Online Literacy & Numeracy Assessment (OLNA)

The Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment is designed for secondary students to successfully meet the minimum standard of literacy and numeracy.

To successfully obtain a Western Australian Certificate of Education, minimum standards of literacy and numeracy must be achieved.

The assessment occurs each year in March and September for young people in Years 10, 11 and 12. Once participants have passed the minimum standard, they are no longer required to sit the assessment again. There are six opportunities to pass this assessment.

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.

There are two ways students can demonstrate the minimum standard:

• Pre-qualification 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.

The OLNA is an online assessment.

Who should I contact if I have questions about OLNA literacy?

If you are the parent/guardian of a Year 10, 11 or 12 student who has not achieved Category 3 in Reading or Writing and want to know more please begin contact by sending an email to one of our OLNA Coordinators.