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Selective entry practice test, with every answer explained.

A free practice paper in the style of the Victorian selective entry exam: ten questions across every section, with the method behind every answer.

Updated 10 October 2026. Written by the Study Compass team from official sources, listed at the end.

These ten questions follow the style of the Victorian selective entry high school exam, which Year 8 students sit in June. There are questions for each section of the exam: mathematics, quantitative reasoning, verbal reasoning, reading and writing. We wrote all of them ourselves.

Try each one before opening the answer. The method matters more than the answer, because the same few methods come up again and again.

Are there past selective test papers?

Not that we can find. ACER, which runs the exam, offers a download of sample questions on its preparation page rather than past papers.[1] So most selective school test papers you'll find online are practice papers written by tutoring companies, this one included. That's fine, as long as they're in the right format and the answers come with a method.

How to use this practice paper

  • No calculator. Calculators aren't allowed in the exam,[2] so leave them out here too.
  • Time it loosely. Aim for about a minute per multiple-choice question. Don't worry if some take longer. In the real exam, ACER says many students don't finish.[1]
  • Mark by section, not overall. A child who gets every maths question right but misses the number patterns has a very clear next step. A single total score hides that.
Exam blockTimeWhat it covers
Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning60 minSchool maths applied to problems, plus number, pattern and shape puzzles
Reading and Verbal Reasoning55 minUnderstanding texts, plus word, logic and code puzzles
Writing40 minTwo writing tasks

Those times come from ACER, which runs the exam.[1] Our guide to selective entry in Victoria covers the rest: the four schools, who can apply and how offers are made.

Mathematics

The maths section uses content from the school curriculum, up to Year 8.[1] What makes it hard is that the problems are written in words, so your child has to work out which maths to use.

Question 1

A jacket is on sale for $80, which is 20% off its usual price. What was the usual price?

  1. $96
  2. $100
  3. $64
  4. $120
Show the answer

Answer: B, $100. After a 20% discount, the jacket costs 80% of its usual price. So 80% is $80, which makes 1% equal to $1 and 100% equal to $100. The common trap is adding 20% of $80 back on, which gives $96.

Question 2

The average of five numbers is 12. One number is removed, and the average of the four numbers left is 11. Which number was removed?

  1. 1
  2. 11
  3. 12
  4. 16
Show the answer

Answer: D, 16. Work with totals, not averages. Five numbers averaging 12 add to 60. Four numbers averaging 11 add to 44. The number removed is 60 − 44 = 16.

Quantitative reasoning

This is the section that looks least like school maths. It tests whether your child can spot a rule in numbers, patterns and shapes.[1]

Question 3

What comes next? 3, 7, 15, 31, 63, …

  1. 95
  2. 126
  3. 127
  4. 128
Show the answer

Answer: C, 127. Each number is double the one before, plus 1: 3 × 2 + 1 = 7, 7 × 2 + 1 = 15, and so on. So 63 × 2 + 1 = 127. If the gaps between numbers keep doubling (4, 8, 16, 32), look for a multiplying rule.

Question 4

What comes next? 2, 6, 12, 20, 30, …

  1. 40
  2. 42
  3. 44
  4. 36
Show the answer

Answer: B, 42. Look at the gaps: 4, 6, 8, 10. They go up by 2 each time, so the next gap is 12, and 30 + 12 = 42. Checking the gaps first is the quickest way into most number series.

Question 5

A symbol ◆ joins two numbers by a fixed rule. 4 ◆ 3 = 19 and 5 ◆ 2 = 27. What is 6 ◆ 4?

  1. 24
  2. 34
  3. 40
  4. 28
Show the answer

Answer: C, 40. Test simple rules against both examples. Square the first number and add the second: 4 × 4 + 3 = 19 and 5 × 5 + 2 = 27. Both work, so 6 ◆ 4 = 36 + 4 = 40. Always check a rule against every example before you use it.

Verbal reasoning

Verbal reasoning tests words, concepts and logic: analogies, codes, odd one out and deduction.[1] Each question type has a method, and once your child knows it these become much quicker.

Question 6

Author is to novel as composer is to …

  1. orchestra
  2. symphony
  3. piano
  4. conductor
Show the answer

Answer: B, symphony. Make a sentence that links the first pair: an author creates a novel. Then test each option in the same sentence. A composer creates a symphony. A composer doesn't create an orchestra or a piano.

Question 7

In a code, CAT is written as DBU. How is DOG written in the same code?

  1. EPH
  2. CNF
  3. EOH
  4. DPH
Show the answer

Answer: A, EPH. Compare each letter with its code letter. C becomes D, A becomes B and T becomes U, so every letter moves one place forward in the alphabet. D, O and G become E, P and H.

Question 8

Which word is the odd one out? granite, marble, basalt, bronze, slate

  1. granite
  2. marble
  3. bronze
  4. slate
Show the answer

Answer: C, bronze. Granite, marble, basalt and slate are all rocks. Bronze is a metal, made by mixing copper and tin. With odd-one-out questions, name the group first, then find the word that doesn't fit it.

Question 9

Every student in the chess club also plays in the band. Some students in the band also play soccer. Mia is in the chess club. Which of these must be true?

  1. Mia plays soccer.
  2. Mia plays in the band.
  3. Mia plays soccer and is in the band.
  4. None of these must be true.
Show the answer

Answer: B, Mia plays in the band. The first sentence covers every chess club member, so it must apply to Mia. The second sentence only says some band members play soccer, so Mia may or may not play. In deduction questions, “some” never lets you be sure about one person.

Reading

The reading section asks students to find, interpret and judge information in a text.[1] Here's a short passage to try.

Honeybees can't see red. To a bee, a pure red looks dark, close to black. What bees can see is ultraviolet light, which is invisible to people. Many flowers that look plain to us carry ultraviolet markings, lines and rings that lead towards the nectar like a runway's landing lights. Scientists call these patterns nectar guides. When researchers photographed flowers with ultraviolet cameras, they found guides on flowers that seemed to be a single colour. A flower's colour, it turns out, is less a message to us than a message to the insects that visit it.

Question 10

The writer compares the markings to “a runway's landing lights” to suggest that they …

  1. only show up at night
  2. are brighter than the rest of the flower
  3. lead the bee to a particular spot
  4. warn the bee to keep away
Show the answer

Answer: C, they lead the bee to a particular spot. Landing lights show a pilot exactly where to go, and the passage says the markings “lead towards the nectar”. Options A and D bring in ideas the passage never mentions. With comparison questions, ask what job the thing being compared actually does.

Writing

The writing section has two tasks in 40 minutes.[1] That's about 20 minutes each, so planning has to take two or three minutes, not ten. Try these two practice prompts, one after the other, with a timer:

  1. Task 1: Write a story that begins with this sentence: "The door hadn't been there yesterday."
  2. Task 2: Some people think students should be allowed to use phones during lunchtime. Write a piece giving your view.

When you read them back, look for a clear opening, ideas that are actually developed rather than listed, varied sentences and a proper ending. Our NAPLAN writing guide explains what markers look for, and most of it carries straight over.

What the results tell you

  • Wrong on maths (questions 1 and 2)? These are usually gaps in percentages or averages from school maths, which are quick to fix.
  • Wrong on quantitative reasoning (3 to 5)? Your child probably hasn't met these question types often. Learning the methods makes a big difference here.
  • Wrong on verbal reasoning (6 to 9)? Each question type has a method. Practise one type at a time.
  • Wrong on reading (10)? Wide reading helps most, especially harder non-fiction.

Ten questions is only a taste. A full practice exam in the real timing gives a much clearer picture, and ACER also publishes free sample questions on its website.[1] ACER notes that its samples aren't necessarily as hard as the real exam.[1]

One thing to be careful of. No practice test, ours included, can predict an offer. Offers depend on how every other candidate does in that year's exam.[3]

Ready for a full practice exam?

Selective Entry Preparation starts with a full practice exam in the real format and timing, then builds a study plan from your child's results in each section.

Start free

Sources

  1. ACER, Selective Entry High Schools Victoria: Prepare. https://selectiveentry.acer.org/vic/prepare (accessed 9 October 2026).
  2. ACER, Selective Entry High Schools Victoria: Exam day. https://selectiveentry.acer.org/vic/exam-day (accessed 9 October 2026).
  3. Victorian Government, Selective entry high schools. https://www.vic.gov.au/selective-entry-high-schools (accessed 9 October 2026).

Rules, dates and formats change. Always check the official source before making a decision. Study Compass isn't affiliated with or endorsed by ACARA, the VCAA, ACER or the Victorian Department of Education.