Last updated 2 August 2026
ACER Scholarship Test Practice: Full Format Guide (2026)
A note from the parent who built this: I’m prepping my own son for the 2028 Year 7 round across three different boards, and everything on this site gets tested on him before it goes live.
If you’ve just been told your child needs to sit “the ACER Scholarship Test” for Year 7 entry, the honest first question is usually “what is it, actually?”— not “how do I ace it.” Here’s the format, section by section, plus a real sample question to try.
What’s actually in the ACER Scholarship Test (Level 1, Year 7 entry)
| Section | What it tests | Format | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written Expression | One creative piece, one persuasive piece, each from a short prompt | Handwritten or typed response | 2 × 25 min |
| Humanities | Comprehension and interpretation of unfamiliar text passages — not “humanities” as a school subject | 42 questions, 4-option multiple choice | 40 min |
| Mathematics | Numeracy and problem-solving reasoning, not curriculum recall | 34 questions, 4-option multiple choice | 40 min |
A few things that trip people up:
- There’s no Abstract Reasoning section. That’s an AAS thing (Melbourne Grammar’s board), not ACER’s. If your child is only sitting ACER schools, you can skip abstract-reasoning practice entirely.
- Every multiple-choice question has exactly 4 options, and there’s no “none of the above.” One of the four is always correct — that changes how you teach elimination strategy.
- It’s delivered either online or on paper, depending on the school. Ask which format your child will actually sit, since pacing feels different on a screen.
- Exact question counts can shift slightly year to year — this table reflects the current published format, but always check with the specific school or ACER directly (1300 768 952) before test day.
Try a real sample question (Mathematics)
Our practice engine generates fresh, ACER-style Mathematics questions — not reused, not from any official ACER paper. Here’s one to try right now:
Sample question — original practice item
A café sells coffee in two cup sizes: a small cup holds 200 mL and a large cup holds 350 mL. On Saturday, the café sold 24 small cups and 16 large cups.
How many litres of coffee did the café sell in total, to the nearest litre?
A) 9 L B) 10 L C) 11 L D) 12 L
Show answer
B) 10 L. 24 × 200 mL = 4,800 mL. 16 × 350 mL = 5,600 mL. Total = 10,400 mL = 10.4 L, which rounds to 10 L.
A quick, honest note: Mathematics and Humanities practice are both live today. Written Expression is not built yet — we’ll update this post the moment it is, rather than promise something that isn’t real yet.
What’s next
If your child is also being considered for a school that uses a different board, see the AAS format guide or the Edutest format guide — or start with which test your school actually uses.
Ready to sit one? ACER scholarship test practice has the paper section by section, the schools that test with ACER, and the free papers to start on.
Frequently asked questions
- Is the ACER Scholarship Test hard?
- It's designed to spread out academically strong students, so it feels harder than school tests by design — the questions reward reasoning under time pressure more than memorised content.
- Do I need to prepare Abstract Reasoning for ACER?
- No. Abstract Reasoning appears on some other boards' tests (like AAS), not on ACER's Scholarship Test.
- Is there a real, free ACER scholarship past-paper PDF?
- Mostly no — genuine official past papers are not freely available as PDFs; see our dedicated guide for what's actually legitimate.
- Is this the same as ACER's other tests, like ICAS or OC testing?
- No. ACER runs several different assessments; this guide covers specifically the ACER Scholarship Test, Level 1, used for Year 7 entry.
- Which Melbourne schools use the ACER Scholarship Test?
- It varies by school and can change year to year — check our school-by-school board lookup rather than relying on a static list.