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

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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 · 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 2
Maths reasoning · Pythagoras

An isosceles triangle has two equal sides of 10 cm and a base of 12 cm. What is the perpendicular height of the triangle, correct to one decimal place?

Question 3
Maths reasoning · Area & volume

A composite shape is made by placing a semicircle on top of a rectangle. The rectangle is 10 cm wide and 8 cm tall. The semicircle has a diameter equal to the width of the rectangle. Using π ≈ 3.14, what is the total area of the composite shape, correct to one decimal place?

Question 4
Maths reasoning · Percentages & rates

At the start of 2023, Mia's investment was worth $P. By mid-year, its value had fallen by 20%. By the end of 2023, the mid-year value had risen by 35%. At the start of 2024, that end-of-year value then fell by 10%. Which expression correctly gives the investment's value at the start of 2024, and is the overall change a gain or a loss?

Question 5
Maths reasoning · Integers & operations

A number line shows two integers, P and Q. P is at −8 and Q is 5 units to the right of the midpoint of P and −2. What is the value of Q?

Question 6
Maths reasoning · Ratio & rates

Orange juice and mango juice are mixed in the ratio 3 : 2 to make a 5-litre punch. If you want to make only 3.5 litres of the same punch, how much orange juice do you need?

Question 7
Maths reasoning · Fraction & decimal operations

Lena is filling small bottles from a large container. Each bottle holds 3/8 of a litre. The container holds 4 1/2 litres. How many full bottles can Lena fill?

Question 8
Maths reasoning · Geometry

An isosceles triangle has a perimeter of 44 cm. The two equal sides are each 4 cm longer than the base. What is the length of each equal side?

Question 9
Maths reasoning · Algebraic expressions

The cost of hiring a bicycle is $8 plus $3 per hour. Lena hires a bicycle and pays $29. Jake hires a bicycle for twice as many hours as Lena. Which expression gives Jake's total cost in dollars?

Question 10
Maths reasoning · Geometry

A trapezium has parallel sides of length 5 cm and 11 cm. Its perpendicular height is 6 cm. A triangle is cut from the trapezium: the triangle has the same base as the shorter parallel side (5 cm) and the same height as the trapezium (6 cm). What is the area of the shape that remains after the triangle is removed?

Question 11
Maths reasoning · Pythagoras

On a coordinate grid, point P is at (1, 2) and point Q is at (7, 10). Point R is at (7, 2). Which statement about triangle PQR is correct?

Question 12
Maths reasoning · Integers

Which of these statements about integers is TRUE for every possible pair of negative integers?

Question 13
Maths reasoning · Integers & operations

Which of the following statements about integer multiplication is TRUE for ALL integer values of a and b?

Question 14
Maths reasoning · Indices

Which of the following statements about negative indices is correct?

Question 15
Maths reasoning · Integers

Calculate: −4 × 3.

Section 2: Reading & language (15 questions)

Question 16
Reading & language · Persuasive & creative writing

A persuasive essay on reducing screen time for teenagers includes this paragraph: 'Of course, technology has brought enormous benefits to education. Interactive apps, online research, and video tutorials have transformed how students learn. Yet when the same screens that educate by day keep teenagers awake until midnight, the cost becomes too high to ignore.' What does the phrase 'Of course' at the start of this paragraph signal to the reader?

Question 17
Reading & language · Text response & analysis

Read this extract: 'The principal's voice was calm and steady as she announced the school's closure, but her hands gripped the podium until her knuckles turned white.' What does the contrast between the principal's voice and her hands most likely suggest?

Question 18
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 19
Reading & language · Vocabulary & grammar

A student writes: 'The team, exhausted from the long season, were finally given their medals.' The teacher says the verb 'were' is correct here even though 'team' is a single noun. Which explanation BEST justifies the teacher's marking?

Question 20
Reading & language · Writing & grammar

A student writes: 'Running quickly to catch the bus, her bag fell off her shoulder.' A classmate says the sentence is wrong because of the opening phrase. The student argues it is fine because 'running' clearly refers to a person. Who is correct, and why?

Question 21
Reading & language · Writing & grammar

A student wants to write a persuasive sentence that uses a concession to make the argument STRONGER. They write: 'Some people believe social media is harmful, but it can also connect communities and support mental health.' A classmate says the sentence is weak because admitting the other side makes the argument less convincing. Who is correct, and why?

Question 22
Reading & language · Persuasive & creative writing

A writer is describing a bushfire from the perspective of a child watching from a car window. She writes: 'The sky had swallowed the sun. Orange pushed against orange and nothing was where it should be.' What is the most precise explanation of how this description creates unease?

Question 23
Reading & language · Persuasive & creative writing

Two students write about the same issue — plastic pollution — for a school newspaper. Student A writes: 'Plastic waste is a growing environmental problem that scientists and governments must address urgently.' Student B writes: 'Our oceans are drowning in plastic while governments fiddle and scientists debate. Who will speak for the fish?' Which statement BEST explains how the second text reveals a stronger bias?

Question 24
Reading & language · Text response & analysis

Two editorials discuss the same government decision to cut funding for public libraries. Editorial 1 calls the cuts 'a pragmatic response to budget pressures'. Editorial 2 calls the same cuts 'a reckless assault on community learning'. Both editorials are describing identical dollar figures and the same policy. Which statement BEST explains what the difference in language reveals about each writer?

Question 25
Reading & language · Text response & analysis

Read: "The old man fed the pigeons every morning without fail. The park felt emptier on the day he did not come." A student says this passage uses contrast to create sadness. Is this correct, and why?

Question 26
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 27
Reading & language · Reading & comprehension

Read this passage: 'Maya pressed her lips together and stared at the floor when her name was called to receive the trophy. Her hands were perfectly still.' Which statement best explains what Maya is feeling, and how you know?

Question 28
Reading & language · Persuasive & creative writing

A student revises a persuasive essay conclusion. Original: 'In conclusion, schools should teach cooking.' Revision: 'The question is not whether schools can afford to teach cooking — it is whether we can afford not to.' The revision is more effective because it:

Question 29
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 30
Reading & language · Writing & grammar

Read this sentence: 'Exhausted after the long journey, the hotel finally came into view.' What grammatical problem does this sentence contain?

Your result

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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 →