ASET · FAQ
ASET & GATE WA FAQ: 40 parent questions answered
Forty frequently asked questions about the Academic Selective Entrance Test (ASET) and Western Australia's Gifted and Talented Secondary Selective Entrance programs — the four components, Total Standard Score, Perth Modern School entry, applications and key dates, preparation, test day and results. Pairs with the ASET hub for the high-level overview.
By Braintree Editorial, Exam preparation editors, Braintree Coaching Australia
Reviewed by Braintree Academic Panel on
Last updated
Braintree Coaching Australia is online-only, exam-specialist, national coverage, built for regional families — so students preparing anywhere in Australia get the same selective, Opportunity Class and scholarship coaching without a campus commute.
Quick Answer
Parent questions about the ASET and Western Australia's Gifted and Talented Secondary Selective Entrance programs cluster into eight areas — what ASET and GATE are, the four test components, how the Total Standard Score (TSS) works, applications and key dates, preparation, test day, Perth Modern School specifics, and results and next steps. This page answers the forty we field most often. Figures match the Department's published guide: a minimum TSS of 209.5 to be considered for an academic program, and Perth Modern School's Year 7 minimum entrance score of TSS 244.34 for 2025 entry.
- Questions answered40
- Categories8
- Perth Modern 2025 min.TSS 244.34
- Academic minimum TSS209.5
Read the full ASET (GATE WA) Selective Entry Preparation for Perth Modern and GATE Programs guide.
These are the forty questions Australian families ask most often about the Academic Selective Entrance Test (ASET) and Western Australia's Gifted and Talented Secondary Selective Entrance programs — from what the test measures to how the Total Standard Score works, when to apply, and what happens on results day. They are grouped into eight categories so you can jump to the cluster you need. Braintree Coaching Australia is an Australian exam-preparation provider (not PayPal Braintree). For the high-level picture, start with our ASET (GATE WA) selective entry preparation hub; this page goes a level deeper on the specifics.
What are the published ASET component timings?
| Component | Questions | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 35 multiple choice | 35 minutes |
| Communicating Ideas in Writing | 1 handwritten response | 25 minutes |
| Supervised break | — | 10 minutes |
| Quantitative Reasoning | 35 multiple choice | 35 minutes |
| Abstract Reasoning | 35 multiple choice | 20 minutes |
Timings and the break placement come from the WA Department of Education ASET Handbook. The Department does not publish a total sitting duration. Total Standard Score rules and previous-year minimum entrance scores (including Perth Modern's TSS 244.34 for 2025 Year 7 entry) are on the performance reports page. Application and sitting dates are on the Key Dates and application guidelines page. Free Practice ASET downloads sit on the Gifted and Talented testing page.
How does the Total Standard Score (TSS) work?
The Total Standard Score (TSS) is the total of the four equally weighted standardised component scores, and the Department uses it to rank students for program offers. Standardised scores are not percentages or percentiles. A minimum TSS of 209.5 is required to be considered for an academic program, and 209.5 or higher does not guarantee an offer. The FAQ block below expands scoring, Perth Modern guide figures and results checks.
When do ASET applications open for Year 7 entry?
For Year 7 entry in 2027, applications opened Tuesday 14 October 2025 and closed 6 pm Friday 6 February 2026, with the Year 7 standard sitting on Saturday 7 March 2026. Confirm every date on the Department Key Dates page before you act — the FAQ block covers documents, preferences, regional testing and late applications.
What should your child bring on ASET test day?
Pack confirmation materials, the Student ID form, at least two lead/graphite pencils, an eraser and a sharpener, plus a drink and light snack for the 10-minute break. Leave notes, study guides and connective devices (phones, smart watches, tablets) at home. The FAQ block and our ASET test day guidelines cover packing and adjusted conditions in full.
Where a question is covered more fully on a dedicated page, the answer points there: the section-by-section structure is set out in our ASET (GATE WA) exam format overview, and how to read a performance report is on our ASET results interpretation guide. Use the category navigation in the FAQ block below to move between clusters.
At a glance
Key facts.
- Test
- Academic Selective Entrance Test (ASET)
- Administered by
- WA Department of Education
- Components
- Reading · Writing · Quantitative · Abstract
- Published timings
- 35 + 25 + 35 + 20 min (+ 10-min break)
- Perth Modern 2025 min.
- TSS 244.34 (guide only)
- Academic program minimum
- TSS 209.5 (does not guarantee an offer)
Keep goingMore on this exam.
- ASET · Exam format
ASET (GATE WA) exam format: the four components
ASET (GATE WA) exam format for parents: the four components, their published timings and question counts, and how the Total Standard Score is worked out.
- ASET · Results and interpretation
ASET results interpretation: TSS scores, Perth Modern and GATE cut-offs
How ASET results work for 2027 Year 7 entry: TSS scoring, the 209.5 academic floor, Perth Modern's 244.34 guide cut-off, and next steps after the report.
- ASET · Test day
ASET test day: a checklist, timeline and what to expect
A chronological ASET test-day plan covering the night before, the morning of, the venue, during the test and after, plus what to pack and what ACER prohibits.
FAQ
Common questions, plainly answered.
40 questions our faculty fields most often about this exam.
ASET and GATE basics
Gifted and Talented (GATE) is the common shorthand for the Western Australian Department of Education's Gifted and Talented Secondary Selective Entrance programs — selective secondary pathways in government schools. There are three broad streams: academic programs for high-achieving students, arts programs (drama, music, visual arts, media arts and dance) and languages programs. Entry to the academic stream is decided on the Academic Selective Entrance Test (ASET) only; arts programs add auditions or workshops, and languages may include an interview. Your child in an academic GATE program learns an extended curriculum alongside similarly able peers, most commonly entering in Year 7.
Perth Modern School is a selective academic public secondary school in Subiaco, a few kilometres west of the Perth CBD. It offers 225 Year 7 academic places for the 2027 intake plus a small number of late-entry places in later years. Competition is high because places are capped while thousands of families apply each year. The Department's published Year 7 minimum entrance score for Perth Modern — the lowest score that received an offer after all rounds — was a Total Standard Score (TSS) of 244.34 for 2025 entry (and 247.2 for 2024 entry). Those figures are a guide only, may change every year, and are usually lower than Round 1 or Round 2 offer scores.
ASET and NAPLAN measure different things. NAPLAN is a national progress check that measures how your child is tracking against year-level curriculum standards in literacy and numeracy, and it is not used for selective entry. ASET is the WA Department of Education's selection test for Gifted and Talented Secondary Selective Entrance academic programs. It measures reasoning and academic potential — verbal, numerical, abstract and written reasoning — rather than curriculum recall. ASET is markedly harder than NAPLAN and rewards higher-order thinking, so a strong NAPLAN result is encouraging but is not preparation for the ASET in itself.
ASET is mainly sat by Year 6 students applying for Year 7 entry, which is the principal intake and where most places are offered. Limited late-entry opportunities also exist: Year 7 students can sit for Year 9 entry, Year 8 students for Year 10 entry, and Year 9 students for Year 11 entry, though far fewer places are available at these levels. Students already in a GATE program may also sit ASET to transfer to a different program or to Perth Modern School.
The four components
The Department publishes per-component timings, not a total sitting duration. In sitting order under standard conditions: Reading Comprehension (35 minutes), Communicating Ideas in Writing (25 minutes), a 10-minute break, Quantitative Reasoning (35 minutes) and Abstract Reasoning (20 minutes). That is 115 minutes of testing plus the break. The four components are equally weighted and combined into a single Total Standard Score (TSS).
Reading Comprehension is 35 multiple-choice questions in 35 minutes. Texts span fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama and information graphics such as charts and diagrams, and the questions test inference, interpretation, comparison, an author's purpose, text structure and vocabulary in context rather than literal recall. The texts sit above typical Year 6 reading level, so the section rewards a strong vocabulary, close reading and steady pacing of about a minute a question.
Communicating Ideas in Writing is a single 25-minute handwritten response to a prompt. The 25 minutes cover planning, writing and editing. Each response is scored by a minimum of two independent markers against the Department's marking criteria; length is not itself a criterion. Writing carries the same weight as each multiple-choice component in the Total Standard Score. It is the component families most often under-practise, so timed responses with specific feedback are worthwhile.
Quantitative Reasoning is 35 multiple-choice questions in 35 minutes. It tests mathematical thinking rather than curriculum recall — number patterns and relationships, measurement and geometry concepts, statistical reasoning, data interpretation from graphs and tables, and algebraic thinking — and it favours non-routine problems that reward reasoning over memorised procedures. The ASET Handbook describes rough working done by hand in the question booklet or on the blank back page of the answer booklet, so success comes from strong number sense, flexible strategies and the pace to work through roughly one question a minute.
Abstract Reasoning is 35 questions in 20 minutes — the fastest pace of the four components at roughly 34 seconds a question. The Department names exactly two question types: Next in Sequence and Complete the Pattern. Both are rarely taught explicitly at school, and the section falls at the end of the sitting when concentration is fading. Because it tests non-verbal reasoning under tight time, it also tends to show the largest improvement with systematic practice, which makes it a high-priority focus in preparation.
Four patterns come up repeatedly when Braintree Coaching Australia tutors mark ASET and GATE mock papers. Abstract Reasoning time pressure: children who score well on untimed figure sequences still lose marks to the 20-minute clock. Writing goes under-practised even though it carries equal weight. Calculator habit in Quantitative Reasoning: children who practise with a calculator at home slow down when working must be done by hand, which is what the Handbook describes. Full-length mocks left until the final month leave no time to act on what the first mock reveals. These are patterns from our tutor marking records across ASET and GATE preparation, not published research, and your child may show none of them.
Three of the four components are multiple choice — Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning — each with 35 questions and four answer options labelled A–D. The fourth, Communicating Ideas in Writing, is a single handwritten response to a prompt. Students use one answer booklet for all four tests; multiple-choice grids are shaded in pencil because scanners read pencil marks. There is no penalty for guessing: points are awarded for correct answers only, so a blank cannot earn a mark.
Reading Comprehension expects Year 6–7 reading ability with a strong emphasis on higher-order skills. Your child meets fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama and information graphics, and the questions ask for inference, interpretation, comparison and analysis rather than literal recall. The practical implication is that wide reading of challenging material — quality newspapers, advanced fiction and non-fiction — builds both the vocabulary and the stamina the section rewards.
There is a 10-minute break between Communicating Ideas in Writing and Quantitative Reasoning. During the break your child may use the bathroom, have a drink and a light snack, and stretch, but they cannot use phones, look at study materials or discuss the test. The break is a chance to reset before the faster-paced reasoning sections, so it helps to pack a small snack and a drink bottle.
ASET is a paper-based test. Your child works from printed booklets and records answers in one answer booklet used for all four tests — multiple-choice grids in pencil, and the Writing response by hand (pen or pencil). No computers or tablets are used for the sitting. Practise on paper, build legible handwriting for Writing, and rehearse shading a bubble grid accurately under time pressure rather than relying on on-screen formats.
Scores and selection
Each of the four components — Reading, Writing, Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning — is equally weighted. The Total Standard Score (TSS) is the total of the four standardised scores, and the Department uses the TSS to rank students for program offers. Standardised scores are not percentages or percentiles. Scaling allows scores to be compared across years, which is why minimum entrance scores are quoted in TSS terms.
The ASET Handbook states there is no penalty for guessing: points are not deducted for wrong answers, only awarded for right ones, and each multiple-choice question is worth a single point. A blank cannot earn a mark, so once your child has eliminated unlikely options among the four (A–D), an attempted answer is better than leaving the grid empty.
Perth Modern School requires the highest ASET scores among the published academic minimum entrance scores. The Department's Year 7 minimum entrance score for Perth Modern — the lowest score that received an offer after all rounds — was a Total Standard Score (TSS) of 244.34 for 2025 entry and 247.2 for 2024 entry. Those figures are a guide only, may change every year, and are usually lower than Round 1 or Round 2 offer scores. A balanced result matters — a weak component can hold back an otherwise strong TSS — so preparation should cover all four sections.
Applying and key dates
For Year 7 entry in 2027, applications opened Tuesday 14 October 2025 and closed 6 pm Friday 6 February 2026. The Year 7 ASET standard sitting is Saturday 7 March 2026; Years 9–11 sit Sunday 8 March 2026. ASET performance reports are emailed Friday 29 May 2026, and Round 1 offers are issued Monday 22 June 2026. Exact dates change each intake, so always confirm against the current Key Dates page on the WA Department of Education site. Late applications are generally not accepted.
Applications are made online through the WA Department of Education Gifted and Talented application process at education.wa.edu.au/giftedandtalented during the published window (see also the Key Dates and application guidelines page). You complete the application, upload the required documents for your child's situation, and nominate your program and school preferences in order — Perth Modern School can be listed as a first preference for the academic stream. If your child needs adjusted testing conditions, these are requested at this stage with supporting documentation. You then receive confirmation with testing details. For currently enrolled WA students tested at their closest available centre, the Department publishes no cost for application, testing or placement; overseas and interstate applicants pay separately and must meet residency rules to take up an offer.
Applications are lodged online at the Department's Gifted and Talented page (education.wa.edu.au/giftedandtalented). The Applicant Guidelines do not publish a single fixed "standard document checklist" for every applicant; what you upload depends on your child's situation (for example a recent school report when date-of-birth falls outside the published range, or enrolment evidence for overseas/interstate testing). After a successful application you receive confirmation with testing details, including the Student Identification Form — that form, with a recent photograph of your child's face attached, is required on test day. Families requesting adjusted testing conditions supply supporting evidence (such as medical or psychologist reports) by the published adjusted-conditions deadline. Confirm the current cycle's upload prompts in the live application itself.
Yes. A single ASET sitting can be considered for multiple academic programs. On the application you rank your preferences — program type (academic, arts or languages) and the schools offering them — and Perth Modern can sit at the top of that list. If your child's TSS clears the Perth Modern standard you may receive that offer; if it meets the general academic minimum (TSS 209.5) but not Perth Modern, you may receive an offer from another nominated program based on its threshold and available places. A score of 209.5 or higher does not guarantee an offer. Because placement follows your preference order, ordering preferences carefully is worthwhile.
No. Regional students sit ASET at their closest regional centre rather than travelling to Perth. For the 2027-entry cycle, applicants living in regional areas (excluding Bunbury and Albany area standard-conditions applicants, who sit with the metro window) are tested on Monday 9 or Tuesday 10 March 2026, with the exact date set closer to the time by the Regional Assessment Coordinator. The Applicant Guidelines do not publish a statewide list of named regional venues — families learn their allocated centre in the testing-details email. Regional and metropolitan students are scored on the same TSS scale. Travel and accommodation only become a consideration if a regional student later accepts a place at a Perth metropolitan school.
International and interstate students can apply, subject to meeting visa and enrolment requirements. Overseas and interstate testing is available only with evidence of enrolment at a school outside WA, and there are published fees for those pathways. Taking up an offer depends on meeting essential residency criteria as part of school enrolment. Check the Department's current Applicant Guidelines for the precise requirements and fees.
Because testing follows shortly after the February close, late applications are generally not accepted. If the deadline is missed, the usual options are to reapply in the next year's cycle for the following intake, or to consider a late-entry GATE application in a later year (Years 9, 10 or 11). Families in genuine exceptional circumstances — for example a very recent move to WA — can contact the Gifted and Talented Selective Unit (gtsu@education.wa.edu.au), but there is no guarantee of late acceptance. The simplest safeguard is a calendar reminder for the October opening.
Preparation
A common and comfortable runway is 6–12 months of structured preparation before the March sitting. Twelve months suits students aiming at Perth Modern-level scores or with gaps in any component, allowing time to build skills across all four sections, sit several full-length mocks and act on the results. Shorter timelines of three to six months can work for naturally strong students but leave less room to fix weaknesses. Starting early lowers pressure and lets improvement come from steady practice rather than cramming.
Costs vary widely by approach. Self-study with the free Department Practice ASET and Handbook is the cheapest starting point. Structured online programs typically sit in the low hundreds to around a thousand dollars a year. Private one-to-one tutoring is the most expensive, commonly $80–$150 an hour, which adds up quickly over a year of weekly sessions; small-group classes fall in between. Many families combine a structured program for coverage with some targeted tutoring on a weak component. Perth Modern and GATE places themselves are free public-school placements for eligible enrolments.
Start with the free Practice ASET from the WA Department of Education Gifted and Talented testing page, then add timed mocks for pacing. A typical plan starts with one diagnostic to find weak areas, then weekly section practice on individual components, building to several full-length, timed mocks across the preparation period. Quality matters more than quantity: a mock that is thoroughly reviewed, with every mistake understood, is worth several that are simply completed. Practice-test results are not used in placement decisions.
Abstract Reasoning improves with short, regular, systematic practice — 15–20 minutes a day is more effective than occasional long sessions. Work the two published types (Next in Sequence and Complete the Pattern), and build a consistent method: identify the likely rule, test it against the options, and eliminate systematically. Practise against a tight clock, starting near 30 seconds a question and trimming towards the test's roughly 34-second pace.
Reading Comprehension is built over time through wide reading across genres — fiction, science and history non-fiction, quality journalism and poetry — which grows both vocabulary and tolerance for complex text. Layer on active reading (identifying main ideas, making inferences and questioning the author's purpose), vocabulary work using roots and context, and practice on each question type, including interpreting graphics. Then add timing practice at roughly a minute a question so comprehension holds up under pressure rather than only in unhurried conditions.
Writing improves fastest with regular timed practice and specific feedback. Rehearse a clear 25-minute structure — a few minutes to plan, the bulk to write, a few minutes to edit — across both narrative and persuasive prompts so any prompt feels familiar. Develop a bank of precise vocabulary and varied sentence structures, and practise interpreting visual and statement prompts quickly to find an angle. Feedback is the key ingredient: a marked response with specific guidance teaches far more than an unmarked one.
Quantitative Reasoning rewards mental fluency and flexible problem-solving rather than memorised procedures. Practise mental arithmetic daily and learn calculation shortcuts so working by hand stays fluent; work non-routine problems that require reasoning; and rehearse reading data from graphs, tables and charts quickly. Build strategic habits — estimate to sense-check an answer, eliminate unlikely options, and work backwards where it helps — and practise at about a minute a question so pace and accuracy improve together.
Test day
Pack the printed ASET confirmation materials and the completed Student ID form with its photograph, at least two lead/graphite pencils, an eraser and a sharpener, and (optionally) a blue or black pen for the Writing response. Bring a non-smart analogue watch for timing, a drink bottle and a light snack for the break, and dress in layers for a room of unknown temperature. The Handbook's prohibited list includes notes, study guides, and connective devices such as smart watches, mobiles and tablets — leave those at home and arrive early for check-in.
ASET offers adjusted conditions for students with a verified need — for example extra time, rest breaks, a separate room, reader or scribe assistance, assistive technology, or enlarged print. Eligibility covers diagnosed learning difficulties, disabilities or medical conditions that affect test performance. Requests are made during the application window with supporting documentation such as psychologist or medical reports and current school support records. For the 2027-entry cycle, the adjusted-conditions request deadline was Friday 13 February 2026. Scores achieved with approved adjustments are treated equally with all others.
Perth Modern School
Yes, but late-entry places are few. Perth Modern offers a small number of places in Years 9, 10 and 11 as vacancies arise, well below the 225 Year 7 academic places published for the 2027 intake. Applicants sit ASET in the year before entry (Year 7 for Year 9 entry, and so on). The Department publishes Year 7 minimum entrance scores only; it does not publish separate minimums for Years 9, 10 or 11. Competition is intense for these few places, so the Year 7 main intake remains the most reliable pathway.
Perth Modern teaches an extended academic curriculum to a cohort of high-achieving students. It offers a broad range of ATAR courses across the sciences, mathematics, languages and humanities, opportunities to accelerate in areas of strength, and specialist programs and university links. The defining feature for many families is the peer environment — learning alongside similarly able students — which suits children who thrive on academic challenge. Confirm current programs on the school's own site rather than treating this FAQ as a prospectus.
Perth Modern School is on Roberts Road in Subiaco, an inner suburb roughly 3 km west of the Perth CBD, with good public transport including Subiaco train station a short walk away and several bus routes. Students travel from across the metropolitan area, so daily commutes of 30–60 minutes are common and some are longer. The school has no boarding, so families must be able to manage a daily commute — a real consideration for younger Year 7 students and one reason regional families often prefer a closer GATE program.
Results and next steps
For the 2027-entry cycle, ASET performance reports are emailed Friday 29 May 2026. Round 1 offers are issued Monday 22 June 2026, with a published response deadline (noon Wednesday 1 July 2026 for Round 1). Further offer rounds follow as declined places free up. Reports show the TSS and component standardised scores rather than individual question results, and indicate how the score sits against published program standards.
Yes. For the 2027-entry cycle, the results-check request deadline is Wednesday 10 June 2026, with outcomes emailed Friday 10 July 2026. Request a check through the GATE office if you suspect a marking or reporting error. A results check reviews the accuracy of marking, score calculation and reporting — it does not re-mark on the basis of disagreement with a marker's judgement. Confirm the current window on the Department's performance-reports page.
A Perth Modern offer is one outcome among several, not a verdict on your child. If the TSS clears the general academic minimum of 209.5 (which does not guarantee an offer), an offer may come from another nominated GATE academic program — for example Willetton Senior High School or Shenton College among the published academic vacancies — or from a separate arts or languages pathway if that was on your preference list. Families can also reapply for late entry in a later year, request acceleration or enrichment at the current school, or consider extension programs. The reasoning skills built through ASET preparation carry over to any of these pathways.
Offers generally follow the preference order set in the application, with the highest available preference offered first, and a student can hold and accept only one GATE place. Once a place is accepted and enrolment begins, transferring to a different program mid-year is difficult. If you decline an offer hoping for a higher preference in a later round, there is no guarantee a better offer will follow, so weigh the risk against factors such as program focus, location and commute before deciding within the acceptance deadline.
Ready to plan your child’s next step?
Sit a free timed mock test to see where your child stands, or return to the full guide for context on the exam, dates, and practice packs.
Try a free mock testNo account, no card. Instant results.
Talk to a coachRead the full guide before booking.