
Building Thinking Skills Level 2 book or software
Visual Mind Benders A1
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Figural Series |
Building Thinking Skills Level 2 book or software
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Number Series |
Cranium Crackers Book 1
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Number Inference |
Cranium Crackers Book 1
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Number Matrix |
Cranium Crackers Book 1
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In General |
Think-a-Minutes B1 and B2
Spectrum Test Practice Gr 4 |
OLSAT-8® Level E recommended for administration in Gr 4
(The same level of the OLSAT® test is recommended for use in Gr 4 and Gr 5. If any of these titles look too easy move on to the Gr 5 recommendations. While children take the same test their performance is compared with that of their age peers so younger children don't need to get as many questions correct as older children to get the same percentile ranking.)
Skills Tested
Verbal Comprehension – Antonyms, Sentence Completion, Sentence Arrangement
Verbal Reasoning – Arithmetic Reasoning, Logical Selection, Word/Letter Matrix, Verbal Analogies, Verbal Classification, Inference
Figural Reasoning – Figural Analogies, Pattern Matrix, Figural Series
Quantitative Reasoning – Number Series, Number Inference, Number Matrix
Recommended titles to prepare a highly capable child for testing
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Antonyms |
Building Thinking Skills Level 2 book or software
Cranium Crackers Book 1
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Sentence Completion |
Run-on Riddlers B1
Spectrum Test Prep Grade 5
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Sentence Arrangement |
Run on Riddlers B1
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Arithmetic Reasoning |
Spectrum Test Prep Grade 5
Math Detective A1 book or software
Mathematical Reasoning Book 2 student and instructor
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Logical Selection |
Mind Benders A2
Cranium Crackers Book 1
Creative Thinking Puzzlers A1
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Word/Letter Matrix |
Creative Thinking Puzzlers A1
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Verbal Analogies |
Think Analogies A1 or Thinkanalogy Puzzles A1
Building Thinking Skills Level 2 book or software
Spectrum Test Prep Gr 5
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Verbal Classification |
Building Thinking Skills Level 2 book or software
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Inference |
Cranium Crackers Book 1
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Figural Analogies |
Building Thinking Skills Level 2 book or software
Math Analogies Book 2
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Pattern Matrix |
Building Thinking Skills Level 2 book or software
Visual Mind Benders A1
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Figural Series |
Building Thinking Skills Level 2 book or software
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Number Series |
Cranium Crackers Book 1
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Number Inference |
Cranium Crackers Book 1
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Number Matrix |
Cranium Crackers Book 1
Math Analogies Book 2
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In General |
Think-a-Minutes B1 and B2
Spectrum Test Practice Gr 5 |
OLSAT-8® Level E recommended for administration in Gr 5
(The same level of the OLSAT® test is recommended for use in Gr 4 and Gr 5. If any of these titles look too difficult consider starting with the Gr 4 recommendations above While children take the same test their performance is compared with that of their age peers so older children will need to get more questions correct than younger children to get the same percentile ranking.)
Skills Tested
Verbal Comprehension – Antonyms, Sentence Completion, Sentence Arrangement
Verbal Reasoning – Arithmetic Reasoning, Logical Selection, Word/Letter Matrix, Verbal Analogies, Verbal Classification, Inference
Figural Reasoning – Figural Analogies, Pattern Matrix, Figural Series
Quantitative Reasoning – Number Series, Number Inference, Number Matrix
Recommended titles to prepare a highly capable child for testing
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Antonyms |
Building Thinking Skills Level 3 verbal
Cranium Crackers Book 2
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Sentence Completion |
Run-on Riddlers B1
Spectrum Test Prep Grade 6
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Sentence Arrangement |
Run on Riddlers B1
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Arithmetic Reasoning |
Spectrum Test Prep Grade 6
Math Detective A1 book or software
Mathematical Reasoning Book 2 student and instructor
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Logical Selection |
Mind Benders A3
Cranium Crackers Book 2
Creative Thinking Puzzlers B1
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Word/Letter Matrix |
Creative Thinking Puzzlers B1
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Verbal Analogies |
Think Analogies B1 or Thinkanalogy Puzzles B1
Building Thinking Skills Level 2 book or software
Spectrum Test Prep Gr 5
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Verbal Classification |
Building Thinking Skills Level 3 verbal
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Inference |
Cranium Crackers Book 1
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Figural Analogies |
Building Thinking Skills Level 3 figural
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Pattern Matrix |
Building Thinking Skills Level 3 figural
Visual Mind Benders B1
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Figural Series |
Building Thinking Skills Level 3 figural
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Number Series |
Cranium Crackers Book 2
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Number Inference |
Cranium Crackers Book 2
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Number Matrix |
Cranium Crackers Book 2
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In General |
Think-a-Minutes C1 and C2
Spectrum Test Practice Gr 6 |
OLSAT® and Otis-Lennon School Ability Test® are registered trademarks of NCS Pearson (previously Harcourt Assessment Services) who own rights to and publish the OLSAT-8®. The recommendations made here are those of Think Tonight and are not endorsed by NCS Pearson.
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