Free · Timed · 25 minutes · Years 6–8

Free Selective Entry Practice Test — 30 Questions, 25 Minutes, Instant Results

A free, timed sample of the kind of multiple-choice questions the Victorian Selective Entry exam asks: 30 questions across maths reasoning 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 › Selective Entry practice test · Scholarship 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 34274 · New set of questions →

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Section 1: Maths reasoning (15 questions)

Question 1
Maths reasoning · Area, volume & angles

Two angles at a straight line are marked as (3x)° and (x + 40)°. What is the value of x?

Question 2
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 3
Maths reasoning · Equations

The equation 5(x − 2) = 3x + 4 is solved below. Which step contains the FIRST error? Step 1: 5x − 10 = 3x + 4 Step 2: 5x − 3x = 4 + 10 Step 3: 2x = 14 Step 4: x = 5

Question 4
Maths reasoning · Algebraic expressions

Tom says 3x + 4y and 7xy are like terms and can be added to give 10xy. Which statement correctly explains why Tom is wrong?

Question 5
Maths reasoning · Integers & operations

Jada thinks of an integer. She multiplies it by −4, then adds 9, and gets −3. What was her integer?

Question 6
Maths reasoning · Pythagoras

A rectangular paddock is 40 m long and 30 m wide. A farmer wants to fence along the diagonal to divide it into two triangular sections. Fencing costs $12 per metre. What is the total cost of the diagonal fence?

Question 7
Maths reasoning · Integers

Which pair of integers has a sum of −3 and a product of −28?

Question 8
Maths reasoning · Ratio & rates

Share $60 in the ratio 1 : 2 : 3. The largest share is?

Question 9
Maths reasoning · Ratio & rates

On a scale drawing, 1 cm represents 2.5 metres. A room measures 8 cm × 6 cm on the drawing. What is the ACTUAL area of the room?

Question 10
Maths reasoning · Algebra & linear equations

The formula C = 5n + 20 gives the cost in dollars of printing n posters at Shop A. Shop B charges C = 8n − 4. A student says: 'Shop A is always cheaper than Shop B for any number of posters.' Is the student correct?

Question 11
Maths reasoning · Equations

Two friends each choose a different value of x and substitute it into the expression 6x − 1. Alex gets a result that is exactly 15 more than Billie's result. How much greater is Alex's value of x than Billie's?

Question 12
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 13
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 14
Maths reasoning · Algebraic thinking

A garden bed is built using square tiles. The total number of tiles T follows the rule T = 4n + 8, where n is the pattern number. Riley says: 'The first pattern that needs more than 40 tiles is pattern number 8.' Is Riley correct, and what is the value of T for that pattern?

Question 15
Maths reasoning · Area & volume

A circular pizza has a diameter of 28 cm. A chef cuts out a smaller circle of diameter 14 cm from the centre. Using π ≈ 22/7, what is the area of the remaining ring-shaped piece of pizza?

Section 2: Reading & language (15 questions)

Question 16
Reading & language · Vocabulary & grammar

Read this sentence: 'The scientist, whose findings challenged decades of research, was quietly discredited by the institution.' Which grammatical feature most shapes how the reader responds to the scientist?

Question 17
Reading & language · Vocabulary & grammar

A student writes: 'Neither the captain nor the players was ready for the final whistle.' The teacher marks the verb as incorrect. Which explanation correctly identifies the error AND gives the right fix?

Question 18
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage, then answer the question. "The documentary about urban wildlife opened with slow footage of a fox picking its way through rubbish bins at midnight, set to melancholy piano music. The narrator said: 'These animals have adapted — but at what cost?' Later, when showing community volunteers cleaning a local park, the soundtrack switched to bright, upbeat strings." What is the most likely purpose of the contrasting soundtracks in the documentary?

Question 19
Reading & language · Persuasive & creative writing

A student writes this opening paragraph for a persuasive essay arguing that homework should be abolished: 'Students are drowning in homework. Every night, millions of young Australians sit alone at kitchen tables, exhausted, while their families watch TV without them.' Her teacher says the paragraph is 'vivid but one-sided'. Which revision would make the argument STRONGER without removing the emotional appeal?

Question 20
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage, then answer the question. "Thomas had always been the fastest swimmer on the team. At last year's carnival he had broken two records. But this season, a new student — quiet, barely noticeable in the corridors — had been edging closer at every training session. Thomas watched her from the corner of his eye and trained an extra hour each evening. He told everyone he was not worried." A student reading this passage claims: 'The text tells us directly that Thomas is worried about the new swimmer.' Is this claim accurate?

Question 21
Reading & language · Phonics & spelling

Which word pair shows a BASE WORD that changes its spelling when a suffix is added, and is the change explained correctly?

Question 22
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 23
Reading & language · Persuasive & creative writing

A student's short story includes this paragraph: 'The waiting room smelled of old magazines and disinfectant. A child across from Marcus kept kicking the chair leg — thump, thump, thump. The clock above the door had stopped at 3:47.' The teacher says this paragraph 'tells us everything about how Marcus feels without using a single emotion word'. Which explanation BEST accounts for how this effect is achieved?

Question 24
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage. "Tomas had not told his mother about the school camp permission slip. It sat in his bag for three weeks, folded and refolded along the same crease. The deadline passed on a Thursday. On Friday morning, Tomas arrived early and offered to stack chairs for his teacher without being asked." A student claims: 'Tomas is trying to be helpful because he wants to be a better person.' Which response best evaluates this claim?

Question 25
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 26
Reading & language · Vocabulary & grammar

A student writes: 'Neither the players nor the coach were happy with the result.' A teacher marks this incorrect. What is the error and what is the correct form?

Question 27
Reading & language · Speaking & listening

Two students are debating whether plastic water bottles should be banned. Speaker A says: 'Imagine finding a sea turtle tangled in plastic — that's what's happening right now.' Speaker B says: 'According to the 2023 CSIRO report, 130,000 tonnes of plastic enter Australian waterways each year.' The audience votes Speaker B more persuasive. Which explanation best accounts for this outcome in a formal debate context?

Question 28
Reading & language · Persuasive & creative writing

Two students write opening paragraphs for a persuasive speech about whether Australia should introduce a four-day school week. Student A: 'Did you know that students in countries with shorter school weeks often outperform their peers? It is time Australia considered this option too.' Student B: 'Imagine arriving at school on Monday knowing that by Thursday afternoon, you are free — not exhausted, not burnt out, but actually ready to learn again next week. The four-day school week is not a fantasy. In dozens of countries, it is simply Tuesday.' Which analysis most precisely explains why Student B's opening is more effective as a persuasive speech introduction?

Question 29
Reading & language · Phonics & spelling

A student wants to spell the word for 'the quality of being responsible'. She knows the base word is 'responsible'. She removes '-ible' and adds '-ibility', making 'responsibilty'. Which statement correctly identifies her error AND explains the rule she broke?

Question 30
Reading & language · Speaking & listening

A group of Year 6 students is discussing whether the school day should start later. Ella says, 'Research shows teenagers need more sleep.' Dev says, 'But most of our parents work early shifts — starting later creates problems at home.' Ella responds, 'That's only some families though.' Dev then goes quiet and looks at the table. Which analysis of the group's communication is most accurate?

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Maths reasoning0 / 15
Reading & language0 / 15
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What this Selective Entry 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 7 or 8 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 Selective Entry 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 Selective Entry exam runs for several hours with reasoning sections and two writing tasks. 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 →