OLNA (WACE): What It Is, Who Sits It and Re-sits (SCSA)

OLNA is the Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment, SCSA's test of the minimum standard of reading, writing and numeracy that Western Australian students need for the WACE. You only sit the components you have not already met through your Year 9 NAPLAN results, and you can have up to six opportunities before you complete Year 12. It is a requirement for the certificate, not part of your ATAR.

This guide describes OLNA as set out in SCSA's WACE Manual 2026 and Year 12 Information Handbook 2026. For the other WACE requirements (units, C grades, course types), see how the WACE works. The ATAR is a separate calculation done by TISC, covered in the WACE ATAR guide.

What is OLNA?

OLNA is an online assessment of reading, writing and numeracy. SCSA describes the minimum standard as indicative of Level 3 of the Australian Core Skills Framework. It is a pass-or-not-yet standard for the WACE rather than a course with a mark and a grade, and it sits outside the ATAR course exams that count towards your combined mark.

It has three components:

Students registered as eligible for a Year 12 EAL/D course get an extra 10 minutes on each component, and disability adjustments are available for students whose condition may significantly affect their capacity to sit the test.

Who has to sit OLNA?

Every student has to show the minimum standard in all three areas. The standard can be met in two ways, separately for reading, writing and numeracy:

1. Prequalify through Year 9 NAPLAN. If you reach the required level in the matching NAPLAN test, you have met that area and do not sit the OLNA component for it. The WACE Manual calls this "the required level or higher" and does not print the level itself, so ask your school which components you have prequalified in.
2. Pass the OLNA component. A student who has not prequalified in reading, writing or numeracy is required to sit the matching component or components.

The literacy standard needs both reading and writing. SCSA says students sitting OLNA must satisfy both the reading and writing components to demonstrate the literacy standard. Numeracy is met on its own.

Prequalifying is done component by component. The WACE Manual's own example is a student who prequalifies in reading and numeracy but not writing: that student only sits the OLNA writing component.

International and mature-age students are required to sit OLNA at the first available opportunity.

What does "Category 3" mean for OLNA?

OLNA results are reported in categories, and Category 3 is the result that meets the standard for a component. SCSA's 2024 OLNA update says students who achieve a Category 3 result in a Semester 1 window are not eligible to continue in the matching Foundation course units in Semester 2. The WACE Manual sets the same rule for students who have demonstrated the minimum standard in Semester 1, which is how the two line up. If your result for a component is not Category 3, you have not yet met the standard for it and sit it again.

The WACE Manual and Year 12 Handbook do not use the category labels. They describe the requirement as "meeting the minimum standard" or "prequalifying", so those are the phrases to look for in the WACE requirements.

When do you sit OLNA, and what are the windows?

Students who have not prequalified are required to sit the relevant component or components twice before the end of Year 10. If the standard is still not met by then, they sit in Semester 1 of Year 11, and after that they choose when to sit next. SCSA allows two sits per year level, no more than one per term, and up to six opportunities before completing Year 12. A Year 9 student can sit in Term 4, but that counts as one of the two Year 10 sits.

SCSA runs OLNA in windows across the school year, with the writing test held in two days and the numeracy and reading tests spread over a longer period. The 2026 windows were:

Window dates change each year, so use these as the pattern rather than the dates for your cohort, and check with your school which window you are in.

What happens if you do not pass or miss OLNA?

• You do not meet the standard. You sit that component again. Each sitting counts as one of your six opportunities before you complete Year 12.
• You choose not to sit. SCSA says a student who has not prequalified through NAPLAN and who chooses not to sit OLNA does not qualify for the WACE.
• You leave school without meeting the standard. You can apply to SCSA to re-sit the assessment at any age.
• You miss a particular window. The SCSA documents we hold do not describe how an individual absence is handled, so ask your school's OLNA coordinator which window you move to.

Your WASSA records whether you have met the literacy and numeracy standards.

What score do you need to pass OLNA?

The SCSA documents we hold do not print a pass mark or a scaled cut score for the OLNA components, only the Level 3 description of the standard and the test formats above. Do not rely on third-party sites for a number. Ask your school how SCSA reports your result.

How do you prepare for OLNA?

SCSA publishes support documents for teachers preparing students for OLNA and supporting students who have not yet met the standard, so ask your school what OLNA support it runs. The tests use formats you can practise in advance: 45 multiple-choice items for reading and numeracy, and a single extended response of up to 600 words for writing. Pace yourself for 50 minutes on the multiple-choice tests and 60 for the writing.

OLNA is only one of the WACE requirements. See how the WACE works for the rest, and the WACE hub for courses and exam resources.