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 90057 · New set of questions →

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Section 1: Maths reasoning (15 questions)

Question 1
Maths reasoning · Area & volume

Two cubes, A and B, have side lengths in the ratio 1 : 3. What is the ratio of their volumes?

Question 2
Maths reasoning · Algebraic thinking

A number machine applies two steps in order: STEP 1 — multiply by 2, STEP 2 — add 10. A second machine reverses the steps: STEP 1 — add 10, STEP 2 — multiply by 2. Which statement correctly explains when, if ever, the two machines give the same output?

Question 3
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 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 · Percentages

15 is 10% of what number?

Question 6
Maths reasoning · Fraction & decimal operations

Which fraction is exactly halfway between 1/3 and 5/6 on a number line?

Question 7
Maths reasoning · Statistics & probability

A fair six-sided die is rolled. Which of the following is correct about the events 'rolling a number less than 3' and 'rolling an odd number'?

Question 8
Maths reasoning · Pythagoras

A right-angled triangle has legs of length a cm and b cm and hypotenuse c cm. A student doubles all three sides to get a new triangle with legs 2a and 2b and hypotenuse 2c. The student claims: 'The new triangle is still right-angled, and its area is exactly double the original area.' Which statement is correct?

Question 9
Maths reasoning · Ratio & rates

Tom and Ava share some money in the ratio 3 : 5. Ava receives $64 more than Tom. How much money is shared in total?

Question 10
Maths reasoning · Equations

The perimeter of a triangle is 54 cm. The second side is twice as long as the first side. The third side is 6 cm longer than the first side. What is the length of the longest side?

Question 11
Maths reasoning · Area & volume

A triangle has base 12 cm and height h cm. A rectangle has the same area as the triangle. The rectangle's length is 9 cm and its width is 4 cm. What is the height h of the triangle?

Question 12
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 13
Maths reasoning · Integers & operations

An integer k satisfies all three conditions: • k is negative • k² − k is less than 20 • k is not equal to −1 How many integer values of k are possible?

Question 14
Maths reasoning · Fractions, decimals & percentages

A water tank is 2/5 full and contains 480 litres. Water is pumped out until the tank is 1/6 full. How many litres are pumped out?

Question 15
Maths reasoning · Algebraic expressions

A student claims: 'If I double every term in the expression 3x + 5, I get 6x + 10, which is always equal to 2(3x + 5).' A second student claims: 'If I substitute x = 3 into both expressions and get the same answer, they must be equal for ALL values of x.' Which statement is correct?

Section 2: Reading & language (15 questions)

Question 16
Reading & language · Vocabulary & grammar

Read this sentence: 'The council's decision to close the park was met with fierce opposition from residents, who argued it was their only green space.' Which grammatical feature most contributes to the persuasive force of the residents' argument?

Question 17
Reading & language · Writing & grammar

A student writes the following two sentences in a persuasive essay about school uniforms: Sentence A: 'Although uniforms can feel restrictive, they remove the pressure of choosing what to wear each day, which research suggests reduces morning anxiety in students.' Sentence B: 'Uniforms are restrictive but they remove pressure and research says anxiety is reduced.' A classmate says both sentences make the same argument, so they are equally effective. Which statement BEST explains why this claim is inaccurate?

Question 18
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 19
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage, then answer the question. "In one report about the town's new wind farm, a journalist wrote: 'The turbines, gleaming against the sky, promise clean energy for generations.' In a letter to the same newspaper, a resident wrote: 'Those monstrous towers now loom over our valley, ruining the view we have loved for decades.'" A student claims: 'The journalist's report is more reliable because it uses facts, while the resident's letter uses only opinion.' Is this claim accurate? Choose the best evaluation.

Question 20
Reading & language · Vocabulary & grammar

A writer uses the word 'fine' in these two consecutive sentences: 'Mum said everything was fine. She stacked the dishes, scrubbed the bench, and wiped down every surface twice.' What does the repetition of 'fine' and the detail that follows most likely suggest?

Question 21
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 22
Reading & language · Text response & analysis

Read this passage: 'The trophy sat on the shelf for twenty years, gathering dust. Marcus never spoke about the race. Visitors sometimes pointed to it and he would change the subject, offer tea, move to another room.' A student interprets this passage as follows: 'The author uses repetition of Marcus's avoidance to suggest the trophy represents guilt rather than pride.' Another student says: 'This interpretation is wrong because the text never uses the word guilt, so you cannot say that.' Which response best evaluates whether the first student's interpretation is valid?

Question 23
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 24
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 25
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 26
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 27
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage, then answer the question. "The coastal town of Harley Bay had resisted development for years. When a resort company announced plans to build a hotel on the beachfront, the local paper ran the headline: 'Progress Finally Arrives for Harley Bay.' A community group's flyer read: 'Harley Bay Is Not for Sale.'" A student says: 'The newspaper headline is more trustworthy than the flyer because it comes from a professional source.' Is this claim accurate? Choose the best evaluation.

Question 28
Reading & language · Vocabulary & grammar

A student is editing her essay and has this sentence: 'The government's new policy, which critics argue ignores long-term environmental consequences, aims to boost short-term economic growth.' She wants to make the government's aim sound more central and reduce the prominence of the criticism. Which revision BEST achieves this?

Question 29
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 30
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?

Your result

0 / 30
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 →