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 69186 · New set of questions →

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Section 1: Maths reasoning (15 questions)

Question 1
Maths reasoning · Geometry

Four angles meet at a point. Three of them are equal and the fourth is 60°. One of the equal angles is then split into two equal parts by a ray. How large is each part?

Question 2
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 3
Maths reasoning · Algebraic thinking

A number machine uses two steps in order: STEP 1 — subtract 3, STEP 2 — multiply by 4. The output is 28. What was the input?

Question 4
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 5
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 6
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 7
Maths reasoning · Ratios & rates

Three friends — Kai, Lena and Omar — contribute money to buy a gift in the ratio 2 : 3 : 5. The gift costs $60. Later, the shop gives a $12 refund, and the friends agree to share the refund in the same ratio 2 : 3 : 5. After the refund, how much has Kai paid in total?

Question 8
Maths reasoning · Percentages & rates

A water tank is filled to 80% of its capacity. Water is then added until the tank is 95% full, using 180 litres. What is the full capacity of the tank in litres?

Question 9
Maths reasoning · Percentages

Three friends each start with a different amount of pocket money. Ava's amount increases by 20%. Ben's amount increases by 50% and then decreases by 20%. Charlie's amount decreases by 10% and then increases by 30%. Which statement about their overall percentage change is correct?

Question 10
Maths reasoning · Area & volume

A rectangular prism has a length of 10 cm, width of 5 cm, and height of 8 cm. Its length and width are each increased by 20%, but its height stays the same. By what percentage does the volume increase?

Question 11
Maths reasoning · Statistics & probability

A data set has five values: 4, 7, 9, 12, and one unknown value k. The median of the five values is 9 and the mean is 10. What is the value of k?

Question 12
Maths reasoning · Area, volume & angles

A triangular prism has a right-angled triangular face with legs 6 cm and 8 cm. The prism is 12 cm long. A rectangular prism 4 cm × 3 cm × 12 cm is cut away from inside the solid. What is the volume of the remaining solid?

Question 13
Maths reasoning · Pythagoras

Three squares are drawn on the sides of a triangle. The two smaller squares have areas of 20 cm² and 45 cm². A student claims the triangle is right-angled because 20 + 45 = 65. Is the student correct, and why?

Question 14
Maths reasoning · Integers & operations

The product of three consecutive integers is −60. Which set of three consecutive integers satisfies this condition?

Question 15
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?

Section 2: Reading & language (15 questions)

Question 16
Reading & language · Persuasive & creative writing

A student writes: 'This is definitely the best film ever made.' What weakness could a critical reader point out?

Question 17
Reading & language · Speaking & listening

A student is preparing a speech to persuade her class that the school canteen should sell healthier food. She decides to open with a short story about a student who felt sick after eating a greasy meal, then follow with two statistics about student concentration. Which statement best explains why this structure is effective?

Question 18
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 19
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage, then answer the question. "The review of the school play read: 'The set design was inventive and the lighting created a genuinely eerie atmosphere in Act Two. The lead performances were energetic, if occasionally rushed. The script, however, relied too heavily on familiar jokes and offered few surprises. Audiences who enjoy community theatre will find much to appreciate, though those seeking originality may leave wanting more.'" Which sentence from the review best shows that the reviewer is giving a balanced evaluation rather than a purely positive or negative one?

Question 20
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage. "Every morning, Lena walked past the empty block on Marsh Street. The council sign said 'Future Community Garden.' Weeds pressed through the chain-link fence. By June, the sign had faded. By August, someone had spray-painted 'STILL WAITING' across it. Lena took a photo and posted it without a caption." What does Lena's decision to post the photo without a caption most likely suggest?

Question 21
Reading & language · Text response & analysis

Read: "We must act on climate change now. Every scientist agrees. The future of our children depends on it." A student argues this paragraph is persuasive because it uses facts. What is wrong with this judgement?

Question 22
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 23
Reading & language · Writing & grammar

Which is correct?

Question 24
Reading & language · Reading & comprehension

A writer describes a bushfire using short, sharp sentences throughout a paragraph, then finishes with one long sentence that lists every animal that escaped into the creek. What effect does this structural choice most likely create?

Question 25
Reading & language · Vocabulary & grammar

Read this passage: 'The new stadium will, officials insist, transform the region. The new stadium will, critics warn, devastate the region.' A student argues that because both sentences use the same grammatical structure, they are equally neutral in tone. Is the student correct, and why?

Question 26
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 27
Reading & language · Persuasive & creative writing

A student's persuasive essay on zoo closures includes this sentence: 'Zoos imprison innocent animals for human entertainment.' His teacher says this sentence is persuasive but 'relies entirely on emotional appeal'. Which revision adds a LOGICAL appeal WITHOUT removing the emotional effect?

Question 28
Reading & language · Vocabulary & grammar

A student is revising this sentence: 'The reason why the match was cancelled was because of the rain.' The teacher says it contains a grammatical redundancy. Which revised version BEST fixes the redundancy while keeping the meaning?

Question 29
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 30
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'?

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 →