OLNA Numeracy

Some students, not all, will be sitting the OLNA online assessment. Students who are required to sit OLNA will be advised by their class teachers of their individual testing times. If you have any questions, please contact the school.

Why?
To achieve the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE), students will need to demonstrate minimum standards of literacy and numeracy. These are the skills regarded as essential to meet the demands of everyday life and work. For example, it would be expected that a young person leaving school can write a good job application, read and follow instructions and complete the sorts of maths adults encounter all the time when shopping or balancing the family budget. These skills, as described in the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF) at Level 3, must be demonstrated in:
• literacy (reading and writing), and
• numeracy.

There are two ways students can demonstrate the minimum standards:
• prequalification through the Year 9 National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), or
• performance in the Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (OLNA).

Students who achieve Band 8 or higher in any of the three components of reading, writing and numeracy in their Year 9 NAPLAN are acknowledged as having demonstrated proficiency in using a range of ACSF Level 3 skills in that component. They are not required to sit the corresponding OLNA component, e.g. if a student achieves Band 8 or higher in reading in their Year 9 NAPLAN they will not need to sit the reading component of the OLNA.

Students in Years 10 to 12 who need to demonstrate the minimum standard in one, two or all of the components will be scheduled to sit the assessment each March and September. This gives students up to six opportunities before the end of Year 12. Schools will arrange for students to sit the OLNA during the assessment windows.

Access the OLNA Practice and Example tests.

For further information, please read the OLNA brochure (PDF).