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 99422 · New set of questions →

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Section 1: Maths reasoning (15 questions)

Question 1
Maths reasoning · Area & volume

A garden bed is shaped like a trapezium with parallel sides of 9 m and 15 m and a perpendicular height of 8 m. A gardener claims the area is greater than 100 m². A second gardener claims it is less than 100 m². Which statement is correct, and what is the actual area?

Question 2
Maths reasoning · Percentages & rates

Bought for $50, sold for $65. Percentage profit?

Question 3
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 4
Maths reasoning · Ratios & rates

A fruit drink is made by mixing cordial and water. Brand X: 1 part cordial to 6 parts water. Brand Y: 2 parts cordial to 11 parts water. Which brand has a stronger cordial flavour, and what fraction of Brand X is cordial?

Question 5
Maths reasoning · Equations

Callum is saving money. At the start of January he has $80. Each week he saves the same amount, $d. His sister Zoe starts January with $20 and saves $15 per week. After exactly w weeks they have the same total savings, and this happens when w is a whole number greater than zero. Which equation correctly finds w, and what is the value of w?

Question 6
Maths reasoning · Area, volume & angles

A rectangular garden bed is 9 m long and 4 m wide. A path of uniform width 1 m is built all the way around the outside. What is the area of the path only?

Question 7
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 8
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 9
Maths reasoning · Statistics & probability

A data set has six values. Five of them are 3, 7, 8, 12, and 15. The mean of all six values is 9. After removing the sixth value, the median of the remaining five values is 8. What is the sixth value?

Question 10
Maths reasoning · Area, volume & angles

A square tile has a side length of 30 cm. A circular design is painted on the tile so that the circle fits exactly inside the square, touching all four sides. The area of the square that is NOT covered by the circle is closest to which value? (Use π ≈ 3.14)

Question 11
Maths reasoning · Area & volume

A composite solid is made by placing a solid cone on top of a solid cylinder. Both the cone and the cylinder have the same radius of 3 cm. The cylinder has a height of 8 cm and the total height of the composite solid is 12 cm (so the cone has a height of 4 cm). Using π ≈ 3.14, what is the total volume of the composite solid, correct to two decimal places?

Question 12
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 13
Maths reasoning · Percentages

In a class, 40% of students play football and 35% play basketball. The rest play neither. There are 8 students who play neither sport. How many students are in the class?

Question 14
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 15
Maths reasoning · Area & volume

A right-angled triangle has legs of 8 cm and 15 cm. A square is drawn with its side length equal to the hypotenuse of the triangle. What is the area of the square?

Section 2: Reading & language (15 questions)

Question 16
Reading & language · Phonics & spelling

A student reads these four words: 'sign', 'signal', 'signature', 'insignificant'. She notices they all share the same root. She then claims: 'Because "sign" has a silent g, the g must also be silent in all four words.' Which option correctly evaluates her claim using evidence from the word set?

Question 17
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 18
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 19
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 20
Reading & language · Vocabulary & grammar

Read this sentence: 'The boy who always sat at the back of the class, who rarely spoke, who seemed invisible to everyone, raised his hand.' What is the most likely reason the writer uses three relative clauses before the main verb rather than a single description?

Question 21
Reading & language · Writing & grammar

A writer wants to show that a character feels nervous but is trying to hide it. Which sentence does this BEST?

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 · Text response & analysis

Read this extract: 'The principal's voice was calm and steady as she announced the school's closure, but her hands gripped the podium until her knuckles turned white.' What does the contrast between the principal's voice and her hands most likely suggest?

Question 24
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 25
Reading & language · Text response & analysis

Read this paragraph from a persuasive text about school uniforms: "Students who wear uniforms perform better academically, feel a stronger sense of belonging, and face less peer pressure about clothing. Clearly, uniforms benefit everyone." A critic argues the conclusion is not fully supported. Which reason BEST justifies the critic's view?

Question 26
Reading & language · Vocabulary & grammar

Read this passage: 'The principal announced the new rule. Students would no longer be allowed to use their phones during lunch. Many students felt this was unfair. Even so, they handed them in without complaint.' If a student is asked to identify the text's cohesive device that signals contrast in the final sentence, which is the correct answer, and why?

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 · 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 29
Reading & language · Vocabulary & grammar

A student reads two descriptions of the same bushfire evacuation: Text 1: 'Residents were urged to leave their homes as a precaution.' Text 2: 'Families were forced to flee, abandoning everything they owned.' Which statement BEST explains how word choice reveals a difference in perspective between the two texts?

Question 30
Reading & language · Comprehension

Read this passage. "The government's new transport plan was welcomed by business leaders, who said it would create jobs and reduce freight costs. Environmental groups, however, warned that the new motorway would cut through a protected wetland. The minister said the plan had undergone 'rigorous environmental assessment.' No independent review has been published." A student claims: 'This passage is balanced because it includes both positive and negative views.' Which response best evaluates that claim?

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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 →