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 36886 · New set of questions →

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Section 1: Maths reasoning (15 questions)

Question 1
Maths reasoning · Algebraic thinking

If 3 × ☐ − 5 = ☐ + 7, and both boxes represent the same unknown number, what is the value of the unknown number?

Question 2
Maths reasoning · Ratios & rates

Two quantities P and Q are in the ratio 4 : 9. Q is 63. What is P + Q?

Question 3
Maths reasoning · Algebraic expressions

Sanjay is thinking of a number. He multiplies it by 4, adds 6, then halves the result. He gets 13. Which equation correctly models this situation, and what is Sanjay's number?

Question 4
Maths reasoning · Probability

A game show host has 3 doors. Behind one door is a car; behind the other two are goats. A contestant picks Door 1. The host (who always knows where the car is) opens Door 3 to reveal a goat. The contestant is offered a switch to Door 2. If the contestant switches, what is the probability of winning the car?

Question 5
Maths reasoning · Integers & operations

Which of the following is true for ALL integer values of n? (i) n² ≥ 0 (ii) −n < n (iii) n + (−n) = 0 (iv) n² > n

Question 6
Maths reasoning · Algebra & linear equations

The length of a rectangle is (2w + 3) cm and its width is w cm. Its perimeter is 54 cm. A student claims the area of the rectangle is 171 cm². Is the student correct?

Question 7
Maths reasoning · Percentages & rates

A shop marks up all goods by 40% above cost price, then offers a 'members' discount' of 20% off the marked price. A member buys a pair of headphones. The member's price, as a percentage of the original cost price, is:

Question 8
Maths reasoning · Area, volume & angles

A rectangular garden bed is 9 m long and 4 m wide. A path of uniform width 1 m is built all the way around the outside. What is the area of the path only?

Question 9
Maths reasoning · Percentages

In a class, 40% of students play football and 35% play basketball. The rest play neither. There are 8 students who play neither sport. How many students are in the class?

Question 10
Maths reasoning · Indices

What is the value of (2³ × 5²) ÷ 10²?

Question 11
Maths reasoning · Area & volume

A composite solid is made by placing a solid cone on top of a solid cylinder. Both the cone and the cylinder have the same radius of 3 cm. The cylinder has a height of 8 cm and the total height of the composite solid is 12 cm (so the cone has a height of 4 cm). Using π ≈ 3.14, what is the total volume of the composite solid, correct to two decimal places?

Question 12
Maths reasoning · Fractions, decimals & percentages

Three friends share a pizza. Tom eats 1/3, Erin eats 30%, and Sam eats 0.25 of the pizza. What fraction of the pizza is left over? Give your answer as a fraction in simplest form.

Question 13
Maths reasoning · Ratio & rates

A car travels at a constant speed. It covers 78 km in 1 hour and 18 minutes. At the same speed, how far will it travel in 2 hours and 30 minutes?

Question 14
Maths reasoning · Geometry

A triangle has angles in the ratio 1 : 2 : 3. A student claims the largest angle equals the sum of the other two. Is the student correct, and what is the largest angle?

Question 15
Maths reasoning · Area, volume & angles

A triangle has area 24 cm² and base 8 cm. Its height is?

Section 2: Reading & language (15 questions)

Question 16
Reading & language · Writing & grammar

Which is correct?

Question 17
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage, then answer the question. "In one report about the town's new wind farm, a journalist wrote: 'The turbines, gleaming against the sky, promise clean energy for generations.' In a letter to the same newspaper, a resident wrote: 'Those monstrous towers now loom over our valley, ruining the view we have loved for decades.'" A student claims: 'The journalist's report is more reliable because it uses facts, while the resident's letter uses only opinion.' Is this claim accurate? Choose the best evaluation.

Question 18
Reading & language · Vocabulary & grammar

Read this sentence: 'The council's decision to close the park was met with fierce opposition from residents, who argued it was their only green space.' Which grammatical feature most contributes to the persuasive force of the residents' argument?

Question 19
Reading & language · Persuasive & creative writing

A student is writing a short story. She wants the reader to feel the main character's grief without ever using the word 'sad.' She writes: 'He made two cups of tea. He stood at the bench for a long time before he remembered.' Which explanation most precisely identifies how this technique creates emotional effect?

Question 20
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage, then answer the question. "The council's media release stated: 'The park upgrade project has been completed on schedule and within budget, delivering new seating, lighting and pathways for the community. A small section near the northern entrance remains temporarily closed for finishing works.'" What is the effect of describing the closed section as 'temporarily closed for finishing works'?

Question 21
Reading & language · Phonics & spelling

Look at the four words below: • 'referred' • 'offered' • 'preferred' • 'suffered' A student claims: 'When you add "-ed" to a verb ending in "-fer", you always double the final r.' Which word is the BEST evidence that this claim is WRONG, and what rule does it actually follow?

Question 22
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 23
Reading & language · Speaking & listening

During a class presentation, Olivia says: 'Some people think solar panels are too expensive, and that's a fair point — but new data shows the cost has dropped by sixty per cent in ten years.' Which strategy is Olivia using, and why is it more effective than simply ignoring the opposing view?

Question 24
Reading & language · Vocabulary & grammar

Read this paragraph from a student essay: 'Solar energy is clean and renewable. Furthermore, it reduces electricity bills. However, installation costs are high. Nevertheless, many households have made the switch.' The teacher says the connective 'Nevertheless' in the final sentence is doing a different job from 'However' in the previous sentence, even though both signal contrast. Which explanation is MOST accurate?

Question 25
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage carefully. "Sixteen-year-old Priya had won the regional debating championship three years in a row. On the night of the state final, she sat backstage listening to the crowd settle. Her notes were perfect — she had read them so many times the paper had gone soft at the folds. When her name was called, she walked to the podium, placed her notes face-down, and began to speak." What does Priya placing her notes face-down most likely suggest about her?

Question 26
Reading & language · Vocabulary & grammar

Read this passage: 'The principal announced the new rule. Students would no longer be allowed to use their phones during lunch. Many students felt this was unfair. Even so, they handed them in without complaint.' If a student is asked to identify the text's cohesive device that signals contrast in the final sentence, which is the correct answer, and why?

Question 27
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage. "The journalist's article opened: 'A brave group of protesters stood their ground outside parliament.' A second journalist covering the same event wrote: 'A group of demonstrators gathered outside parliament.'" Which technique most clearly reveals bias in the first journalist's report, and how does it shape the reader's interpretation?

Question 28
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read these two passages. Passage A: "The new stadium will bring thousands of jobs and inject millions of dollars into our local economy. It is exactly what this city needs." Passage B: "Construction of the proposed stadium is projected to create approximately 1,200 permanent positions and generate an estimated $40 million annually in economic activity, according to an independent economic report." Which statement best explains how the two passages differ in the way they present information?

Question 29
Reading & language · Phonics & spelling

A student is learning about words derived from the Latin root 'scrib'/'script' (meaning 'to write'). She writes these four sentences and underlines a word in each: 1. The doctor gave her a 'prescription' for the medicine. 2. The journalist wrote a 'manuscript' by hand. 3. The teacher asked them to 'transcribe' the passage. 4. The ancient carvings were an 'inscription' on the stone. She claims: 'Because the root means to write, the silent letters in these words all come from the same Latin root and must always be spelled -scr-.' A classmate challenges her, saying that 'manuscript' is different because its meaning comes from TWO Latin roots, and so the spelling rule she stated does not fully apply. Which option CORRECTLY evaluates both claims?

Question 30
Reading & language · Phonics & spelling

How many syllables in 'responsibility'?

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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 →