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 45065 · New set of questions →

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Section 1: Maths reasoning (15 questions)

Question 1
Maths reasoning · Area & volume

The area of a trapezium is 60 cm². One parallel side is 8 cm and the height is 6 cm. What is the length of the other parallel side?

Question 2
Maths reasoning · Statistics & probability

A bag contains red, blue, and yellow counters only. The probability of picking a red counter is 3/8 and the probability of picking a blue counter is 1/4. A student claims: 'The smallest possible number of yellow counters in the bag is 3.' Is the student correct, and why?

Question 3
Maths reasoning · Ratio & rates

Mia cycles at 12 km/h and Jaylen cycles at 15 km/h. They both start cycling at the same time from the same place. After 40 minutes, how far apart are they?

Question 4
Maths reasoning · Ratio & rates

A school buys red and blue pens in the ratio 4 : 3. After the teacher gives away 12 red pens, the ratio of red pens to blue pens becomes 1 : 1. How many blue pens did the school buy?

Question 5
Maths reasoning · Algebra & linear equations

When 4 is subtracted from three times a number, the result is the same as adding 8 to the number. Which equation correctly models this, and what is the number?

Question 6
Maths reasoning · Indices

If 4ˣ = 32, what is the value of x?

Question 7
Maths reasoning · Percentages

Ella's savings increased by 25% in January, then decreased by 25% in February. She now has $450. How much did Ella have at the start of January?

Question 8
Maths reasoning · Area, volume & angles

A rectangular piece of cardboard is 12 cm by 8 cm. Squares of side length 2 cm are cut from each corner and the sides are folded up to make an open box. What is the volume of the box?

Question 9
Maths reasoning · Algebra & linear equations

Lena has x dollars. Marco has three times as much as Lena. After Marco gives Lena $20, they have the same amount. How much did Lena start with?

Question 10
Maths reasoning · Fraction & decimal operations

Which of the following is exactly halfway between 3/8 and 3/4 on a number line?

Question 11
Maths reasoning · Statistics & probability

Adding the value 0 to the set 4, 6, 8 changes the mean to:

Question 12
Maths reasoning · Fractions, decimals & percentages

A store buys a television for a wholesale price and sells it at a 25% mark-up. During a sale, the selling price is then reduced by 25%. The final sale price is $450. What was the original wholesale price the store paid?

Question 13
Maths reasoning · Pythagoras

A 10 m ladder rests 6 m from a wall. It reaches how high?

Question 14
Maths reasoning · Equations

The solution to the equation 4(x + 3) = 2x + 18 is worked out below. Which step contains the FIRST error? Step 1: 4x + 12 = 2x + 18 Step 2: 4x − 2x = 18 − 12 Step 3: 2x = 6 Step 4: x = 4

Question 15
Maths reasoning · Algebraic expressions

A factory produces boxes. It costs $120 to set up the factory each day plus $4 for every box made. On Monday, b boxes are made. On Tuesday, 10 more boxes are made than on Monday. Which expression gives the TOTAL cost over both days, in dollars?

Section 2: Reading & language (15 questions)

Question 16
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 17
Reading & language · Text response & analysis

A student writes this topic sentence for a paragraph in a text response essay: 'In the novel, there are many examples of courage.' Why is this topic sentence weak for a text analysis essay?

Question 18
Reading & language · Persuasive & creative writing

Two students write conclusions for the same persuasive essay arguing that public libraries should receive more government funding. Student A: 'In conclusion, libraries are important places and the government should give them more money so they can keep helping people.' Student B: 'A nation that defunds its libraries does not merely cut a budget line — it erases the only space where a child with nothing can walk in and own everything.' Which analysis best explains why Student B's conclusion is more persuasive at a structural and rhetorical level?

Question 19
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 20
Reading & language · Reading & comprehension

Read this passage from a short story: 'The morning of the spelling bee, Callum ate his breakfast standing up. He answered every question Mum asked with one word. At school, he laughed loudly at jokes that weren't that funny, and he signed up to help stack chairs after assembly — something he had never once volunteered for before.' A student says: 'Callum is excited about the spelling bee because he is being helpful and cheerful.' Which response best evaluates the student's claim?

Question 21
Reading & language · Writing & grammar

A student writes this paragraph in a persuasive essay: 'Many scientists agree that reducing plastic use is important. However, plastic is cheap and easy to produce. Therefore, we should all use less plastic.' A teacher says the paragraph has a structural logic problem. Which statement BEST identifies the flaw?

Question 22
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read these two passages. Passage A (news report): "Hundreds of concerned locals flooded the council chambers last Tuesday." Passage B (news report, same meeting): "Approximately two hundred residents attended the council session on Tuesday." Which technique most clearly reveals bias in Passage A compared with Passage B, and how does it shape the reader's interpretation?

Question 23
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage, then answer the question. "Every morning, Priya set her alarm for 5:30 a.m. She ran five kilometres before school, tracked every meal, and kept a chart on her wall showing her times. Her friends had stopped asking her to hang out on weekends. She told them — and herself — that she was focused." What does the detail about Priya's friends stopping asking her to hang out most likely suggest about her behaviour?

Question 24
Reading & language · Writing & grammar

Read the following two versions of a paragraph opening from a narrative: Version A: 'The old house was silent. A door creaked. Something moved in the hallway. She waited.' Version B: 'The old house was silent, and then a door creaked and something moved in the hallway, so she waited.' A student claims Version B is better because it joins the ideas using connectives, showing their relationship more clearly. Which statement BEST explains why this claim is inaccurate?

Question 25
Reading & language · Phonics & spelling

Look at these four words: 'ceiling', 'deceive', 'species', 'caffeine'. A student claims: 'In every one of these words, the letters i and e appear together, and in every case they follow the rule: i before e except after c.' Is the student correct?

Question 26
Reading & language · Persuasive & creative writing

A student is writing a narrative about a character who is nervous before a speech. She writes: 'Maya checked her notes for the third time. She checked them again. Her mouth was a desert.' How do the first two sentences work together with the third sentence to show Maya's anxiety?

Question 27
Reading & language · Vocabulary & grammar

A student is editing her essay and has this sentence: 'The government's new policy, which critics argue ignores long-term environmental consequences, aims to boost short-term economic growth.' She wants to make the government's aim sound more central and reduce the prominence of the criticism. Which revision BEST achieves this?

Question 28
Reading & language · Reading & comprehension

A novel uses third-person narration throughout. In the final chapter, for one paragraph only, the narration switches to first person: 'I had known all along it would end this way. I just hadn't let myself say it.' Then it switches back to third person. What is the most likely effect of this sudden shift?

Question 29
Reading & language · Vocabulary & grammar

A student reads two descriptions of the same bushfire evacuation: Text 1: 'Residents were urged to leave their homes as a precaution.' Text 2: 'Families were forced to flee, abandoning everything they owned.' Which statement BEST explains how word choice reveals a difference in perspective between the two texts?

Question 30
Reading & language · Persuasive & creative writing

A student is writing a persuasive speech and includes this passage: 'Imagine waking up to find your local park has become a car park. Imagine your children asking where the trees went. Imagine a city where every patch of green has been paved over.' A classmate says, 'You should cut two of those sentences — they're repetitive.' The student disagrees. Who is correct, and why?

Your result

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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 →