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 75872 · New set of questions →

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Section 1: Maths reasoning (15 questions)

Question 1
Maths reasoning · Equations

A school sells adult tickets for $12 and student tickets for $7. At one event, twice as many student tickets as adult tickets are sold, and the total money collected is $260. How many adult tickets were sold?

Question 2
Maths reasoning · Geometry

A composite shape is made of a rectangle 12 cm long and 5 cm wide, with a right-angled triangle removed from one corner. The triangle has legs of 3 cm (along the width) and 4 cm (along the length). What is the area of the remaining shape?

Question 3
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 4
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 5
Maths reasoning · Statistics & probability

A school records the number of absences per student for 10 students: 3, 0, 5, 2, 8, 1, 4, 6, 2, 9 The school then realises it missed one student who had 2 absences and adds that score to the data set. Which of the following statements about the effect on the measures of centre is correct?

Question 6
Maths reasoning · Probability

A bag contains only red and blue marbles. The probability of drawing a red marble is 2/5. Three marbles are drawn one at a time WITH replacement. What is the probability of getting exactly 2 blue marbles?

Question 7
Maths reasoning · Integers

The temperature in a city changes by the same amount each hour. At 6 am the temperature is −10°C. At 10 am it is 6°C. What is the temperature at noon?

Question 8
Maths reasoning · Percentages & rates

A retailer buys a jacket for $200. He marks it up by 50%, then discounts the marked-up price by 30% for a clearance sale. A customer sees the 30% discount sign and says, 'I'm getting a better deal than the original price.' Is the customer correct, and what is the final price as a percentage of the original $200 cost price?

Question 9
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 10
Maths reasoning · Algebraic thinking

Two students describe the same pattern differently. Mia says: 'Multiply the position number by 5, then add 1.' Tom says: 'Add 1 to the position number, then multiply by 5.' Which statement is true?

Question 11
Maths reasoning · Algebraic thinking

A sequence starts: 3, 7, 11, 15, … The rule is 'add 4 each time'. Layla says term 20 is 79. Ben says term 20 is 75. Who is correct, and what is the value?

Question 12
Maths reasoning · Indices

A square piece of paper has an area of 2^8 cm². The paper is cut into four equal smaller squares. Each smaller square is then cut into four equal squares again. What is the side length, in cm, of each of the final small squares?

Question 13
Maths reasoning · Fractions, decimals & percentages

A jacket costs $120. The shop reduces the price by 15%, then reduces the new price by a further 10%. What is the final price?

Question 14
Maths reasoning · Percentages & rates

A school canteen raises the price of a meal deal by 12%, bringing the new price to $8.96. What was the original price of the meal deal?

Question 15
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?

Section 2: Reading & language (15 questions)

Question 16
Reading & language · Writing & grammar

A student writes: 'After finishing her homework, the television was turned on by Maya.' A classmate says the sentence has two problems, not one. Which answer correctly identifies BOTH problems?

Question 17
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 18
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage. "The old lighthouse had stood on the cliff for over a century. Every night, its beam swept the dark water below. When the council announced it would be demolished, the town was divided. Some residents called it a relic of the past, while others argued it was the very soul of their community. The mayor remained silent throughout the debate." What does the mayor's silence most likely suggest to the reader?

Question 19
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?

Question 20
Reading & language · Speaking & listening

During a school assembly rehearsal, Tom delivers his speech perfectly at home but freezes mid-sentence in front of 200 students. He then rushes through the second half much faster than planned. Which explanation best describes what has happened to Tom's communication, and what should he have practised to prevent it?

Question 21
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage, then answer the question. "Two journalists covered the same factory fire. The first wrote: 'Firefighters battled through the night to contain the blaze, saving dozens of jobs and preventing further damage.' The second wrote: 'A fire last night destroyed a portion of the Millvale factory, raising questions about whether safety standards were adequate.'" Which statement best explains how the two reports reveal different perspectives?

Question 22
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 23
Reading & language · Reading & comprehension

A student is comparing two texts about drought. Text A is a government water management report. Text B is a poem by a farmer watching a dry creek bed. The student says: 'Text B is useless for research because it is just feelings.' Which response best evaluates this claim?

Question 24
Reading & language · Vocabulary & grammar

Read the following: 'The report was, needless to say, absolutely flawless.' A student claims the phrase 'needless to say' is redundant because the word 'absolutely' already emphasises the point. Is the student correct?

Question 25
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 26
Reading & language · Text response & analysis

Read: "Jess always sat at the back of the bus. Today she chose the front seat. She looked out the window the whole way and did not put her headphones in." The author does not directly state how Jess is feeling. What technique is being used, and what can you infer from it?

Question 27
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 28
Reading & language · Persuasive & creative writing

Two students write conclusions for the same persuasive essay arguing that public libraries should receive more government funding. Student A: 'In conclusion, libraries are important places and the government should give them more money so they can keep helping people.' Student B: 'A nation that defunds its libraries does not merely cut a budget line — it erases the only space where a child with nothing can walk in and own everything.' Which analysis best explains why Student B's conclusion is more persuasive at a structural and rhetorical level?

Question 29
Reading & language · Text response & analysis

Read this passage: "The city gleamed in the brochure photos — wide boulevards, smiling faces, fountains. Amara arrived to find cracked footpaths, shuttered shops, and a fountain filled with leaves." A student says the author uses contrast to criticise tourism advertising. Which explanation best supports this interpretation?

Question 30
Reading & language · Reading & comprehension

Text A is a scientist's report on ocean warming. Text B is a diary written by a sailor watching coral bleach in front of him. A student says: 'Text A is more reliable because it has facts.' Which response best evaluates the student's claim?

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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 →