Free · Timed · 25 minutes · Years 6–8

Free Scholarship Practice Test — 30 Questions, 25 Minutes, Instant Results

A free, timed sample in the style of the ACER and Edutest scholarship papers: 30 multiple-choice questions across mathematics and reading and language, drawn from our Year 6, 7 and 8 banks at the stretch and challenge tiers, 25 minutes on the clock, marked instantly with a section breakdown. Part of RHZ Tutoring's 3,261 free practice questions. No sign-up.

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⏱ 25-minute countdown, auto-marked📊 Section breakdown: maths reasoning · reading & language📚 3,261 free practice questions

Free practice quizzes › Scholarship practice test · Selective Entry practice test

The practice test: 30 questions in 25 minutes

Two sections. Press Start the timer, answer every question you can, and press Mark my test before the clock runs out, or it will be marked automatically. Set 36808 · New set of questions →

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Section 1: Maths reasoning (15 questions)

Question 1
Maths reasoning · Ratios & rates

A price is increased by 25%, then the new price is decreased by 20%. Compared to the original price, is the final price higher, lower, or the same?

Question 2
Maths reasoning · Algebra & linear equations

Which value of x makes both of these true at the same time? 3x + 1 > 10 AND 5x − 4 < 21

Question 3
Maths reasoning · Geometry

A parallelogram has angles of x°, (x + 40)°, x°, and (x + 40)°. What is the value of x?

Question 4
Maths reasoning · Algebraic thinking

Two students describe the same pattern differently. Mia says: 'Multiply the position number by 5, then add 1.' Tom says: 'Add 1 to the position number, then multiply by 5.' Which statement is true?

Question 5
Maths reasoning · Area, volume & angles

Three angles at a point are 150°, 120° and x. Find x.

Question 6
Maths reasoning · Indices

A student simplifies (3^a × 9^b) and wants to write it as a single power of 3. Which of the following is the correct simplified form?

Question 7
Maths reasoning · Geometry

A triangle has angles in the ratio 2 : 3 : 7. A student claims the triangle is obtuse. Another student claims the largest angle is more than three times the smallest angle. Which of the following is correct?

Question 8
Maths reasoning · Pythagoras

A right-angled triangle has a hypotenuse of 17 cm and one leg of 8 cm. A student says the other leg is √(17² + 8²) = √353 ≈ 18.8 cm. What mistake did the student make, and what is the correct length of the missing leg?

Question 9
Maths reasoning · Area & volume

A circle has an area of 154 cm². Using π ≈ 22/7, what is the circumference of this circle?

Question 10
Maths reasoning · Area, volume & angles

A square tile has a side length of 30 cm. A circular design is painted on the tile so that the circle fits exactly inside the square, touching all four sides. The area of the square that is NOT covered by the circle is closest to which value? (Use π ≈ 3.14)

Question 11
Maths reasoning · Percentages

A store marks up the wholesale price of a skateboard by 40% to set the retail price. During a sale, the retail price is then reduced by 25%. The sale price is $63. What was the original wholesale price of the skateboard?

Question 12
Maths reasoning · Algebraic thinking

A sequence follows the rule T = 6n − 2, where n is the position number and T is the term value. Liam says: 'The first term greater than 100 is term 18.' Is Liam correct, and what is the value of T for term 18?

Question 13
Maths reasoning · Equations

A school sells adult tickets for $12 and student tickets for $7. At one event, twice as many student tickets as adult tickets are sold, and the total money collected is $260. How many adult tickets were sold?

Question 14
Maths reasoning · Percentages & rates

A phone plan charges a flat rate of $0.35 per minute for calls and $0.12 per SMS. In one month, Lachlan makes 45 minutes of calls and sends 80 SMS messages. What percentage of his total bill is made up by SMS charges? Round to the nearest whole percent.

Question 15
Maths reasoning · Ratios & rates

A factory produces defective and non-defective items in the ratio 1 : 19. After a machine upgrade, the number of defective items is halved while the number of non-defective items stays the same. Before the upgrade, 400 items were produced in total. What is the new ratio of defective to non-defective items, in simplest form?

Section 2: Reading & language (15 questions)

Question 16
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage, then answer the question. "The coastal town of Harley Bay had resisted development for years. When a resort company announced plans to build a hotel on the beachfront, the local paper ran the headline: 'Progress Finally Arrives for Harley Bay.' A community group's flyer read: 'Harley Bay Is Not for Sale.'" A student says: 'The newspaper headline is more trustworthy than the flyer because it comes from a professional source.' Is this claim accurate? Choose the best evaluation.

Question 17
Reading & language · Writing & grammar

A student writes: 'The committee have made their decision, and everyone on it are pleased.' Which part of the sentence breaks subject-verb agreement, and why?

Question 18
Reading & language · Speaking & listening

A student prepares a three-minute persuasive speech. She plans to use: (1) a rhetorical question to open, (2) two statistics, (3) an expert quote, and (4) a personal story to close. Her teacher says, 'Your structure is strong, but you are relying entirely on one kind of appeal.' Which statement best explains the teacher's concern?

Question 19
Reading & language · Speaking & listening

A Year 6 student is asked to chair a class discussion about whether social media should be banned for under-13s. Three students keep interrupting each other, two students have said nothing, and the discussion has moved away from the topic. What should the chair do first, and why?

Question 20
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage, then answer the question. "Two newspapers reported the same local election result. The Herald wrote: 'Incumbent mayor Sandra Pearce retained her seat, defeating challenger Tom Ruiz by a margin of 4.2 per cent in a largely uneventful contest.' The Tribune wrote: 'In a closer-than-expected race, newcomer Tom Ruiz came within 4.2 per cent of unseating Sandra Pearce, suggesting growing dissatisfaction with her leadership.'" Which statement best explains how the two reports construct different impressions of the same result?

Question 21
Reading & language · Text response & analysis

Read this student essay extract: 'Shakespeare makes Romeo seem impulsive through his actions. For example, Romeo quickly falls in love with Juliet even though he was in love with Rosaline only the day before. This shows he is impulsive.' Which is the MOST accurate analysis of why this response is weak?

Question 22
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read these two passages. Passage A: "The redevelopment of Millbrook Park will breathe new life into a neglected corner of our suburb. Families will finally have a safe, modern space to enjoy." Passage B: "The proposed redevelopment of Millbrook Park has drawn mixed responses. Supporters say it will upgrade ageing facilities, while residents near the site have raised concerns about construction noise and reduced green space during the two-year building period." A student argues: 'Passage A is more reliable than Passage B because it is more confident and direct.' Which response best evaluates this claim?

Question 23
Reading & language · Persuasive & creative writing

A student drafts this body paragraph for a persuasive essay arguing against homework: 'Teachers assign homework to help students learn. But students who do homework late at night are too tired to learn in class the next day. So homework actually stops students from learning.' What type of reasoning error, if any, is present in this argument?

Question 24
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage. "The journalist's report began: 'Hundreds of concerned locals flooded the council chambers last Tuesday.' A second journalist covering the same meeting wrote: 'Approximately two hundred residents attended the council session on Tuesday.'" Which statement best explains how the two reports differ in their portrayal of the event?

Question 25
Reading & language · Writing & grammar

Which is correct?

Question 26
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage, then answer the question. "Two articles reported on the same school's decision to ban mobile phones. The first read: 'Westfield Secondary has taken a bold step to improve student focus, joining a growing number of schools committed to distraction-free learning.' The second read: 'Westfield Secondary this week banned students from carrying mobile phones during school hours, a policy that has divided opinion among parents and staff.'" Which statement best explains how the two articles construct different impressions of the same event?

Question 27
Reading & language · Vocabulary & grammar

Which sentence uses the word 'disinterested' correctly according to its precise meaning?

Question 28
Reading & language · Text response & analysis

A student argues that the narrator of a story is reliable because 'the story is told in first person, so the narrator knows everything that happens.' What is wrong with this reasoning?

Question 29
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage. "In the 1850s, thousands of people travelled to Victoria to search for gold. Many came from China, walking hundreds of kilometres from ports in South Australia to avoid a tax imposed at Victorian ports. The routes they walked became known as the Chinese immigration trails. Some communities along these routes grew rapidly; others were left behind as the gold rush moved on." Which inference is best supported by the passage?

Question 30
Reading & language · Writing & grammar

A writer uses the following two sentences near the end of a suspenseful story: 'She stepped forward. The floor groaned.' Which statement BEST explains why the writer chose two short sentences here instead of one longer sentence?

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Maths reasoning0 / 15
Reading & language0 / 15
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What this scholarship practice test contains

Thirty multiple-choice questions in two timed sections. Section 1, Maths reasoning, has fifteen questions drawn from our Year 6, Year 7 and Year 8 maths banks: number and algebra, ratio and rates, measurement, geometry, statistics and probability, with the stretch and challenge tiers preferred so most items sit above the year level a Year 6 student is used to. Section 2, Reading & language, has fifteen questions from the same three years of our English banks: comprehension of short literary and informative passages, inference, vocabulary in context, spelling, grammar and punctuation. Every set is seeded, so the link you are on shows the same questions each time and a new seed gives a fresh set. The clock is 25 minutes for the lot, which is deliberately tight: roughly fifty seconds a question, which is close to the pace of the real scholarship papers.

The answer key is not in the page. When you press Mark my test, or when the timer reaches zero, the browser asks our server for the key for this exact set, marks every question, shows the correct answer and an explanation with the year level of each item, and breaks the score down by section and by topic. Unanswered questions count as wrong, as they do in the real exam, so it is worth answering everything before the time runs out.

About the Victorian Selective Entry exam

Victoria has four selective-entry high schools: Melbourne High School (boys), Mac.Robertson Girls' High School (girls), Nossal High School in Berwick (co-educational) and Suzanne Cory High School in Werribee (co-educational). Entry is by a single competitive examination sat in Year 8 for Year 9 entry, usually in June, with a smaller number of places sometimes offered for later year levels. Students nominate their preferred schools on one application, and places are offered on the basis of exam results, with a proportion of places set aside under equity provisions. Suzanne Cory, in Werribee, draws heavily from Melbourne's west and is the school most families we work with are aiming for.

For students in Year 8 in 2027, school communications give the exam date as 20 June 2027, with applications typically opening early in the year and closing well before the exam. Dates, fees, eligibility rules and the exact test format are set by the Department of Education and can change from year to year, so confirm every detail on the VSEHS website before you plan around it. What has been consistent is the shape of the test: reading comprehension, mathematics, verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning and two short writing tasks (one creative, one persuasive or analytical), all under strict time limits and pitched above the Year 8 curriculum. The reasoning sections are the ones school programs rarely teach, and the writing tasks are marked for ideas, structure and control of language in a very short time, which is why students who are strong in class can still struggle on the day.

The multiple-choice sections of the real exam reward three things: secure knowledge a year or so ahead of the classroom, the habit of reading a question exactly, and pace. This practice test checks the first and the third. It does not check writing, and it does not include the pattern-based verbal and numerical reasoning puzzles, both of which need their own practice.

ACER and Edutest scholarship tests

Independent and Catholic schools in Melbourne offer academic scholarships through external testing agencies rather than their own papers. The two you will meet most often are ACER and Edutest, and they feel quite different. ACER's Cooperative Scholarship Testing Program (CSTP) is run at set levels: Level 1 for Year 7 entry (sat in Year 6), Level 2 for Year 9 entry and Level 3 for Year 11 entry. The papers are long and demanding: two written expression tasks, a humanities paper of reading comprehension and interpretation that includes poems, cartoons, tables and extracts, and a mathematics paper that leans on reasoning rather than recall. ACER tests are usually held on a single day in February or March, and one sitting can be used for several participating schools.

Edutest papers are shorter and broken into five sections, typically of about thirty minutes each: verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, reading comprehension, mathematics and written expression. Most sections are multiple choice and the pace is brisk. Schools using Edutest often run the test on their own campus at their own date, so a family may sit two or three across a season. Because the sections are short, a student who loses a minute panicking on a hard question pays for it immediately, which is why timed practice matters so much for Edutest in particular.

This practice test is closer to the multiple-choice mathematics and reading sections of both formats than to the reasoning puzzles or the writing. If your child is preparing for a Year 7 scholarship, treat the Year 7 and Year 8 items here as the stretch they are; a Year 6 student who handles them comfortably is well placed.

A preparation timeline

  1. Twelve to nine months out (for Selective Entry 2027: Term 3 and 4 of Year 7). Diagnose first. Sit this test and the free Skills Check, and find out whether the gaps are knowledge (Year 8 maths not yet met), technique (never seen a reasoning question) or speed. Close the maths gaps with the Year 7 and Year 8 topic quizzes and start reading widely: non-fiction, opinion pieces and short fiction, not just novels.
  2. Nine to six months out (Term 1 of Year 8). Learn the question types. Work through each section of the exam separately with short timed sets, and begin a weekly timed writing task with feedback. Confirm the application window on the VSEHS website and lodge the application early.
  3. Six to three months out (Term 1 to 2). Full-length practice papers under exam conditions every fortnight, marked and reviewed by section. The review is where the marks come from: every error goes into a list and gets re-attempted a week later.
  4. The last eight weeks. Taper. One full paper a week, timed sets on the weakest section between them, and writing practice to a fixed plan. In the final week, sleep, a light set each day and nothing new.

For a Year 6 scholarship, compress the same sequence into the second half of Year 5 and the first term of Year 6, because ACER and most Edutest sittings fall between February and May of Year 6.

How to read your result

We do not report percentiles, because a thirty-question free sample cannot be normed against the real candidate pool and any percentile we invented would mislead you. What we can say is this. Selective-entry and scholarship tests are competitive, and the students who win places are typically answering above-level questions quickly and accurately. A score of 80% or more here, inside the time limit, suggests your child is ready for full-length timed practice papers and should move to those. A score between 50% and 80% usually means the content is mostly there and the work is in the hardest third of the questions and the clock; look at which section is weaker and drill it with timed sets. A score of 50% or less means the Year 6 and Year 7 foundations need attention before exam-style practice will pay off, which is common and fixable: start with the Year 6 and Year 7 topic quizzes, secure the weakest topics and come back to this test in a term.

Watch the time as well as the score. A high score with the clock expired is a pace problem; a low score with minutes to spare is a content problem. They need different fixes, and the results panel shows both.

What to do next

1. Free Skills Check

Fifteen minutes, every Year 7 topic at every tier including stretch and challenge, with a same-day topic-by-topic report and a tutor call to walk through it. It is the diagnostic we use to start every selective and scholarship program.

Start the free Skills Check →

2. Selective Entry 2027 program

Two sessions a week, maths and English with reasoning drills, a full timed practice test every fortnight, at our Truganina centre or online. First session free.

Selective Entry 2027 → Selective entry and scholarship tutoring →

3. Printable practice packs

Full-length selective and scholarship practice papers with worked answers, so a student can practise on paper under the clock the way the real test is sat.

Browse selective and scholarship packs →

Questions? Call 03 9509 3293 or book a free consultation. RHZ Tutoring, 17/47 Apex Drive, Truganina VIC 3029.

Frequently asked questions

When is the 2027 Victorian Selective Entry exam?

School communications give the date as 20 June 2027 for Year 8 students seeking Year 9 entry in 2028. Dates and application windows can move, so confirm on the Victorian Selective Entry High Schools (VSEHS) website before planning around it.

Which schools does the Selective Entry exam cover?

Melbourne High School (boys, South Yarra), Mac.Robertson Girls' High School (girls, Melbourne), Nossal High School (co-educational, Berwick) and Suzanne Cory High School (co-educational, Werribee). Students sit one exam and list the schools in order of preference.

Is this practice test the same as the real exam?

No. It is a 30-question, 25-minute multiple-choice sample drawn from our Year 6, 7 and 8 maths and English banks at the stretch and challenge tiers. The real ACER and Edutest scholarship tests include writing tasks and, for Edutest, separate verbal and numerical reasoning sections. Use this page to check readiness and pace, not to predict a result.

What score should my child be getting?

There is no official pass mark and we do not publish percentiles for a free sample. As a rule of thumb, 80% or more here suggests a student is ready for full-length timed practice; 50% or less suggests starting with the Year 6 and Year 7 topic quizzes to secure the foundations first.

Does the timer matter?

Yes. Both selective-entry and scholarship tests are speed tests as much as knowledge tests, and most students lose more marks to the clock than to the content. If the score is good but the time ran out, practise timed sets; if there was time to spare but the score was low, work on the content.

What is the difference between ACER and Edutest scholarship tests?

Both are used by independent schools for Year 7 entry (sat in Year 6) and some for Year 9 or Year 11 entry. ACER's Cooperative Scholarship Testing Program has longer papers in written expression, humanities (reading and interpretation) and mathematics. Edutest papers are shorter and include five sections: verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, reading comprehension, mathematics and written expression. Check which test each school uses.

Is this free, and is anything collected?

It is free and there is no sign-up. Marking happens on our server and only an anonymous score event is recorded. The free Skills Check, which produces a full report, asks for a parent email so we can send it.

Build the foundations first

If the result points to a content gap, these free topic quizzes cover the ground the test draws on:

All 3,261 free practice questions, Prep to Year 12 →