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 71062 · New set of questions →

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Section 1: Maths reasoning (15 questions)

Question 1
Maths reasoning · Fractions, decimals & percentages

Calculate: 3/4 ÷ 1/2.

Question 2
Maths reasoning · Ratio & rates

A farmer plants wheat and canola in the ratio 5 : 3. The wheat paddock covers 40 hectares more than the canola paddock. What is the total area planted?

Question 3
Maths reasoning · Area & volume

A water tank is a cylinder with an internal radius of 1.5 m and an internal height of 2 m. A builder says the tank holds more than 14 000 litres. Is the builder correct? (Use π ≈ 3.14; 1 m³ = 1000 L.)

Question 4
Maths reasoning · Probability

A biased coin lands heads with probability 0.6. The coin is flipped twice. What is the probability of getting exactly one head?

Question 5
Maths reasoning · Statistics & probability

A data set has five whole numbers. The mean is 12, the median is 11, and the range is 14. The two smallest values are 5 and 9. What is the largest value in the data set?

Question 6
Maths reasoning · Percentages

A shop sells 3 types of pens: blue, red, and black. Blue pens make up 45% of stock, red pens make up 30%, and the rest are black. There are 48 black pens. How many pens are in the shop altogether?

Question 7
Maths reasoning · Ratio & rates

Two taps together fill a tank in 12 minutes. Tap A alone fills it in 20 minutes. How long does Tap B alone take to fill the tank?

Question 8
Maths reasoning · Area & volume

A rectangular swimming pool is 12 m long and 5 m wide. It is filled with water to a depth of 1.5 m. Water costs $2.40 per kilolitre (1 kL = 1 m³). How much does it cost to fill the pool?

Question 9
Maths reasoning · Ratio & rates

A recipe uses flour and sugar in the ratio 5 : 2. Maya has 350 g of flour. She wants to use ALL the flour. How much sugar does she need?

Question 10
Maths reasoning · Percentages & rates

A shopkeeper increases an item's price by 20%, then decreases the new price by 10%, then increases that price by 15%. What is the overall percentage change from the original price? Round to the nearest whole percent.

Question 11
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 12
Maths reasoning · Algebraic expressions

Which of the following expressions has the same value as 4(3x − 2) − 2(x − 5) for every value of x?

Question 13
Maths reasoning · Area, volume & angles

A square has an area of 81 cm². A rectangle has the same area as the square. The rectangle is 3 cm wide. What is the perimeter of the rectangle?

Question 14
Maths reasoning · Fractions, decimals & percentages

Petra invests $2 000. In the first year her investment grows by 15%. In the second year it falls by 10%. What is the value of her investment at the end of the second year, and is it more or less than her original $2 000?

Question 15
Maths reasoning · Ratios & rates

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

Section 2: Reading & language (15 questions)

Question 16
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 17
Reading & language · Persuasive & creative writing

Two students write concluding paragraphs for persuasive essays about whether Australia should lower the voting age to 16. Read both conclusions carefully. Student A: 'For these reasons, the voting age should be lowered. Young people deserve a voice. It is time to make a change.' Student B: 'Every policy shaping the next fifty years — climate action, housing, education — will be lived by today's sixteen-year-olds far longer than by those who currently vote on their behalf. Denying them a vote is not protection; it is exclusion. Australia has always expanded democracy when it mattered. This is that moment.' Which statement BEST explains why Student B's conclusion is more persuasive, AND identifies a genuine risk in the approach?

Question 18
Reading & language · Writing & grammar

A student writes: 'The reason the experiment failed was because the temperature was not controlled.' A teacher underlines the phrase 'The reason…was because' and asks the student to correct it. The student changes it to: 'The reason the experiment failed was due to the temperature not being controlled.' Has the student fixed the problem? Why or why not?

Question 19
Reading & language · Text response & analysis

Read these two paragraphs written by different students about the same scene: a boy named Eli who gives his lunch to a homeless man. Student A: 'Eli gives his lunch away, which shows he is generous and kind.' Student B: 'When Eli silently slides his lunch bag across without making eye contact, the author suggests that true generosity seeks no recognition — Eli's averted gaze becomes the text's quiet argument against performative kindness.' A student says both responses make the same basic point, so they are equally valid for a text analysis essay. What is wrong with this judgement?

Question 20
Reading & language · Vocabulary & grammar

Read this student sentence: 'Running down the hallway, the trophy was knocked off the shelf by Marcus.' A grammar teacher marks it as containing a dangling modifier. Which version correctly fixes the error AND keeps Marcus as the one running?

Question 21
Reading & language · Text response & analysis

A novel's first-person narrator describes a market as 'vibrant and alive', but every specific detail she gives — wilting flowers, a vendor asleep at his stall, a puddle of rotting fruit — contradicts this. What is the author most likely achieving through this technique?

Question 22
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 23
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." A student argues: 'Passage A is more persuasive than Passage B because it uses stronger, more confident language.' Which response best evaluates this argument?

Question 24
Reading & language · Reading & comprehension

A narrator describes a school assembly: 'The principal spoke for twenty minutes about community and respect. Around me, bags were being quietly unzipped, notes were being slid out, and one boy near the back had fallen completely asleep.' Whose perspective shapes what is noticed in this scene, and why does it matter?

Question 25
Reading & language · Writing & grammar

Which is correct?

Question 26
Reading & language · Text response & analysis

Read this extract: 'The city hummed with possibility in the daytime. At night, though, the same streets held their breath.' What effect is created by the contrast between 'hummed with possibility' and 'held their breath'?

Question 27
Reading & language · Text response & analysis

Read this passage: 'Lena had always loved the old oak tree in the backyard — the way it stood solid and unchanging through every storm, every season, every year her family had lived in that house. Now, standing at the removal truck, she pressed her hand to its rough bark one last time.' What is the author most likely using the oak tree to represent, and how is this achieved?

Question 28
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage, then answer the question. "The two candidates for school captain gave speeches on the same day. Priya said: 'I want to make our school a place where every student feels heard — not just the ones who already have a voice.' Marcus said: 'We have a strong school community. I will work to keep what we have built and push us even further.'" A student claims: 'Priya's speech shows she thinks the school already treats students fairly.' Is this claim accurate? Choose the best evaluation.

Question 29
Reading & language · Text response & analysis

Read: "The bell rang. Chairs scraped. Feet pounded down the hall. Freedom." Why does the author use short sentences here?

Question 30
Reading & language · Phonics & spelling

Read this sentence: 'The principal complemented the students on their patients during the long ceremony.' How many words are used incorrectly because a homophone or near-homophone has been chosen instead of the correct word?

Your result

0 / 30
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 →