OC practice on a tablet or laptop: a ten-minute setup check
A ten-minute home familiarisation activity and printable checklist for Year 3-4 children about to start on-screen Opportunity Class practice on a tablet or laptop. Original Braintree Coaching Australia material; not the official test platform.
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About this resource
Quick Answer
Before the first on-screen OC practice, spend ten minutes checking that your child can select and change an answer, scroll a passage without losing their place, and read comfortably on the device you own. This page is home familiarisation from Braintree Coaching Australia: a short activity and a ten-line parent checklist. It is not a copy of the official test platform and it keeps no score.
Is the real OC test on a computer?
Yes. The NSW Department of Education says the Opportunity Class Placement Test is completed on computers, and students use Department-provided computers at the test centre. The Department's own online practice tests are the place to see the real format; for what to practise and how often, see our OC practice tests page.
Try it: the six-step device activity
Do this with your child on the device they will use for practice. Sit beside them for the first run and say nothing about right answers. The questions are deliberately easy and nothing is scored. Everything on this page works with the keyboard alone: press Tab to move between controls, the arrow keys to change a choice, and Enter to follow a link.
Step 1. Select an answer. Go to Question 1 and choose one option.
Step 2. Change the answer. Choose a different option for Question 1. Check that only one stays selected.
Step 3. Scroll to a marked word. In the passage below, scroll until you find the highlighted word. If scrolling is awkward, use the link "Skip to the marked word" and then come back with the link "Back to the start of the passage".
Step 4. Answer a question below the fold. Question 2 sits after the passage. Scroll down to it (or use the link "Go to Question 2") and answer it without losing your place in the passage.
Step 5. Move back and forth. Use the Question 1 and Question 2 links above to go to Question 1, then to Question 2, then back again. Notice whether your child can find the way back without help.
Step 6. Hide and show the timer. Open the "Timer" section below, then close it again. The Department's online practice tests have a countdown timer a student can hide. Practise opening and closing yours before the first timed session.
The Night Watch at Cape Linnet
Every evening, just before the sun slid behind the hills, Mr Okafor climbed the one hundred and twelve steps to the top of the Cape Linnet lighthouse. He had made the climb so many times that his knees no longer complained, although the old wooden railing did, creaking at every turn of the spiral stair.
His cat, Biscuit, always followed him up. She was a round, grey cat with one white ear, and she believed the lighthouse had been built entirely for her. While Mr Okafor polished the great glass lens and checked that the oil was full, Biscuit sat on the windowsill and watched the gulls wheeling over the water.
On the night of the big storm, the wind howled around the tower and the rain struck the windows like handfuls of gravel. Far out at sea, a small fishing boat rocked between the waves. Its crew could see nothing at all, not even the rocks that lay just beneath the surface.
Mr Okafor lit the lamp. At once a long white beam swept across the sea, and then another, and then another, turning slowly like the hand of a clock. He stood very still and counted the flashes. Three flashes, a pause, and three more. That was the pattern of Cape Linnet, and every sailor on the coast knew it.
Hours passed. Just before dawn the storm grew tired, and the clouds thinned out like torn paper. Biscuit stretched, yawned, and dropped a damp paw on Mr Okafor's boot. He looked down at her and smiled.
Then, through the grey light, he saw a small boat moving carefully into the harbour. Its crew had followed the lantern of Cape Linnet all the way home. Mr Okafor lifted his hand in a wave. On the boat, someone lifted a hand back.
Back to the start of the passageTimer
Time left: 40:00. This is a practice display only. It does not count down on this page.
Check the activity answers (optional)
Question 1: B, Biscuit. Question 2: B, the light of the lighthouse. Nobody needs a result for this activity. If your child got both right, the passage was easy; if they got one wrong, ask them to find the sentence that tells them, and notice whether the scrolling got in the way.
What should I set up around the device?
Use this list once per device, then tick it again before each timed practice. Print this page if you prefer a paper copy; the questions above are not needed on the printout.
- Screen size and brightness. Text is easy to read at arm's length, and the brightness is not glaring.
- Mouse or trackpad. Your child can click an option and scroll with it without help. On a laptop or desktop the Department's practice also needs a physical keyboard.
- Zoom at 100 per cent. The page is not magnified or shrunk, so text and buttons sit where your child expects them.
- Notifications off. Messages, banners and game alerts are switched off for the session.
- Charger in reach. The device is above half charge or plugged in before the timer starts.
- Seat and desk height. Feet are flat, elbows are roughly level with the keyboard or screen edge.
- Scratch paper and pencil. Working out is done on paper. The Department issues working paper at the test, so practise with paper beside the device.
- No calculator. None is allowed in any OC test, so none is on the desk.
- Timer visible, and hideable. Your child knows where the countdown is and has tried hiding and showing it (Step 6).
- Quiet room. The door is shut, other screens are off and nobody walks through for the length of the session.
What does a completed check look like?
This example is fictional. It was written for this page and does not describe a real family or a real child.
The Tran family, one evening, an older tablet in a case.
| Line | Result | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Screen size and brightness | Ticked | Raised brightness one notch |
| 2 Mouse or trackpad | Not ticked | Tablet only. Child scrolls with a finger, but taps the wrong option about one time in four |
| 3 Zoom at 100 per cent | Ticked | Case had been left on 125 per cent. Reset |
| 4 Notifications off | Ticked | Switched on "do not disturb" |
| 5 Charger in reach | Ticked | |
| 6 Seat and desk height | Ticked | Cushion added |
| 7 Scratch paper and pencil | Ticked | |
| 8 No calculator | Ticked | |
| 9 Timer visible, and hideable | Ticked | Found the hide control on the second try |
| 10 Quiet room | Not ticked | Younger sibling is in the next room. Moved the session to 4 pm |
What they decided: the tablet is fine for the first practice, but the family will try a borrowed laptop next weekend because of the mis-taps in line 2, and will repeat the check on that device. Two unticked lines, both with a plan, is a normal and useful result.
What should we practise next?
Use the free OC mock tests (a free student account is needed) for timed practice, and OC practice tests for how to run and review a sitting at home.
This is original Braintree Coaching Australia practice material. It is not an official NSW Department of Education item and does not reproduce the test platform.
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