Free OLSAT Level G Exam Flashcards

Otis-Lennon School Ability Test. It is a norm-referenced cognitive ability test (not a content/achievement test) that measures verbal and nonverbal reasoning skills used for gifted-program screening and academic placement.

Verbal (Verbal Comprehension + Verbal Reasoning) and Nonverbal (Pictorial Reasoning + Figural Reasoning + Quantitative Reasoning). The two clusters carry roughly equal weight toward the total score.

Raw scores convert to a School Ability Index (SAI) with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 16 (no upper/lower pass mark). A percentile rank comparing the student to same-age or same-grade peers is also reported.

No penalty for wrong answers — always answer every item. Most gifted-program cutoffs fall around an SAI of 130+ (roughly the 95th-98th percentile or higher), though exact cutoffs are set locally by each school or district.

The ability to read or hear a multi-step instruction and identify the one outcome that satisfies every condition exactly, not just some of them.

Underline or mentally flag sequencing and conditional words (first, then, after, unless, except) and execute each condition literally and in order before selecting an answer.

Vocabulary depth: identifying the word that is most nearly opposite in meaning to a given word, drawn from grade-appropriate and advanced vocabulary.

Define the target word precisely in your own words first, then eliminate choices that are synonyms, unrelated words, or only loosely connected — the correct choice is the direct opposite.

Mitigate means to make less severe. The opposite is exacerbate (to make worse). A near-synonym like 'soften' is a common wrong-answer trap because it means almost the same thing, not the opposite.

The ability to use context clues (tone, logic, supporting details) in a sentence to choose the word that completes it most sensibly.

Read the full sentence first to judge its overall logic and tone before looking at answer choices; eliminate any word that contradicts the sentence's direction (support vs. contrast) or tone.

The ability to reorder a scrambled set of words or clauses into the one arrangement that forms a complete, grammatically correct, logical sentence.

Find the subject and main verb first to anchor the sentence, then place modifying clauses and conjunctions around them until only one logical order remains.

The ability to listen to a short scenario or set of facts (presented without text to read) and reason to a correct conclusion, relying on working memory rather than re-reading.

Immediately restate the key facts in your own words after hearing them, and listen closely for qualifying words (all, some, only, unless, none) — these change what can logically be concluded.

The ability to translate a real-world word problem into the correct math operation or sequence of operations, not just compute — the reasoning step matters more than the arithmetic itself.

Identify exactly what quantity is being asked for, extract only the numbers relevant to that question (ignore irrelevant details), and set up the equation before calculating.

'A store sells notebooks in packs of 8. If a school orders 15 packs and gives away 22 notebooks, how many remain?' Set up: (15 x 8) - 22 = 120 - 22 = 98. Identify the operation chain before computing.

The ability to apply a stated rule or set of premises and select the one answer choice that logically must follow, similar to a mini-syllogism.

Sort each choice into 'must be true,' 'could be true,' or 'cannot be determined' based only on the given premises — the correct answer is always the one that MUST be true.

A grid (often 2x2 or 3x3) in which words or letters change according to a rule moving across rows and down columns; the task is to select the item that correctly completes the grid.

Determine the row rule and the column rule separately, then confirm your answer satisfies both rules at once — an answer that fits only one direction is a trap.

The ability to identify the specific relationship between a pair of words (A is to B) and select a second pair of words that shares that exact same relationship.

State the relationship as a precise sentence, e.g., 'A is a type of B' or 'A is the opposite of B,' then test each answer choice against that same sentence template.

Given a set of words, the ability to identify which one does not share the group's common category, or to select a new word that fits the group.

Identify the most SPECIFIC shared category (not just the broadest one) — answer choices often include a word that fits the broad category but breaks the more specific shared trait.

The ability to determine what conclusion is logically supported by a set of stated facts or premises, without adding outside knowledge or unstated assumptions.

Stay strictly within the given premises. Reject any answer choice that is realistic or plausible but is not actually stated or logically guaranteed by the passage.

The ability to look at a group of pictures and identify which one does not belong, or select a new picture that matches the group's shared category.

Group images by function or category (e.g., living vs. non-living, tool type, use) rather than surface features like color or size, which are common distractor traps.

The ability to identify the relationship between a first pair of pictures and complete a second pair with the same relationship.

Describe the transformation between the first pair of images in words (e.g., 'gets bigger,' 'rotates 90 degrees,' 'young version becomes adult version'), then apply that exact transformation to find the missing image.

The ability to observe a sequence of pictures that change according to a rule and predict which picture logically continues the series.

Track one changing feature at a time (size, count, orientation, shading) across the sequence rather than trying to judge the whole image at once — most series change only one or two features per step.

The ability to examine a set of abstract shapes and identify which one breaks the group's shared rule, such as number of sides, symmetry, or shading pattern.

Test multiple attributes systematically — shape count, number of sides, symmetry, rotation, and shading — since the 'odd one out' usually breaks just one specific attribute while matching the others.

The ability to identify the transformation (rotation, added element, shading change, size change) between a first pair of abstract figures and apply the same transformation to complete a second pair.

Check for MULTIPLE simultaneous transformations at once (e.g., the figure both rotates AND changes shading) — the correct answer must satisfy every transformation, not just one.

The ability to observe a sequence of abstract shapes changing by a repeating or progressive rule and predict the next figure in the sequence.

Test whether the pattern is cyclic (repeats every fixed number of steps) or cumulative (keeps adding or growing one feature each step) before selecting the next figure.

A 3x3 (or similar) grid of abstract figures where each row and each column follows its own rule; the task is to select the figure that correctly fills the missing cell.

Analyze the row rule and the column rule independently, then confirm the chosen answer satisfies both directions simultaneously — never rely on only one direction.

Wrong answers are often figures that correctly satisfy the row rule OR the column rule, but not both. Always reject any choice that only partially completes the pattern.

The ability to identify the mathematical rule governing a sequence of numbers (addition, subtraction, multiplication, alternating, or cumulative patterns) and predict the next term.

First compute the differences between consecutive terms. If the differences aren't constant, check ratios, alternating add/subtract patterns, or a Fibonacci-style rule (each term built from prior terms).

Series: 3, 6, 11, 18, 27, ? — differences are 3, 5, 7, 9 (increasing by 2 each time), so the next difference is 11, giving 27 + 11 = 38.

The ability to use symbols, pictures, or balance-style equations that represent unknown quantities and deduce the value of a missing quantity through logical/algebraic reasoning.

Translate the picture or symbol relationships into algebraic equations (assign a letter to each unknown), then solve the resulting equation or system of equations like a standard math problem.

A grid of numbers where each row and column follows a mathematical rule (such as a constant sum, product, or difference); the task is to find the number that completes the grid.

Test the row operation (e.g., row sum or product) and the column operation separately, then verify the missing cell's value satisfies both operations before finalizing your answer.