OLSAT study guide
OLSAT · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT) is a group-administered cognitive abilities test used by many schools to estimate reasoning and problem-solving skills in students from kindergarten through grade 12. It is not a subject-matter achievement test; instead, it samples verbal, nonverbal, and quantitative reasoning through multiple-choice items. Schools use OLSAT results alongside grades, teacher ratings, and other evidence for gifted-program screening, placement, and instructional planning. The test is published by a commercial assessment company, and this page is an independent study resource with no affiliation to that publisher or to any school district. Topics on this exam: Verbal Comprehension (antonyms, sentence completion, sentence arrangement), Verbal Reasoning (analogies, classification, following directions), Pictorial Reasoning (picture analogies, picture classification, series), Figural Reasoning (figural analogies, figural classification, figural series), and Quantitative Reasoning (number analogies, number series, number classification, numeric inference). The OLSAT study guide has 5 sections and about 1,668 words.
01Verbal Comprehension: Antonyms, Sentence Completion, and Sentence Arrangement
Verbal Comprehension on the OLSAT asks you to work with word meaning and sentence structure under time pressure. The three item types are antonyms, sentence completion, and sentence arrangement.
306 words, about 2 min02Verbal Reasoning: Analogies, Classification, and Following Directions
Verbal Reasoning tests relationships among words and the ability to apply a rule in sequence. It includes analogies, classification, and following directions.
337 words, about 2 min03Pictorial Reasoning: Picture Analogies, Picture Classification, and Series
Pictorial Reasoning uses drawings of objects, people, animals, and scenes instead of words. The OLSAT uses three formats: picture analogies, picture classification, and series.
348 words, about 2 min04Figural Reasoning: Figural Analogies, Figural Classification, and Figural Series
Figural Reasoning uses abstract shapes-squares, triangles, dots, lines, and shaded regions-rather than recognizable objects. The three formats are figural analogies, figural classification, and figural series.
344 words, about 2 min05Quantitative Reasoning: Number Analogies, Series, Classification, and Inference
Quantitative Reasoning on the OLSAT covers number analogies, number series, number classification, and numeric inference. The arithmetic is usually simple; the difficulty is finding the rule and applying it consistently.
333 words, about 2 min