All tests, except Writing, use multiple-choice questions. This means you are given a question and have to choose the best answer from four or five possibilities. However, in the Selective Schools Test you will also have to do a cloze task and a matching task. The tests vary in the way you record your answers but most ask you to mark your answers on a separate answer sheet. You don’t have to write any words.

All tests include a variety of types of texts. For example, you are likely to have to answer questions about narrative fiction, poems, factual descriptions, information reports, explanations, biographies, literary recounts and/or texts including some visual information.

The texts are usually on a wide range of topics, including personal feelings and experiences, different cultures, animals and plants, history, the environment, science and technology, art and music, and family life.

No. The topics will be general interest and all the information you need to answer the questions will be in the texts. The questions test how you read, not how much you know. Sometimes, however, you will need to figure things out from the information in the text. 

The questions cover a range of reading skills and strategies. You will be familiar with most question types from classroom work and from other tests you have done.

Some questions will ask you to find particular facts. Others will ask you to work out the main idea or ideas.

Some questions will ask you to work out the meaning of a word or phrase. Others will ask you to draw a conclusion based on what you have read—the answer won’t be clearly given to you in the text and you will have to use the text to work out the answer (for example, to predict what is going to happen).

Sometimes the question might involve a personal judgement or evaluation. Some questions could ask you to look more at the way the text is written (for example, to identify the tone of a piece, or words that express emotion and opinion). 

Yes, you should try to answer every question. However, it is quite possible that you will not have time to do them all. You will have to work quite quickly to read all the texts and answer all the questions. Many students don’t manage to do this.

The test time and paper length may vary from test to test and from year to year. Expect around 40 questions to answer in 40 minutes.

All tests use multiple-choice questions. This means you are given a question and have to choose the best answer from four or five possibilities. The tests vary in the way you record your answers but most ask you to mark your answers on a separate answer sheet. You don’t have to write any words.

As the tests are multiple choice, you will need soft leaded pencils and erasers to answer paper-based tests. Apart from this, you will not need to bring anything except your well-prepared self!

The tests include questions that involve both verbal and non-verbal reasoning skills (critical thinking and problem solving). You may be familiar with the topics covered in the test, although sometimes questions might involve something new or unusual.

No. The best preparation is to know what to expect on the day of the test and to practise the types of questions in the test.

You will be familiar with some question types from classroom work. Some of the questions will test your understanding of language and grammar and some will test your numeracy skills. The questions may be more difficult or of a type you haven’t seen before. You will need to be logical and think carefully about your answers.

You will be able to write on the question booklet if you need to do some working.

Yes, you should try to answer every question. However, it is possible that you will not have time to do them all. Some questions will take less than one minute to answer, while others will take longer. You will have to work quite quickly to answer all the questions. Many students don’t manage to do this.

All tests use multiple-choice questions. This means you are given a question and have to choose the best answer from four or five possibilities. The tests vary in the way you record your answers but most ask you to mark your answers on a separate answer sheet. You don’t have to write any words.

As the tests are multiple choice, you will need pencils and erasers. Calculators, rulers and geometrical instruments are not allowed, so you need to be good at mental calculations and estimating length and angles.

The tests include questions involving Number, Measurement, Data, Patterns and Algebra, Space and Geometry, and Working Mathematically. This means you will be familiar with the topics covered in the test but the questions may be more difficult or of a type you may not have seen before. 

You will be given some information and asked one question about it. The information might be given in words or might involve a diagram, graph or table.

You will be familiar with most question types from classroom work and from other tests you have done, such as the NAPLAN tests.

Most tests have a question booklet and a separate answer sheet. Many of the questions are so difficult you will need to write down some working to help you find your answer. You can use space on the booklet near the question. 

Yes, you should try to answer every question. However, it is possible you will not have time to do them all. Some questions will take less than one minute to answer, while others will take longer. You will have to work quite quickly to answer all the questions. Many students don’t manage to do this.

The NSW Selective High School Placement Test gives you 30 minutes to write one piece, while the ACER Scholarship Tests give you 25 minutes per piece. Again, you need to find out about your test.

Whichever test you are doing, your usual method of preparing, drafting, revising and proofreading is not practical for these tests because there is not enough time.

There is no set length but, as a general guide, aim to write about one and a half pages of an A4 booklet—about 200 to 250 words. The important thing is the quality of what you write, not the quantity.

You will be given stimulus material to respond to. This might be words or pictures. For example, you might be asked to respond to a photograph, a drawing, a quote or comment, a question, or an extract from a story or other text.

Generally there is only one question or topic. However, some questions give you a completely free choice of how to respond to the question—you can choose which type and form of text you write 
(e.g. a narrative, a diary, a description, a poem, a letter or an essay).

Other questions might tell you the way you should respond. You might be told to write a newspaper report or an advice sheet, for example. Some might suggest or tell you a type of text (e.g. an 
opinion or persuasive text), but will allow you to choose in which form to write that opinion (e.g. as a letter to a newspaper editor, as a speech to your classmates or as an essay).

There is never only one way to respond and so, in a way, you always have a choice of what to write.

You could write about something completely different from the next student and in a completely different way—and both of you could do well.

The markers are looking for clear, lively and interesting writing. They are looking for: 

• the quality of your ideas—how well you develop something interesting from the question
• the way you organise your ideas—how well you shape them to make a whole text
• the language you use—how clearly and effectively you express yourself.

Try to make your writing as interesting as possible. Don’t try to rewrite something you have prepared or something you have copied or adapted from a book like this one, or from a website. The markers will pick up on this.

One more very important thing: if you are sitting a handwritten test, write legibly—that is, in a way that can actually be read! It does not matter how brilliant your ideas are if the markers cannot read your handwriting—they will not be able to give you a good mark. So, if you know your handwriting is not always clear, take time now to improve it. If you are sitting an online test, do all the things you would do normally to craft and check your writing. In this situation, the only thing you won’t have to worry about is your handwriting!