1.1 Exam Structure, Format & Test Battery

Exam Structure, Format & Test Battery

Core Insight: Edutest scholarship and entrance testing pairs two Ability tests (Verbal Reasoning and Numerical Reasoning) with three Achievement tests (Reading Comprehension, Mathematics and Written Expression). The four multiple-choice tests run for 30 minutes each, and Edutest states that actual tests contain between 40 and 60 questions. Edutest says the tests are designed to identify the highest-achieving students and that many students will not finish every question.

Edutest Pty Ltd is an independent Australian testing organisation that conducts scholarship and entrance tests on behalf of schools. On 12 October 2026 its client-school list named 164 schools: 110 in Victoria, 32 in Queensland, 12 in New South Wales, 5 in Tasmania, 3 in Western Australia and one each in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Clients include independent schools offering academic scholarships, government schools running select-entry or accelerated programs, the Queensland Academies, and several specialist and selective high schools.

Note on independent preparation: OpenExamPrep is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with Edutest, and the practice items in this guide are original. Facts in this section come from Edutest's own pages for parents and schools.

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The Two Halves of the Battery: Ability vs Achievement

Edutest describes its scholarship and entrance tests as a combination of Ability tests and Achievement tests. Knowing which is which tells you how to prepare.

Ability tests: reasoning without relying on prior knowledge

Edutest says the Ability tests measure "a student's ability to think, reason and solve problems, without necessarily relying on prior knowledge", and that ability "generally predicts how quickly a student will be able to learn". In practice this means:

• Verbal Reasoning rewards vocabulary depth plus disciplined logic: analogies (word relationships), odd-one-out sets (classification), synonym and antonym items (vocabulary), and "which statement must be true" puzzles (deduction). Chapters 2 and 3 of this guide cover each of these.
• Numerical Reasoning rewards pattern spotting and mental arithmetic: number series, number matrices and grids, multi-step arithmetic puzzles, and numerical deduction. Chapters 4 and 5 cover these.

Achievement tests: what has been learned

Edutest says Achievement scores reflect a student's ability "as well as the application and practise of knowledge that has been learned". Reading and maths habits built at school therefore matter:

• Reading Comprehension is not only passage questions. Edutest's description also includes items that ask you to correct, complete and punctuate sentences, so grammar, sentence completion and punctuation skills are tested in this 30-minute test (Chapters 6 and 7, including Section 7.4).
• Mathematics is pitched at the candidate's year level and draws on the five strands Edutest names: numbers, measurement, algebra, space and data (Chapters 8 to 10).
• Written Expression can use any of six modes: creative, descriptive, narrative, persuasive, expository or informative. You do not choose the mode; the task does (Chapters 11 and 12).

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Timing, Question Counts and Total Testing Time

Edutest publishes the length of each test but not a fixed question count for each one. Its practice-test page says each practice test has 20 questions while "actual tests have between 40 and 60 questions". Treat any claim that a particular test always has exactly 50 or 60 items as unverified.

The totals exclude instructions, breaks and supervision time. Edutest advises families that the student should be available all day on the testing date, and the testing-information email gives the start and approximate finishing time for each venue.

What 40 to 60 questions in 30 minutes means

$\text{Average time per question} = \frac{30 \times 60 \text{ seconds}}{\text{number of questions}}$

Two official statements shape strategy. First, Edutest warns that "most students will only get half of the questions correct" and that many students will not finish every question. Second, "points are not deducted for incorrect or unanswered questions". A blank answer can never score, so every question should receive an answer before time is called. Section 1.3 turns this into a pacing plan.

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Paper and Online Delivery

Edutest offers schools "a choice of paper or online testing":

• Paper tests are administered by Edutest supervisors. Students answer by shading bubbles on the multiple-choice answer sheets, not by circling answers in the question booklet.
• Online tests are generally administered by school staff.
• Remote testing is available only for students living and studying interstate, overseas or a significant distance from the testing school. It must be supervised by an independent supervisor arranged by the family, must take place within 3 days after the school's testing date, and remote online testing carries an additional fee of $160.

Edutest is explicit about the paper answer sheet: if a student loses their place or enters answers out of order, "Edutest is not able to manually score the test or adjust the position of answers". Row-checking is therefore a scoring skill, not a nicety.

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Test-Day Rules: What to Bring and What Is Banned

The testing-information email includes a letter from the school listing what to bring. Edutest's own guidance is:

Three consequences follow for preparation:

1. No calculator in any test. All Numerical Reasoning and Mathematics working is mental or written by hand.
2. No separate working-out paper. Practise solving with compact notes and mental methods. Edutest's pages do not say how much you may write in a question booklet or on screen, so follow the supervisor's instructions on the day.
3. No ruler. Measurement and geometry questions must be solved from given values and reasoning, not by measuring diagrams.

If photo ID is required, acceptable forms include a current student card, a student travel card, a recent class photograph with the name shown, a recent passport or a library card with a photograph. Without approved ID, a photograph is taken at the testing for identification and then deleted.

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Year Levels, Science Schools and the Victorian Selective Exam

• Year level: Students are tested at their current year level, and Edutest sells practice tests from Year 4 to Year 11. Results are compared with students in the same year level (Section 1.2).
• Specialist science schools: John Monash Science School and Elizabeth Blackburn Sciences use Edutest testing of academic potential, literacy, scientific aptitude, and mathematics and numeracy. Both schools deliberately do not publish the format of the scientific aptitude test, and Edutest's practice tests are not science-specific.
• Victorian Selective Entry High Schools: For Year 9 entry, the centralised selection process is administered by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), not Edutest. ACER's site lists the Year 9 exam for 2027 entry on Saturday 20 June 2026. Nossal High School states that ACER conducts the Year 9 exam while Edutest conducts entry testing for Years 10 and 11. Check which provider runs the exact entry point you are applying for before choosing practice material.

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Official Practice Tests

Edutest sells online practice tests through the parent portal. Each set contains four tests (Verbal Reasoning, Numerical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension and Mathematics) of 20 questions each. Practice tests are untimed, are valid for 90 days, cannot be repeated, and do not include Written Expression or science material. Six sets are available for each of Years 4 to 9 and three sets for Years 10 and 11; difficulty rises with the set number. Listed prices are $30 for one set, $55 for two and $65 for three. Because the real tests are timed and longer, add your own 30-minute timing when you use any practice material.