English - Unlock the Power of Language.
Benchmark English skills and literacy across year levels with the ICAS English exam
- English is more than a subject—it's a superpower. In an increasingly global world, the ability to read, write, and communicate effectively sets students apart in school, in life, and in future careers.
- ICAS English helps students from Years 2 to 12 unlock that superpower. As an internationally recognised competition, it challenges young minds to go beyond memorisation—to analyse, imagine, and express with confidence and clarity. Created by education experts, the test reflects real-world skills that matter.
- Whether your child is a fluent speaker or just finding their voice, ICAS English is a fun, rewarding, and inspiring way to grow their potential. With attempt each year, they build skills, gain recognition, and take pride in their progress—earning prestigious awards from a globally respected institution.
- For parents seeking excellence, for schools striving to inspire, and for students ready to rise—ICAS English opens the door to what’s possible. Let your child’s language journey start here—with purpose, pride, and potential.
ICAS English is designed to refine and challenge your language skills across multiple areas.
Reading Comprehension
Reading Comprehension
Grammar & Punctuation
Grammar & Punctuation
Spelling & Vocabulary
Spelling & Vocabulary
Textual Interpretation
Textual Interpretation
- The primary school level papers of ICAS English exams challenge and extend high-achieving students while reinforcing key literacy skills in these crucial earlier years of language development. Students read a variety of texts which narrate, describe, explain, argue, persuade and review.
- The Engish assessment texts increase in complexity within each paper as well as between the papers, and are based on common skills in curriculums such as those in Australia and New Zealand.
- The English exam Introductory paper, for students in the equivalent of Year 2, assesses concepts such as parts of speech, tense and agreement, rhyme and simple figurative language. As well as assessing comprehension of the key features of a text, the questions in our English assessments may require students to interpret the meaning of a word, restate a writer’s idea, or infer a character’s feeling from dialogue.
- ICAS English tests more sophisticated skills as school students progress through the years. For example, in Paper A (Year 3), students may be asked to identify different text types, understand sequences of events or analyse texts to understand the writer’s point of view. Papers B and C (Years 4 and 5) of our English competition assess knowledge of English literary techniques, ability to interpret tables and diagrams, and judgment of character, contrast and inferred meaning.
- Finally, in Paper D (Year 6) of our English test, in addition to more advanced questions on complex punctuation, rhetorical devices and homonyms, questions may require students to explain the development of a character or opinion, analyse the grammatical relationship indicated by a connective or evaluate a text’s use of humour. Our English assessments are designed to test a wide variety of skills.
- The high school level papers of ICAS English exams challenge and extend high-achieving school students while preparing them for the advanced level of textual analysis required in senior years across all subjects. Students read a variety of texts which narrate, describe, explain, argue, persuade and review. The texts increase in complexity within each paper as well as between the papers, and are based on common skills in curriculums such as those in Australia and New Zealand.
- English exam Papers E and F, for students in the equivalent of Year 7 and Year 8, use more complex texts to assess English skills described in the lower papers, as well as new areas such as types of clauses, modality, idiomatic language and authorial intent. For example, questions may require students to analyse how an argument could be more effective, infer the central motivation of a character, or extrapolate the meaning of words from the same semantic family.
- English assessment Papers G to J (Years 9 to 12) prepare students for their last years of schooling, with complex texts that discuss abstract concepts and use sophisticated English language structures, tapping into students' higher-order thinking skills. Questions may require students to explain the effects of irony, perspective or even layout, evaluate the writer’s relationship with the audience, or synthesise the ideas from a text to make a new analogy or predict a future outcome. While senior high school students often set aside some of their previous extracurricular activities, ICAS tests provide valuable assessment experience and performance insights, especially in English, a compulsory subject in many states’ end of schooling examinations.
