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The OLSAT, explained for parents

The OLSAT is a school ability test some US districts and independent schools use for gifted and talented admission. It mixes verbal, non-verbal and quantitative reasoning in one test.

At a glance

Full name
Otis-Lennon School Ability Test, 8th edition
Published by
Pearson
Who sits it
Some US school districts and independent schools, for gifted and talented admission.
What it is made of
Verbal, non-verbal and quantitative questions in a mixed format: analogies, classification, series and matrices alongside following directions and other verbal comprehension questions.

What it asks

  • Verbal: verbal comprehension (such as following directions) and verbal reasoning (such as analogies and classification).
  • Non-verbal: pictorial and figural reasoning — picture and shape analogies, classification, series and matrices.
  • Quantitative reasoning.

Levels, by grade

  • Seven levels, A to G: kindergarten, grade 1, grade 2, grade 3, grades 4–5, grades 6–8 and grades 9–12.
  • On paper from kindergarten; online from grade 2.

How it is scored

  • A School Ability Index, with percentile ranks and stanines by age, and percentile ranks and stanines by grade.

How much of the OLSAT the puzzles here cover

Partly covered. The reasoning questions overlap with what is here. Its verbal comprehension questions are not covered.

  • Verbal Analogies
  • Verbal Classification
  • Sentence Completion
  • Number Analogies
  • Number Series
  • Figure Matrices
  • Figure Classification

Every puzzle is original: none is a copy or an imitation of a real test question. See one of each kind.

Build the reasoning, not the test

Short, original puzzles with words, numbers and shapes. Your child answers, then names the rule.

Play free in your browser
Download Cub Climb: Gifted Test Prep on the App StoreAndroid: coming soon

Or print free reasoning worksheets, grades 3 to 8.

Sources

Last checked 11 October 2026. This page is general information, not advice: your school, district, board or area has the final word on its own tests and dates. Test names are trademarks of their publishers. Cub Climb is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to any of them, or to any school or education department.