OLSAT Level A study guide
OLSAT Level A · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
OLSAT Level A is the primary-grade level of the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test, Eighth Edition, a group-administered measure of verbal and nonverbal reasoning used by schools to inform instructional planning, gifted and talented screening, and program evaluation. Level A is designed for children in the early primary grades, typically around first grade, though the exact grade placement is set by the administering school. The test yields standard scores and percentile ranks that compare a child's performance with that of same-age peers. The exam is not a curriculum test: it samples reasoning across four domains - Verbal Comprehension, Verbal Reasoning, Pictorial Reasoning, and Figural Reasoning - using multiple-choice items delivered in a level-specific booklet with a separate answer document or, in some programs, an online platform. Topics on this exam: Verbal Comprehension, Verbal Reasoning, Pictorial Reasoning, and Figural Reasoning. The OLSAT Level A study guide has 4 sections and about 1,298 words.
01Verbal Comprehension: Listening for Exact Directions
Verbal Comprehension on OLSAT Level A is delivered orally: the examiner reads a direction or short riddle, and the child marks a picture answer. The two task types are Following Directions and Aural Reasoning.
302 words, about 2 min02Verbal Reasoning: Categories, Comparisons, and Number Stories
Verbal Reasoning uses spoken words, categories, comparisons, and simple number stories. Level A items are read aloud, so the child must reason from language rather than from text.
322 words, about 2 min03Pictorial Reasoning: Picture Classification, Analogies, and Series
Pictorial Reasoning uses drawings of objects, animals, and simple scenes. Level A tasks include Picture Classification, Picture Analogies, and Picture Series.
322 words, about 2 min04Figural Reasoning: Shapes, Folds, and Transformations
Figural Reasoning uses abstract shapes: squares, triangles, circles, lines, and folded paper. Level A tasks include Figure Classification, Figure Analogies, and Paper Folding.
352 words, about 2 min