Common questions about ICAS

ICAS is an academic competition that challenges students and recognises their achievements in core subjects such as English, Maths and Science. The competition was started over 40 years ago and has since become an internationally-recognised annual event completed across 41 countries. The questions are engaging, fun, and written in a way that is entirely different to regular school assessments, aiming to test students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving abilities. 

Learn more about the benefits of ICAS here.

ICAS is a highly motivating competition that can encourage children to achieve big things. It gives them a platform to compete academically in a similar way to sports, with their achievements recognised with certificates or medals. These can support them with scholarship, new school and tertiary applications.

As a parent, ICAS provides you with an objective ranking of your child’s performance, which when combined with other feedback from their school, can give you a better idea of how their academic potential.

As a school, ICAS can provide you with additional insights into your students’ strengths and weaknesses, and where you might be able to accelerate learning outcomes.

Learn more about the benefits of ICAS here.

ICAS has a variety of benefits for students, parents and schools.

For students, the competition challenges them in ways unlike their regular school assessments, encouraging them to perform at their highest possible standard and rewarding them for their achievements. This can be extremely satisfying and help to build their confidence and boost their motivation. If they score a distinction, it can also help to support scholarships, new school, and tertiary applications.

For parents, ICAS can give them insight into how their children compare against their classmates, their cohort and the rest of the country. When combined with feedback elsewhere in their schooling, they have a better understanding of how their child is progressing.

For schools, ICAS yields valuable data about students’ academic strengths and weaknesses, giving teachers a more rounded picture of their academic progress. It can also help teachers with report writing, parent teacher interviews and end-of-year handovers. More broadly, the competition can be an excellent learning opportunity for teachers, giving the chance for interested teachers to lead PD courses in higher order thinking skills and to help analyse peers' teaching and learning programs to include higher order thinking activities.

There are many more benefits to ICAS here.

ICAS exams are designed to be difficult because they aim to stretch students’ abilities beyond the regular classroom. The level of difficulty will depend on your child’s aptitude for each subject, but because they are a low-stakes test with no negative consequences, there is no harm in them taking it regardless. They can even help to discover highly-gifted students who are prone to distraction!

The ICAS test is very different to NAPLAN. NAPLAN is a mandatory assessment for all Australian children, whereas ICAS is an optional academic competition that some schools may choose to partake in.

The questions in ICAS are also different to the NAPLAN test, written in a way that extends students beyond the everyday curriculum and aims to test their higher-order thinking and problem-solving abilities. NAPLAN, on the other hand, tests whether students are reaching their literacy and numeracy goals based on their grade. This includes three domains: reading, writing and language, and numeracy, whereas ICAS covers six subjects: English, Mathematics, Science, Digital Technologies, Writing and Spelling Bee.

Learn more the differences between ICAS and NAPLAN here.

In Australia, ICAS is for grades 2 to 12. New Zealand covers grades 3 to 13.

For grades for other countries such as Indonesia, Singapore, and more, please refer to our ICAS year levels page.

ICAS can be taken by children from ages 7 to 18. In Australia, this covers Years 2 to 12, but these change for different countries. Check out our ICAS year levels page for more information.

Students get one attempt at the ICAS exam for each subject. If they fall within the 7 to 16 age range, they are able to enter the competition again in the following year.

The length of ICAS exams varies depending on the year level and subject, ranging from 30 minutes to 1 hour.

The ICAS English test runs from 35 minutes to 55 minutes, depending on the age of your child.

ICAS results are measured based on the performance of every participant. Here is a breakdown of how they work, including the Credit certificate:

• High Distinction Certificate– awarded to the top 1% of participants
• Distinction Certificate– awarded to the next 10% of participants
• Credit Certificate– awarded to the next 25% of participants
• Merit Certificate– awarded to the next 10% of participants
• Participation Certificate– awarded to all remaining participants.

To learn more about your child’s performance and where they compare against their classmates and the country, please log in to the results portal.

ICAS results are measured based on the performance of every participant. Here is a breakdown of how they work, including the Merit certificate:

• High Distinction Certificate– awarded to the top 1% of participants
• Distinction Certificate– awarded to the next 10% of participants
• Credit Certificate– awarded to the next 25% of participants
• Merit Certificate– awarded to the next 10% of participants
• Participation Certificate– awarded to all remaining participants.

To learn more about your child’s performance and where they compare against their classmates and the country, please log in to the results portal.

ICAS results are measured based on the performance of every participant. Here is a breakdown of how they work, including the difference between Credit and Merit:

• High Distinction Certificate– awarded to the top 1% of participants
• Distinction Certificate– awarded to the next 10% of participants
• Credit Certificate– awarded to the next 25% of participants
• Merit Certificate– awarded to the next 10% of participants
• Participation Certificate– awarded to all remaining participants.

To learn more about your child’s performance and where they compare against their classmates and the country, please log in to the results portal.

There are a variety of ways to practise ICAS and aim for a High Distinction, including past papers and RiSE+ ICAS practice tests, as well as working backwards for particular questions, sticking to half hour chunks when learning, maintaining a healthy diet and getting plenty of exercise.

For more information on how to prepare your child for ICAS, check out these two articles:

1. Parents: how to prepare for ICAS
2. Schools: how to prepare for ICAS