EduTest 2027 Exam Guide | Format, Practice Tests & Year 10 Selective

This is the Edutest exam guide for families sitting a 2027 paper: Year 10 Victorian selective, science-school entry, and Edutest scholarship tests. It covers what each section looks like, how to train for it, and where to sit timed practice. Big Brain does not host an official Edutest PDF. Official registration and sample information lives on Edutest; timed practice lives on the Big Brain platform.

Strong school marks alone rarely carry a child through Edutest. The exam rewards speed, pattern recognition, and staying sharp across four multiple-choice sections plus a writing task. The format is coachable: the question types recur, so students who practise the real structure lift faster than students who only revise schoolwork.

When Should You Start Preparing?

Aim for six to twelve months of steady preparation. That runway gives a student time to fill any gaps in core maths and literacy, build a reading habit, and then move on to the reasoning question types that make or break an Edutest result. A long lead-in also means practice doesn't have to feel rushed, which helps a child sitting a high-pressure exam for the first time.

If you are starting late, a shorter plan still works. Familiarity with the format is the biggest factor in Edutest performance, and a student can build it quickly. A focused two to three month plan pays off because so much of the test rewards recognising a question type and knowing the fastest way to attack it. The plans below are arranged by how long you have left, so jump to the one that matches your timeline.

The Edutest Exam at a Glance

Edutest is a tightly timed exam made up of four multiple-choice sections of 30 minutes each, plus a written task. Every multiple-choice question offers five options, and every section is short and fast, so students work against the clock from the first minute.

Edutest assessments are used in a range of settings across the country: Victorian selective entry at Year 10 and Year 11, and entrance and scholarship testing at many independent schools. The papers differ. The writing task is one example: the Victorian Year 10 and Year 11 papers allow 30 minutes for it, while most school entrance and scholarship papers allow 15.

Edutest reports results as standardised scores and percentile rankings against the cohort, with no pass mark. Your child competes against every other candidate who sat the exam, so consistency across sections matters. A student who is brilliant at maths but weak in verbal reasoning can be overtaken by a more balanced candidate, because a single soft section drags down the overall percentile.

Only some exams include science. Some Edutest sittings, including those at the selective science schools, add a science reasoning section of 30 questions in 30 minutes on top of the sections above, so check what the school you are applying to sets. If science is in your exam, everything in this guide still applies; add targeted science practice on top. See the JMSS exam guide and JMSS Practice Tests for the science-school papers, and the EBS exam guide for EBS. The Victorian Year 10 paper (Melbourne High, Mac.Rob, Nossal, Suzanne Cory) is covered in the Victorian selective exam guide. Timed drills for each school: Melbourne High Practice Tests, MacRob Practice Tests, Nossal Practice Tests, Suzanne Cory Practice Tests.

12 Months Out: Build the Foundations

With a full year ahead of you, hold off on practice papers and build foundations. The work you do now raises the ceiling on everything that comes later. Start with a diagnostic: sit your child for a baseline assessment across every section so you know where the strengths and gaps are. That gives you a concrete plan to work from.

Next, shore up the core academic skills that every other section depends on. In maths, make sure number, fractions, percentages, basic algebra and geometry are solid and automatic. In literacy, build vocabulary and reading fluency. Wide reading is the most useful habit at this stage. A child who reads broadly across fiction, non-fiction, newspapers and quality articles trains comprehension, vocabulary and verbal reasoning at once.

Once the foundations feel secure, gently introduce the verbal and numerical reasoning question types. At this point the goal is exposure, ahead of speed or accuracy. Let your child see what a word analogy, a number sequence and an abstract pattern question look like, and start building an intuition for them. Keep it low-pressure. This early familiarity makes the intensive practice later much easier.

• Sit a full diagnostic across every section to map strengths and gaps.
• Firm up core maths: number, fractions, percentages, basic algebra and geometry.
• Establish a daily wide-reading habit across varied genres and sources.
• Introduce verbal and numerical reasoning question types for exposure, not speed.
• Begin a personal vocabulary notebook, adding a few new words each week.

6 Months Out: Master the Reasoning Patterns

Six months out is where most of the Edutest score gets built. By now the foundations should be in reasonable shape, so shift the focus to the verbal and numerical reasoning sections. Schools don't teach these directly, so most students find them unfamiliar, and deliberate practice produces the biggest gains here. Almost every reasoning question belongs to a recognisable family, and once a student can identify the type on sight, the path to the answer gets much shorter.

Work through the patterns methodically. In verbal reasoning that means synonyms and antonyms, analogies, odd-one-out, letter and word codes, and logic puzzles. In numerical reasoning it means number series, matrices, abstract shape patterns and quantitative worded problems. Spend time on each type until your child can recognise it on sight and apply a reliable method. With 50 to 60 questions to get through in 30 minutes, that fluency is what decides whether a student finishes a section or runs out of time in it.

Alongside the reasoning work, begin standard practice papers untimed. Let your child work through complete sections with room to think, building accuracy and confidence first. As accuracy climbs, introduce the clock so speed develops on top of a solid base. Lock in a weekly writing routine too. Writing improves slowly, so consistent practice now means you are not scrambling to fix it at the end.

• Drill verbal reasoning patterns: synonyms, antonyms, analogies, odd-one-out and codes.
• Drill numerical reasoning patterns: number series, matrices and abstract shapes.
• Complete standard practice papers untimed first, then gradually introduce timing.
• Write one creative or persuasive piece every week and review it.
• Keep extending vocabulary, prioritising words that appear in reasoning questions.

3 Months Out: Sharpen Under Pressure

With three months to go, step up the training and work under real time pressure. Move on to timed full sections at the pace of the real exam. A student who answers correctly with unlimited time but freezes against the clock still has work to do, and this phase closes that gap.

Start mixing in challenge-level questions that sit above year level. Because Edutest ranks on a percentile basis, the hardest questions often separate a good score from an outstanding one. Training on tougher material also makes the standard questions feel easier on exam day, which steadies nerves and frees up time. Push your child slightly beyond their comfort zone here, and keep it encouraging.

Now target weak areas. Use practice analytics to identify which question types and topics are costing marks, then work on those instead of practising everything evenly. An hour spent on a real weakness is worth far more than an hour rehearsing something already mastered. Keep up the writing: practise it under time pressure so your child learns to plan, draft and finish a complete piece within the allotted minutes.

• Practise intensive timed full sections to build exam-day pace.
• Introduce challenge-level questions above year level to stretch the ceiling.
• Use analytics to pinpoint weak question types and target them directly.
• Write under strict time limits, practising rapid planning and finishing.
• Review every timed session and fix the mistakes it shows.

2 Months Out: Rehearse the Real Thing

Two months out, your child should begin sitting full mock exams under real conditions. That means the complete set of sections, in order, with proper timing, in a quiet room and with no interruptions. Rehearsing the whole experience means nothing on exam day feels new. Stamina matters as much as skill: two hours of back-to-back multiple choice followed by a written piece is tiring, and your child builds that endurance by practising it.

After each mock, keep a detailed error log. Record which questions were missed and why: a careless slip, a knowledge gap, a misread question or running out of time. Over a few mock exams, the log shows you where the remaining marks are. It takes ten minutes after each mock.

Pacing rehearsal is the other priority. Your child should learn how long to spend on each question, when to make an educated guess and move on, and how to avoid sinking five minutes into a single hard problem. Refine the writing templates too. By now your child should have a reliable structure for both creative and persuasive writing, because the exam sets the genre. With a structure ready for either one, your child can spend the time on ideas and expression instead of working out how to begin.

• Sit full mock exams under real conditions to build skill and stamina.
• Maintain a detailed error log capturing why each mistake happened.
• Rehearse pacing: when to guess, when to move on, how to budget time.
• Refine reliable writing templates for both creative and persuasive tasks.
• Address the recurring errors your log surfaces before they become habits.

1 Month Out: Consolidate and Steady the Nerves

Use the final month to consolidate, and don't cram new content. With the exam so close, learning new material tends to create stress without adding much to the score. Keep skills sharp and confidence high instead. Short, light timed drills each day keep your child quick and make question types instantly recognisable.

Lock in the exam-day routine now. Settle a consistent sleep schedule, plan the morning of the exam in detail, and make sure your child knows what to expect from arrival to the final section. A predictable routine eases nerves. Talk openly about pre-exam anxiety too; a calm, prepared child performs far better than an anxious one with the same knowledge. Reassure them that a few nerves are normal and even helpful.

If you are a late starter beginning here, a crash plan still works. Spend the first week learning the format and the major question types, the second and third weeks drilling the reasoning patterns that yield the fastest gains, and the final week sitting timed practice and a full mock or two. You won't cover everything, but by concentrating on format familiarity and high-frequency question types, a short, focused effort can still lift a score.

• Consolidate existing skills rather than introducing new material.
• Do short daily timed drills to keep recognition and speed sharp.
• Establish a steady sleep schedule and a detailed exam-day routine.
• Talk through nerves so your child arrives calm and confident.
• Late starters: prioritise format familiarity and high-frequency question types.

Exam Week: Practical Tips

By exam week, the goal is to arrive in the best possible shape. Start with sleep. Aim for full nights of rest across the whole week, because a single good sleep the night before cannot undo days of fatigue. A well-rested brain is faster and more accurate under time pressure, and this exam is built around time pressure.

On exam morning, serve a balanced breakfast with some protein and slow-release carbohydrates rather than a sugary one that spikes and then crashes partway through the test. Keep hydration steady. In the days before, avoid anything that disrupts the routine, and keep meals familiar.

Prepare what to bring the night before so the morning is calm. Pack any required identification, approved stationery such as pencils and an eraser, a water bottle and the venue details. Plan to arrive early so your child can settle rather than rushing in flustered. On the day, pacing decides the result. Keep moving, and when a question stalls you, mark it, pick the best of the five options and come back if there is time. Reading the instructions before starting a section avoids careless errors that cost easy marks.

Study Strategies That Work

A few evidence-backed strategies deliver far more than rereading notes. The first is active recall. Instead of passively reviewing material, make yourself retrieve it: cover the answer, attempt the question, then check. That effortful retrieval builds durable memory, and it is the skill an exam tests. Flashcards, self-quizzing and practice questions are all forms of active recall.

The second is spaced repetition. Rather than cramming a topic once, revisit it at increasing intervals over days and weeks. Each return visit strengthens the memory and slows forgetting, so a little study spread over time beats a long session the night before. Spaced repetition works best paired with active recall.

The third is timed practice, which uses the testing effect. Each time your child sits a question under exam-like conditions, they strengthen their knowledge and rehearse performance under pressure. The fourth, and most overlooked, is to review every mistake. Understand why each answer was wrong, note the lesson, and your child turns each error into a small permanent gain. Over months of practice, those gains lift a percentile ranking.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even diligent families fall into a handful of predictable traps. The most common is starting too late and then trying to cram, which leaves no time to build the reasoning fluency that Edutest rewards. The second is practising only untimed. Untimed work is valuable early on, but a student who never trains against the clock gets caught out by the pace on exam day and leaves easy marks unanswered.

A third mistake is ignoring errors, racing on to the next paper without working out why questions were missed. That wastes the most valuable feedback available. A fourth is neglecting writing, which students often treat as an afterthought even though it carries weight and improves only with consistent practice. Leaving it to the final fortnight almost guarantees a weak piece on the day.

Burnout is the fifth trap, and it usually comes from good intentions. A child pushed too hard for too long arrives at the exam exhausted and demoralised, undoing months of effort. Build in rest, keep sessions sustainable and protect your child's enthusiasm. The last mistake is giving every section equal time regardless of its effect on the overall percentile. Because consistency across sections drives the ranking, put extra time into the weakest section rather than polishing the strongest one further.

Edutest practice tests on Big Brain

Practice here is Edutest-style questions on the platform, with no downloadable booklet. Start with a diagnostic, then drill the section types that cost marks. For school-specific papers see the Victorian Year 10 selective guide, Melbourne High Practice Tests, MacRob Practice Tests, Nossal Practice Tests, Suzanne Cory Practice Tests, the JMSS exam guide and JMSS Practice Tests, the EBS exam guide, and the NSW selective page. Classes and tutoring prices live at JT Education.