Free EduTest Practice Test with Answers for Years 8 to 11 Entry
This free EduTest practice test, written by Selective Success Academy, has 20 multiple choice questions across the four multiple-choice sections and a writing task, marked on the spot with worked answers. No sign-up. We teach the EduTest in live online small groups on Microsoft Teams for NSW Year 8 to 11 selective entry.
The EduTest at a glance
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Detail
Source
Who runs it
Edutest Pty Ltd, an independent testing organisation that runs entrance tests on behalf of schools. The schools decide who gets in
Choose a year to start. It sets the right level and the right next steps.
EduTest practice test (Years 8 to 11 entry)
20 multiple choice questions, 5 in each of Verbal Reasoning, Numerical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension and Mathematics, and 1 Written Expression task. Pitched at Year 8 and 9 entry.
Free, with no sign-up. Your answers stay on this page and are marked as soon as you finish. Every question was written by Selective Success Academy in the style of the real test. None is a past paper or an official question.
Verbal ReasoningQuestions 1 to 5
Numerical ReasoningQuestions 6 to 10
Reading ComprehensionQuestions 11 to 15
Read the passage, then answer Questions 11 to 13.
For most of the nineteenth century, a lighthouse depended on the person who lived beneath it. Keepers trimmed wicks, polished brass and wound the clockwork that turned the lens, often through the night. On remote stations, supply ships might arrive only every few months, so families grew vegetables in sheltered gardens and kept goats for milk. The work was monotonous, yet a single lapse could be catastrophic: a light that failed on a stormy night left ships with no way to judge the coast.
By the middle of the twentieth century, automatic lamps and electric timers had begun to replace keepers. Many stations were left unstaffed, and some of the cottages fell into ruin. Today a number have been restored as museums or holiday accommodation, and visitors climb the narrow stairs to look out over the same water the keepers once watched.
MathematicsQuestions 16 to 20
Written Expression (not marked)
Title: The door had always been locked, until today.
Write an imaginative story that uses this title exactly as written. Include at least one of these pictures in your story:
Picture 1: a brass key resting on a dusty windowsill
Picture 2: a staircase disappearing into fog
Spend 5 minutes planning and up to 30 minutes writing, as in the real test.
Edutest says punctuation, creativity, construction, grammar, spelling and relevance to the task are assessed (selective entry page, read 1 October 2026).
What markers look for
What you have to say: an original idea that clearly connects to the title and a picture.
How it is organised: a clear beginning, a turning point and an ending, kept to a short span of time.
How clearly it is expressed: vivid, precise words and varied sentences, with accurate spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Self-check
Did you use the title word for word?
Did a picture matter to the story, not just appear in it?
Are there EduTest past papers?
No. Edutest does not offer past papers. Its only practice product is online practice tests, which Edutest says "have fewer questions and are not timed" (practice tests page, read 1 October 2026). So practise in timed conditions instead: start with the free questions below, then sit our full-length EduTest mock exam papers.
Edutest Pty Ltd, the organisation that runs the EduTest, sells those practice tests online. Each set has four tests of 20 questions, in Verbal Reasoning, Numerical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension and Mathematics, and there are three sets for each year level from Year 4 to Year 11. Edutest also says they "do not necessarily replicate the degree of difficulty in the actual testing". Written expression is not included, and the tests are online only: "Tests cannot be posted to you or printed." (practice tests and practice test questions, read 1 October 2026.)
The questions below are different. Selective Success Academy wrote every one in the style of the EduTest, and none is an Edutest question. Each comes with a worked answer, so your child can see the method, not only the letter.
Verbal Reasoning practice questions
Edutest says this section "includes vocabulary, word relationships, classification and deduction". It is 30 minutes of multiple-choice questions. Our two practice questions test a word relationship and deduction.
Question 1: an analogy
Oasis is to Desert as Island is to ______?
A. Sand
B. Beach
C. Ocean
D. Palm
E. Sailor
Correct answer: C. Ocean
Worked answer. Find the link between the first pair, then apply the same link to the second. An oasis is a small patch of fertile land with water, surrounded by desert. An island is a piece of land surrounded by water. So an island is to the ocean what an oasis is to the desert.
The other options are traps built from the words themselves. Sand and Palm belong to deserts and oases, and Beach is the edge of an island, so each is connected to a word in the question but not by the same link. Sailor has no link of that kind. A reliable habit: say the link as a sentence ("An oasis is surrounded by desert"), then test each option in the same sentence. Only "An island is surrounded by ocean" works.
Question 2: a logic puzzle
Six cyclists (Mo, Ned, Oz, Pia, Rae, and Sid) finished a race, ranked 1st (fastest) to 6th (slowest). Rae finished immediately after Mo. Ned finished immediately after Oz. Oz finished somewhere ahead of Pia. Sid finished 4th. Mo did not finish 1st. Pia did not finish 6th. Who finished in 1st place?
A. Mo
B. Ned
C. Oz
D. Pia
E. Sid
Correct answer: C. Oz
Worked answer. Start with the fixed fact: Sid is 4th. That leaves positions 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6.
Two pairs must sit next to each other: Mo then Rae, and Oz then Ned. The open positions that sit side by side are 1 and 2, 2 and 3, or 5 and 6. Two pairs that do not overlap can only go in 1 and 2 with 5 and 6, or in 2 and 3 with 5 and 6. Either way, Pia takes the position left over: 3rd or 1st.
Pia cannot be 1st, because Oz must finish ahead of her. So Pia is 3rd, and the pairs fill 1 and 2, and 5 and 6. Mo did not finish 1st, so Mo and Rae take 5th and 6th, and Oz and Ned take 1st and 2nd.
The order is Oz, Ned, Pia, Sid, Mo, Rae. A last check: Pia is not 6th. Oz finished first.
The habit to build is placing the fixed facts first, then the pairs, then testing what is left. Guessing from the top of the list wastes time.
Numerical Reasoning practice questions
Edutest says this section "includes series, matrices, arithmetical reasoning and deduction". It is 30 minutes of multiple-choice questions, and no calculator is allowed. Our two practice questions are a number series and an arithmetical reasoning story.
Question 1: a number sequence
Which number comes next in the sequence: 2, 3, 7, 23, 87, ...
A. 341
B. 345
C. 340
D. 343
E. 347
Correct answer: D. 343
Worked answer. Each term is the one before it multiplied by 4, then 5 taken away: 2 × 4 − 5 = 3, 3 × 4 − 5 = 7, 7 × 4 − 5 = 23, 23 × 4 − 5 = 87. So the next term is 87 × 4 − 5 = 348 − 5 = 343.
A second way to see it: the gaps between terms are 1, 4, 16 and 64, and each gap is four times the last. The next gap is 256, and 87 + 256 = 343. Both methods give the same answer, which is a useful check. The other options are all close to 343, so a small slip in the arithmetic picks a wrong answer. Check the last step without a calculator.
Question 2: a markup and a discount
A clothing shop pays $28 for a shirt from its supplier. The shop marks the shirt up by 45% to set its ticket price. Later, in a sale, it takes 20% off that ticket price. What is the final sale price of the shirt?
A. $32.48
B. $40.60
C. $36.40
D. $30.24
E. $34.00
Correct answer: A. $32.48
Worked answer. Work in two steps, because the second percentage is taken from a different amount.
Step 1, the markup: 45% of $28 is $12.60, so the ticket price is $28 + $12.60 = $40.60.
Step 2, the discount: 20% of $40.60 is $8.12, so the sale price is $40.60 − $8.12 = $32.48.
$40.60 is the trap for a student who stops after the first step. The common mistake is to treat "up 45%, then down 20%" as "up 25%". That fails because the 20% comes off the new, higher price, not the original $28.
Reading Comprehension practice questions
Edutest says this section asks students to "read and interpret meaning from written passages, as well as correct, complete and punctuate sentences". It is 30 minutes of multiple-choice questions. Our two practice questions are one on a poem and one on punctuation.
Question 1: the mood of a poem
Read this poem, written by Selective Success Academy. A slash marks the end of each line.
Low Tide
The sea has gathered up its grey skirts and gone, / retreating past the reach of dusk and eye, / leaving the flats laid open to the sky, / a floor of glistening mud the light lies on.
Now everything it kept from us appears: / the ribs of a wrecked boat, blackened and thin, / an anchor eaten orange to the skin, / dark weed like hair combed out across the years.
I walk the stark uncovered miles alone, / reading the wreckage that the water hid, / the stranded shells, the story it kept lid / upon, until this hour laid bare each stone.
But far off something turns and starts to climb, / the patient water gathering to return, / to smooth the mud, to drown what I have learned, / and fold the secret shut again in time.
Which of the following best describes the overall mood of the poem?
A. Frightened and anxious throughout about the danger posed by the swiftly returning tide
B. Triumphant and proud at having conquered the empty shore
C. Bitter and resentful towards the sea for hiding so much
D. Reflective and quietly melancholy, aware that discovery is temporary
E. Light and playful, delighting in the strange objects on the mud
Correct answer: D. Reflective and quietly melancholy, aware that discovery is temporary
Worked answer. Mood is the feeling of the whole poem, so test each option against every stanza, not one striking line. For three stanzas the speaker looks closely at what the sea has uncovered, walking "alone" and "reading the wreckage". That is quiet, thoughtful attention: reflective. The last stanza turns. The "patient water" will come back "to drown what I have learned, / and fold the secret shut again in time." The speaker knows the moment of discovery will not last, and that brings a note of sadness. That is D.
A is the closest trap, because the tide does return. But the poem calls the water "patient", not swift or dangerous, and the speaker shows no fear. Nothing in the poem is triumphant (B) or angry with the sea (C), and a wrecked boat and a rusted anchor are not treated as fun (E). When a question asks about the whole poem, the turn near the end usually decides it.
Question 2: punctuating speech
The following sentence is punctuated incorrectly. How would you correct it?
Where did you put the spare controller asked Maya as she searched under the couch.
A. "Where did you put the spare controller," asked Maya as she searched under the couch.
B. "Where did you put the spare controller?" asked Maya as she searched under the couch.
C. "Where did you put the spare controller"? asked Maya as she searched under the couch.
D. "Where did you put the spare controller?" Asked Maya as she searched under the couch.
E. Where did you put the spare controller? asked Maya as she searched under the couch.
Correct answer: B
Worked answer. Maya's words are a question, so three rules settle it. Check each option against one rule at a time.
Spoken words go inside quotation marks. E has none, so E is out.
The question mark belongs to the spoken question, so it sits inside the closing quotation mark. C puts it outside, and A uses a comma, which cannot show a question. Both are out.
"asked Maya" continues the same sentence, so "asked" stays lower case, even after a question mark. D capitalises it, so D is out.
Only B follows all three rules. Most wrong options in this question type break exactly one rule, so checking rule by rule is faster than rereading the whole sentence each time.
Mathematics practice questions
Edutest says this section measures "year level appropriate mathematical knowledge, including items covering numbers, measurement, algebra, space and data". It is 30 minutes of multiple-choice questions, also without a calculator. Our two practice questions cover numbers and space.
Question 1: order of operations with negatives
Evaluate -6 - 5 × (-2)² + (-18) ÷ (-3).
A. -14
B. -20
C. 26
D. 14
E. -32
Correct answer: B. -20
Worked answer. Follow the order of operations: powers first, then multiplication and division, then addition and subtraction from left to right.
Power: (-2)² = 4, because a negative number squared is positive.
Multiplication: 5 × 4 = 20.
Division: (-18) ÷ (-3) = 6, because a negative divided by a negative is positive.
Now the line reads -6 - 20 + 6 = -20.
A student who gets -32 has treated (-18) ÷ (-3) as -6. Sign errors like this cost more marks in this section than hard content does, so practise working quickly without losing the signs.
Question 2: an exterior angle
An exterior angle of a triangle is 110°. One of the two interior angles that are not next to it is 45°. Find the other one of those two interior angles.
A. 70°
B. 55°
C. 65°
D. 45°
E. 35°
Correct answer: C. 65°
Worked answer. An exterior angle of a triangle equals the sum of the two interior angles that are not next to it. So 110° = 45° + the other angle, and the other angle is 110° − 45° = 65°.
You can check it another way. The interior angle next to the exterior angle is 180° − 110° = 70°, because the two sit on a straight line. The triangle's angles then add to 70° + 45° + 65° = 180°, as they must.
70° is the trap: it is the angle next to the exterior angle, which the question does not ask for.
Written Expression practice task
The EduTest writing task is "30 minutes long plus 5 minutes planning time". Edutest says "Punctuation, creativity, construction, grammar, spelling and relevance to the task are assessed", and the task can be "creative, descriptive, narrative, persuasive, expository or informative." Edutest's own practice tests include no writing, so the task below fills that gap.
Practice writing task
Writing Task: "The Last Train Home"
Write a narrative (in the first or third person) based on the title above. You must use at least one of the two visual stimuli described below somewhere in your story. Plan for 5 minutes, then write for 30 minutes.
Stimulus 1: A deserted railway platform at dusk, with a single battered suitcase left standing beside an empty bench.
Stimulus 2: A hand holding an old brass pocket watch, its hands stopped at exactly 7:14.
What our markers look for
These are Selective Success Academy's own marking criteria, the ones our tutors use to mark practice writing. They are not Edutest's marking criteria.
We mark six areas, each out of 5.
Idea. One clear problem drives the story, and the title and the stimulus are used in a real way, not mentioned once and dropped. One problem developed well beats several rushed ones.
Cohesion. Each event leads to the next, and the reader never loses track of who, where or when.
Structure. An opening that sets the scene, a middle that builds, a high point, and an ending that resolves the story or lands the feeling. A story that stops mid-way loses marks here.
Spelling. Accuracy, and the courage to try harder words.
Punctuation. Correct and varied punctuation that helps the reader, including dialogue and apostrophes, and no sentences that run on.
Vocabulary. Precise words that suit the mood. Show a feeling through what a character does rather than naming it.
In 30 minutes, a story held to a short stretch of time, a few hours or a day or two, is easier to finish well than one that spans years.
How to use practice questions well
Practice questions help most when your child uses them the way the real test is sat.
Learn the method, then add the clock. Edutest's practice tests are untimed, but the real test is timed, and each multiple-choice section is 30 minutes. Edutest says its actual tests have between 40 and 60 questions, against 20 in a practice test. Once a question type makes sense, time it.
Read the worked answer, even after a right answer. Each one shows a habit that carries over: say an analogy's link as a sentence, start a logic puzzle with the fixed facts, check a sum two ways, test punctuation one rule at a time, and judge a poem's mood on every stanza.
Leave the calculator out. Edutest permits none in any test, so do all the arithmetic by hand.
Answer every question. Edutest says "Points are not deducted for incorrect or unanswered questions."
Mark answers on a separate sheet. On the day, answers are shaded on a bubble answer sheet, not circled in the question booklet, and Edutest says it cannot adjust the position of answers afterwards.
Practise at your child's own year level. Edutest tests students at their current year level, and recommends its practice tests at that level too.
Write by hand, to time. Last cycle (2027 entry), the selective EduTest was sat on paper in Sydney. Give the writing task its 5 minutes of planning and 30 minutes of writing, then read the story against the criteria above.
Expect it to feel hard. Edutest says that in its entrance tests most students get only about half of the questions right, and many do not finish. That describes the test, not a pass mark.
A question bank gives your child practice. It does not contain any teaching hours, and it cannot tell you which school to apply to, what the school report needs to show, or when the application closes. If your child would like teaching as well as practice, our EduTest tutoring runs in live online small groups on Microsoft Teams: 10 weekly two-hour lessons a term, with a full-length mock exam and marking feedback on weekly homework. Prices are on courses and prices. Our students have received 80+ selective school offers.
The full free pack
The pack includes our Year 8 to 11 selective entry information package and sample mock exams for the EduTest, the Higher Ability Selection Test (HAST) and the Normanhurst Boys High School and Sydney Boys High School entrance exams. Fill in the resources form to receive it.
Get our free information package and sample exams.
When your child is ready for a whole paper, our EduTest mock exam papers are full-length exams written by Selective Success Academy in the style of the real test, with complete solutions. You can have the paper marked by our tutors, with a results report, feedback on the writing and a recording of the review session, or work through the solutions at home. They are practice papers, not past papers.
Questions parents ask about EduTest practice
Are these questions from the real EduTest?
No. Selective Success Academy wrote every question on this page for practice. They are in the style of the EduTest, not copied from it or from Edutest's sample questions, and they are not past papers. Edutest owns its tests. Every answer on this page has been checked by solving the question from scratch.
Which year level are these questions for?
They come from our Year 8 and Year 9 EduTest practice material. Edutest describes one structure for its selective test at every year level, and says students are tested at their current year level. It also recommends that students attempt its practice tests at their current school year level. If a question feels hard for your child's year, that is normal.
Can my child use a calculator in the EduTest?
No. Edutest says calculators are not permitted in any Edutest test, and neither are rulers, dictionaries, working-out paper, mobile phones, smart watches or fitness trackers. So practise every question on this page, including the Numerical Reasoning and Mathematics questions, without a calculator.
Are marks taken off for wrong answers?
No. Edutest says "Points are not deducted for incorrect or unanswered questions." A wrong answer and a blank both score nothing, so your child should answer every question, with a careful guess when time is short. Edutest also says that in its entrance tests most students get only about half of the questions right, and many do not finish. That describes the test, not a pass mark.
How is the EduTest writing task marked?
Edutest says "Punctuation, creativity, construction, grammar, spelling and relevance to the task are assessed." The task can be creative, descriptive, narrative, persuasive, expository or informative. Parents do not see their child's written response: Edutest's terms say parents have no access to student answer sheets or written expression responses. The six areas on this page are Selective Success Academy's own criteria, the ones our tutors use to mark practice writing.
Sources
Every official source on this page was read on 1 October 2026.
