The HAST, written by ACER, checks how well your child reads closely, reasons with numbers and patterns, and writes, rather than what they’ve memorised.
It’s the entry test for the Ignite programmes at Glenunga International High School, Aberfoyle Park High School and The Heights School, and it’s sat in February of Year 6.
Brisbane State High School uses it for academic selective entry to Year 7. Year 5 students sit HAST Primary, and Year 6 students sit HAST Secondary at Junior level.
No sign-up needed for the questions. The trial needs no card.
10 questions, about 15 minutes. Answers are marked straight away, with the working.
The HAST has a Primary and a Secondary level. Ignite applicants sit it in Year 6, so the Secondary column is most likely the one for your child.Year 5 applicants sit the Primary tests, and Year 6 applicants sit the Secondary tests at Junior level.
Years 4 to 5
| Test | Time | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Reading comprehension | 30 to 35 min | 25 to 30 |
| Mathematical reasoning | 30 to 35 min | 25 to 30 |
| Written expression | 30 min | A writing task |
| Abstract reasoningOptional | 30 min | 30 |
Year 6, applying for Year 7
| Test | Time | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Reading comprehension | 45 min | 35 to 40 |
| Mathematical reasoning | 40 min | 28 to 35 |
| Abstract reasoning | 30 min | 30 |
| Written expression | 25 min | A writing task |
Because wrong answers don’t lose marks, it’s worth answering every multiple-choice question. Check with your school which tests it uses.
Times and question numbers are from ACER’s student information bulletins.
Choose an answer to see straight away if it’s right, with the working. Have a pencil and some paper ready. These are our own practice questions, written in the style of the HAST.
0 of 10 answered
Read the passage, then answer questions 1 to 3.
On the rocky point above Sandpiper Bay stands a white lighthouse, and beside it grows the strangest garden on the coast. Mrs Okafor, the last lighthouse keeper, planted it forty years ago. Nobody believed anything would grow there. The wind tore at every leaf, and salt spray settled on the soil like frost.
Mrs Okafor did not give up. She built low stone walls to break the wind and carried seaweed up from the beach to feed the ground. She chose tough plants: pigface, saltbush and a twisted little tea tree that leaned away from the sea.
Today the lighthouse runs by itself, and Mrs Okafor lives in town. But every Sunday she still walks up the hill with a bucket of seaweed. Visitors often ask her why she bothers.
‘A garden is like a promise,’ she tells them. ‘You don’t stop keeping it just because nobody is checking.’
Frost is a thin white coating on the ground. Comparing the salt to frost tells you it left a thin white layer on the soil. Nothing in the passage says it was cold or snowy.
The passage says she built the walls ‘to break the wind’. The wind was tearing at every leaf, so the walls sheltered the plants.
She says you keep a promise ‘even when nobody is checking’. The lighthouse doesn’t need her any more, but she still feeds the garden every Sunday because she chose to look after it.
Work these out on paper. No calculator.
Imagine all 20 animals are chickens: that makes 40 legs. There are 56 legs, so 16 are missing. Each sheep has 2 more legs than a chicken, so there are 16 ÷ 2 = 8 sheep. Check: 8 sheep have 32 legs, 12 chickens have 24 legs, and 32 + 24 = 56.
3471118?47
Each number is the two numbers before it added together: 3 + 4 = 7, 4 + 7 = 11 and 7 + 11 = 18. So the missing number is 11 + 18 = 29. Check: 18 + 29 = 47.
| Stop | Bus 1 | Bus 2 | Bus 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Library | 8:05 | 8:35 | 9:10 |
| Park Road | 8:12 | 8:42 | 9:17 |
| Market | 8:26 | 8:56 | 9:31 |
| Pool | 8:40 | 9:10 | 9:45 |
Bus 2 leaves Park Road at 8:42, three minutes before Mia gets there, so she misses it. The next bus is Bus 3. It leaves Park Road at 9:17 and reaches the Pool at 9:45.
Ava, Ben, Chloe and Dev ran a race. There were no ties.
Ben can’t be first, because Dev beat him. Chloe can’t be first, because Ava beat her, and Ava isn’t first either. So Dev came first. If Ben came second, Chloe would be third and Ava last, but Ava finished ahead of Chloe. So the order is Dev, Ava, Ben, Chloe, and Ava came second.
Look for what changes and what stays the same.
Two things change. The arrow turns an eighth of a turn clockwise each time: up, then diagonal, then right, so next it points diagonally down to the right. The dot moves clockwise to the next corner each time: top left, top right, bottom right, so next it’s bottom left. Only C has both.
Each row has one circle, one square and one triangle, so the missing shape is a square. Each column has one white, one grey and one black shape. The last column already has black and grey, so the missing shape is white. The answer is a white square.
Count the sides and the dots. The square has 4 sides and 4 dots, the hexagon 6 and 6, and the triangle 3 and 3. The pentagon has 5 sides but only 4 dots, so it’s the odd one out.
The free trial includes a HAST prep course: lessons in abstract reasoning, classic maths puzzles, reading, maths reasoning and writing from a picture or prompt, each with practice levels. HAST-style practice tests are coming soon.
14 days free, no card needed. You only pay if you choose to subscribe.
No. Every question on this page was written by Study Compass. We’re not affiliated with or endorsed by ACER, the schools or the education departments, and the real HAST will look different. These questions give your child a feel for the kind of thinking the test asks for.
Most families start about a year before the test. In South Australia the Ignite test is sat in February of Year 6, so that means during Year 5. For Brisbane State High School, children sit the HAST in Year 5 or Year 6, so Year 4 or early Year 5 gives plenty of time. A little practice often works better than a big push in the last month.
No. The HAST is pencil and paper, and calculators aren’t allowed. Every maths question on this page can be worked out with a pencil, so it’s good practice to do them on paper.
A HAST prep course with lessons in abstract reasoning, classic maths puzzles, reading, maths reasoning and writing from a picture or prompt, each with practice levels. HAST-style practice tests are coming soon. The trial is 14 days free with no card needed, and you only pay if you choose to subscribe.