OLSAT Verbal Reasoning Test Section Online Preparation, Sample Questions and Tips – 2025
What Is the OLSAT Verbal Reasoning Test Section?
The Verbal Reasoning section is one type of subcategory included on the OLSAT Verbal Test Section. In total, the OLSAT includes a Nonverbal and Verbal Section. Within each section there are additional subcategories and subsections that ask in-depth questions about that specific topic. The Verbal Reasoning subcategory accounts for half of the score for the Verbal Section. At the completion of the test, the scores from the Verbal Section will be combined with the scores from the Nonverbal Section. The composite OLSAT score is used to identify students that are eligible for a school’s gifted and talented program.
Verbal Reasoning assesses the ability of students to discern word relationships, analogies between words, and make assumptions about sentence meanings. Children that are in Pre-K through 2nd grade will not have a reading requirement, meaning that the entire test and its instructions will be read aloud to the students. There will also be less Verbal subsections. Students in 3rd grade or higher will start to be responsible for reading the questions to themselves, and will also be answering more questions from the Verbal Section.
What Are the OLSAT Verbal Reasoning Test Sections?
The OLSAT Verbal Reasoning subcategory will be divided into seven subsections. Each of the Verbal Reasoning subsections will involve logical reasoning, verbal analogies, grouping together similar words, completing word matrixes, or inferring solutions based on several sentences. Keep in mind that students will not be completing every single subsection. Instead, the grade level is used to determine the amount of Verbal Reasoning subsections that a student is required to complete.
| Subsection Type | OLSAT Level | Subsection Description |
| Aural Reasoning | Level A – C | Students will be required to piece together information that has been provided to them in order to understand the bigger picture at hand. These questions will be read to the students out loud by a test proctor, and students will need to follow directions based on what they are told. |
| Arithmetic Reasoning | Level A – G | Students will need to use their problem-solving skills to answer Arithmetic Reasoning questions. Questions require children to discern relationships between numbers in order to decide the outcome of the numbers. |
| Logical Selection | Level D – G | Students will need to use simple logic to understand statements about everyday scenarios, and complete sentences based off of those statements. |
| Word/Letter Matrix | Level D – G | Similar to fill-in-the-blank questions, Word/Letter Matrix requires students to complete the puzzle by understanding the matrix pattern and filling in the missing box with a word or letter that completes the matrix. |
| Verbal Analogy | Level D – G | Students will need to identify the relationship between a pair of words in order to accurately choose a word that completes a second pair of words. |
| Verbal Classification | Level D – G | Students will need to find the “odd one out” in a group of words based off of the similarities in word definitions. |
| Inference | Level E – G | Students will need to be familiar with syllogisms, which are a logical argument that is simply assumed to be true. Students will read through several statements, followed by an argument. Students will decide if that argument is true based on the statements they have been provided with. |
How to Read OLSAT Verbal Reasoning Test Section Score Report?
The Verbal Reasoning subcategory for the OLSAT exam is responsible for half of the final Verbal Section test result. Once your child has completed the exam, the test proctor will add up the number of questions that were answered correctly in each Verbal subcategory, and will combine those answers with the subcategories from the Nonverbal Section. This result is known as the raw score, which is the number of answers responded to correctly over the total number of possible responses. The raw score will then be normalized and converted into the School Ability Index (SAI), which is a comparison of children’s scores within same-age children. Lastly, the SAI is converted into a percentage referred to as a Percentile Rank. This is a percentage that shows how many children received a lower score than your child.
OLSAT Verbal Reasoning Test Section Tips
- It may be useful for your child to use scratch paper. On the actual OLSAT exam, students will be allowed to use scratch paper throughout the test. This is great for children who become easily sidetracked and lose their train of thought. If your child struggles with paying attention, have them write down their thought process on a piece of paper. This will keep them focused and may help them answer difficult questions they encounter later on in the test.
- Don’t underestimate the difficulty of this exam. At first glance, you may think that the OLSAT exam is a relatively easy test. However, some adults have found that they themselves would have a hard time scoring well on this type of aptitude test. Don’t underestimate the OLSAT exam. Help your child start studying as soon as you are notified that your child will be taking the exam. Otherwise, your child may feel overwhelmed on testing day when they encounter a plethora of new material.
How to Prepare for the OLSAT Verbal Reasoning Test Section?
The Verbal Reasoning subcategory is the largest subcategory in the Verbal Section of the OLSAT exam. There are a wide variety of questions that your child may be asked to respond to. Children that have not yet mastered the English language may struggle with this section, which could adversely affect their overall score. However, this problem can be countered by preparing and studying with online practice exams. As your child repeatedly completes practice exams, they will find themselves feeling more confident about the testing material. Even if your child has exceptional verbal skills, they will likely still encounter material that they are not familiar with. Ensure that your child is familiar with the material and aware of the correct way to answer questions. Studying and preparing is the key to scoring high on the OLSAT Verbal Reasoning test section and securing a spot in a gifted and talented program.
Free OLSAT Practice Questions
Based on your grade level select the relevant free practice materials:
| OLSAT Level | School Grade |
| Level A | Pre-K and Kindergarten |
| Level B | 1st Grade |
| Level C | 2nd Grade |
| Level D | 3rd Grade |
| Level E | 4th and 4th Grade |
| Level F | 6th, 7th, and 8th Grades |
| Level G | 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th Grades |