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 95942 · New set of questions →

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Section 1: Maths reasoning (15 questions)

Question 1
Maths reasoning · Integers

Maya writes this rule: 'Start with any negative integer. Add it to its opposite. Then multiply the result by any negative integer. The final answer is always zero.' Which explanation BEST describes why Maya's rule always works?

Question 2
Maths reasoning · Area, volume & angles

A triangular prism has a triangular face with base 6 cm and height 4 cm. The prism is 10 cm long. What is the volume of the prism?

Question 3
Maths reasoning · Fractions, decimals & percentages

A sports shop buys a basketball at wholesale and sells it at a 30% mark-up. When the season ends, the shop discounts the selling price by 30%. A student says the final sale price equals the original wholesale price because '+30% then −30% cancel out.' The wholesale price was $80. What is the final sale price, and is the student correct?

Question 4
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 5
Maths reasoning · Indices

Simplify the expression: (a⁴b⁻²) ÷ (a⁻¹b³). Write your answer using only positive exponents.

Question 6
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 7
Maths reasoning · Fractions, decimals & percentages

A school canteen buys muffins at a wholesale price. It sells them at a 40% mark-up. At the end of the day, unsold muffins are discounted by 40% off the selling price. A muffin that was not sold at full price is finally sold at the discounted price. Compared to the wholesale price, the final discounted selling price is:

Question 8
Maths reasoning · Ratio & rates

Paint is mixed using red, blue, and yellow in the ratio 2 : 5 : 3. A painter has 80 mL of red paint and wants to use all of it. How much blue paint is needed, and what is the TOTAL amount of paint mixed?

Question 9
Maths reasoning · Area & volume

Four identical small cubes, each with side length 3 cm, are stacked in a single column to form one tall rectangular prism. The surface area of the tall prism is how much LESS than the total surface area of all four cubes separately?

Question 10
Maths reasoning · Indices

A student simplifies (3^a × 9^b) and wants to write it as a single power of 3. Which of the following is the correct simplified form?

Question 11
Maths reasoning · Integers

Which expression has the greatest value?

Question 12
Maths reasoning · Fractions, decimals & percentages

A shop sells a pair of jeans for $84 after marking them up by 40% from the wholesale price. What was the wholesale price?

Question 13
Maths reasoning · Probability

Two events A and B are independent. P(A) = 0.5 and P(B) = 0.4. What is P(A or B), the probability that at least one of A or B occurs?

Question 14
Maths reasoning · Geometry

A parallelogram has vertices at coordinates A(0, 0), B(6, 0), C(8, 4), and D(2, 4). A student calculates its area by multiplying the base (AB = 6 cm) by the vertical height (4 cm), getting 24 cm². A second student multiplies the side lengths AB × AD, where AD = √(4 + 16) = √20 cm, and gets a different answer. Which statement is correct?

Question 15
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.

Section 2: Reading & language (15 questions)

Question 16
Reading & language · Reading & comprehension

A student reading a novel writes: 'The theme of this book is loyalty because a character called Loyalty appears.' What is wrong with the student's reasoning?

Question 17
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage carefully. "Sixteen-year-old Priya had won the regional debating championship three years in a row. On the night of the state final, she sat backstage listening to the crowd settle. Her notes were perfect — she had read them so many times the paper had gone soft at the folds. When her name was called, she walked to the podium, placed her notes face-down, and began to speak." What does Priya placing her notes face-down most likely suggest about her?

Question 18
Reading & language · Text response & analysis

A student is writing a text response about the novel 'The One and Only Ivan'. She writes this conclusion: "In conclusion, this essay has discussed Ivan's loneliness, his friendship with Ruby, and the theme of freedom. These are all important parts of the book." What is the main weakness of this conclusion?

Question 19
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 20
Reading & language · Speaking & listening

During a student debate, Aisha uses a calm, measured tone even while making very strong claims. Her opponent uses an increasingly urgent, passionate tone as the debate continues. Which analysis of their vocal choices is most accurate?

Question 21
Reading & language · Phonics & spelling

A student knows that 'magic' becomes 'magician' and 'music' becomes 'musician'. She applies the same pattern to write 'electrician' for someone who works with electricity. Her friend says the base word for 'electrician' is NOT 'electric' — it is 'electricity', with the '-ity' removed before adding '-an'. Which statement correctly evaluates BOTH claims?

Question 22
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage, then answer the question. "Nadia had not spoken to her best friend in three weeks. She told herself it did not matter. She rearranged her bookshelf twice that afternoon, reorganised her pencil case, and made a list of things she needed to do — none of which were urgent." What do Nadia's actions in the second and third sentences most strongly suggest?

Question 23
Reading & language · Text response & analysis

Read this extract from a short story: 'Every morning, Grandma set two cups on the table — one for herself and one that sat untouched, waiting, as it had for three years now. She hummed while she made the tea, the same song she had always hummed, and smiled at the window the way she used to smile at the door.' A student says the extract is simply about a woman's morning routine. Which statement BEST explains why this reading is insufficient, and what technique supports a deeper interpretation?

Question 24
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage, then answer the question. "Two articles reported on the same school's decision to ban mobile phones. The first read: 'Westfield Secondary has taken a bold step to improve student focus, joining a growing number of schools committed to distraction-free learning.' The second read: 'Westfield Secondary this week banned students from carrying mobile phones during school hours, a policy that has divided opinion among parents and staff.'" Which statement best explains how the two articles construct different impressions of the same event?

Question 25
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 26
Reading & language · Persuasive & creative writing

A student writes this persuasive letter opening: 'You probably think teenagers are lazy. You're wrong.' What is the PRIMARY strategic purpose of directly addressing the reader's assumed belief in this way?

Question 27
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 28
Reading & language · Text response & analysis

Read this student essay extract: 'Shakespeare makes Romeo seem impulsive through his actions. For example, Romeo quickly falls in love with Juliet even though he was in love with Rosaline only the day before. This shows he is impulsive.' Which is the MOST accurate analysis of why this response is weak?

Question 29
Reading & language · Phonics & spelling

Add 'ion' to 'decide'. It becomes?

Question 30
Reading & language · Vocabulary & grammar

Read this sentence: 'The scientist, whose findings challenged decades of research, was quietly discredited by the institution.' Which grammatical feature most shapes how the reader responds to the scientist?

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 →