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 47561 · New set of questions →

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Section 1: Maths reasoning (15 questions)

Question 1
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 2
Maths reasoning · Indices

A student writes: 3⁻² + 3⁻² = 3⁻⁴. Which statement is correct?

Question 3
Maths reasoning · Geometry

A parallelogram has angles of x°, (x + 40)°, x°, and (x + 40)°. What is the value of x?

Question 4
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 5
Maths reasoning · Ratios & rates

Which is better value: 3 pens for $6 or 5 pens for $9?

Question 6
Maths reasoning · Pythagoras

A triangle has sides of 7 cm, 24 cm, and 25 cm. A second triangle has sides of 8 cm, 15 cm, and 17 cm. A student claims both are right-angled triangles and that together they prove Pythagoras works for any triangle. Which response is most mathematically accurate?

Question 7
Maths reasoning · Integers

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

Question 8
Maths reasoning · Equations

Jake has some money. He spends $12 on lunch and then spends half of what is left on a book. He now has $9. How much money did Jake start with?

Question 9
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 10
Maths reasoning · Statistics & probability

A bag contains red, yellow, and purple counters. The probability of randomly selecting a red counter is 2/5 and the probability of selecting a yellow counter is 1/4. A student claims: 'There must be at least 20 counters in the bag for these probabilities to both be possible at the same time.' Is the student correct, and why?

Question 11
Maths reasoning · Integers & operations

An integer m satisfies all three conditions: • m is negative • m² + m is greater than 0 • m is greater than −5 What is the sum of ALL possible values of m?

Question 12
Maths reasoning · Probability

Maya rolls a fair six-sided die repeatedly until she rolls a 6. What is the probability that she needs EXACTLY 3 rolls to get her first 6?

Question 13
Maths reasoning · Percentages

A $40 price rises by 25%. The new price is?

Question 14
Maths reasoning · Area, volume & angles

A composite shape is made of a rectangle 10 cm wide and 6 cm tall, with a right-angled triangle sitting on top. The triangle has a base of 10 cm and a height of 4 cm. What is the total area of the shape?

Question 15
Maths reasoning · Pythagoras

A right-angled triangle has legs of length x cm and (x + 7) cm. Its hypotenuse is 13 cm. What is the value of x?

Section 2: Reading & language (15 questions)

Question 16
Reading & language · Vocabulary & grammar

Which sentence uses a colon correctly and for the most precise grammatical reason?

Question 17
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 18
Reading & language · Persuasive & creative writing

Read this extract from a student's persuasive speech: 'Every scientist on earth agrees that we must act on climate change now. If you are not doing your part, you are personally responsible for every flood, every wildfire, every species lost.' A classmate says this passage is 'actually really persuasive.' Which response best explains why the passage is logically flawed despite feeling convincing?

Question 19
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage, then answer the question. "The principal's message to the school newsletter said: 'We are proud of our students for their enthusiastic participation in the clean-up day. With over 200 students involved, it was our biggest event yet. A small number of students chose not to participate, but we hope they will join us next time.'" What is the effect of the phrase 'a small number of students chose not to participate' on the overall tone of the message?

Question 20
Reading & language · Speaking & listening

At the end of a debate, the judge says both teams used good evidence but Team A was more persuasive because their speakers 'made the audience feel the issue mattered personally'. Team B's speakers presented the same facts but sounded detached. What speaking technique did Team A use more effectively?

Question 21
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 22
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read these two passages. Passage A: "The redevelopment of Millbrook Park will breathe new life into a neglected corner of our suburb. Families will finally have a safe, modern space to enjoy." Passage B: "The proposed redevelopment of Millbrook Park has drawn mixed responses. Supporters say it will upgrade ageing facilities, while residents near the site have raised concerns about construction noise and reduced green space during the two-year building period." A student argues: 'Passage A is more reliable than Passage B because it is more confident and direct.' Which response best evaluates this claim?

Question 23
Reading & language · Reading & comprehension

Read these two sentences from a short story: 'The hospital corridor smelled of disinfectant and cold meals. Somewhere behind a curtain, a television murmured about cricket.' What is the most likely purpose of these two sentences?

Question 24
Reading & language · Vocabulary & grammar

Read these two sentences from different editorials about the same school policy: Editorial 1: 'Students will be required to wear uniforms.' Editorial 2: 'Students will be forced into uniforms.' Which analysis most precisely explains the difference in effect?

Question 25
Reading & language · Reading & comprehension

A persuasive letter about protecting a local park ends with this paragraph: 'Parks do not need defending. The people who built this suburb without a single tree — they need defending. Let them explain to the children who will grow up here why cement was worth more than shade.' What makes this ending persuasive, and how does it work?

Question 26
Reading & language · Speaking & listening

A Year 6 student is giving a speech about saving local wetlands. She says: 'You might think this is someone else's problem — but this wetland is two kilometres from our school. Some of you have ridden your bikes past it. Last spring it flooded the oval where you play footy.' Her classmates who had been distracted start paying attention. Which explanation best accounts for why this moment in her speech was effective?

Question 27
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 28
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage. "The journalist's report began: 'Hundreds of concerned locals flooded the council chambers last Tuesday.' A second journalist covering the same meeting wrote: 'Approximately two hundred residents attended the council session on Tuesday.'" Which statement best explains how the two reports differ in their portrayal of the event?

Question 29
Reading & language · Persuasive & creative writing

A student writes a short story about a girl named Priya who has just been told she did not get the part in the school play. The student writes this final scene: 'Priya stood outside the noticeboard for a long time. When she finally walked away, she chose the long way home — past the oval, through the park, along the river.' Her teacher calls this ending 'quietly devastating'. A classmate suggests the student add: 'She was heartbroken.' Why would adding 'She was heartbroken' MOST likely weaken the ending?

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?

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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 →