Free NBT Exam Prep
National Benchmark Tests (NBT)
Prepare for the NBT exam without spending hundreds on expensive prep courses. Free study guides, practice questions, flashcards, and related exam resources.
Quick Facts
Buy on AmazonExplore More South Africa Matric (NSC) & NBT Exams
Continue into nearby exams from the same family. Each card keeps practice questions, study guides, flashcards, videos, and articles in one place.
Can You Take the NBT Exam?
Check if you meet the basic eligibility requirements
- •Applicants register online at nbt.ac.za and pay the test fee before sitting on a booked test date.
- •The MAT test is required only for programmes that list mathematics as an admission requirement; the AQL test is required by most programmes that use the NBTs.
Free NBT Prep Tools
100 original practice questions
Covers Academic Literacy, Quantitative Literacy and Mathematics at National Senior Certificate level with explanations for every option.
Exam Topic Review
Reflects the AQL (Academic and Quantitative Literacy) and MAT (Mathematics) multiple-choice tests administered by CETAP for Universities South Africa.
Free practice
Built for extra practice without copying confidential official NBT questions, which are not released.
What You'll Study
15 chapters covering the exam topics in this guide
Introduction & Exam Overview
3 sections
Booking, Fees & Results
3 sections
Academic Literacy: Meaning
4 sections
Academic Literacy: Structure
3 sections
Academic Literacy: Genre and Visuals
3 sections
Quantitative Literacy: Number
3 sections
Quantitative Literacy: Pattern and Space
3 sections
Quantitative Literacy: Data
3 sections
MAT: Numbers and Algebra
3 sections
MAT: Modelling, Logs and Finance
3 sections
MAT: Functions
4 sections
MAT: Transformations and Trigonometry I
3 sections
MAT: Trigonometry II and Space
3 sections
MAT: Circle Geometry, Data and Logic
3 sections
Official Prep and Session Strategy
3 sections
NBT Exam Details
National Benchmark Tests (NBT)
Administered by Centre for Educational Testing for Access and Placement (CETAP), University of Cape Town, for Universities South Africa (USAf)
Exam Content Breakdown
Based on the official Centre for Educational Testing for Access and Placement (CETAP), University of Cape Town, for Universities South Africa (USAf) content outline
Part of the AQL test. Assesses the capacity to engage with academic text in the language of instruction: comprehension, inference and implied meaning, vocabulary in context, argument structure, text relations, register and tone, and separating main ideas from supporting detail.
Part of the AQL test. Assesses the ability to interpret and reason with quantitative information in real higher-education contexts: tables and graphs, proportions, percentages, rates, ratio, basic statistics, and measurement and spatial reasoning - all without a calculator.
The separate MAT test. Assesses National Senior Certificate mathematics needed for tertiary study: algebra and equations, functions and graphs, trigonometry, geometry, sequences and series, and probability, applied to unfamiliar problems without a calculator.
What's Included
15 Chapters
Complete exam coverage
Practice Quizzes
With detailed explanations
Free to Start
No credit card required
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NBT Exam FAQ
Official Centre for Educational Testing for Access and Placement (CETAP), University of Cape Town, for Universities South Africa (USAf) Resources
Verify information with these official sources
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Ready to Start Your Free NBT Prep?
Review the study guide, practice key concepts, and use the free tools at your own pace.