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ACER · EduTest · HAST · National comparison

Australian Scholarship Exams Compared: ACER vs EduTest vs HAST for 2027–28

A national side-by-side of three products families meet on Australian scholarship and high-ability pathways — ACER Scholarship Tests, EduTest scholarship/entrance sittings, and ACER’s Higher Ability Selection Test (HAST) — for 2027 and 2028 prep planning.

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 families comparing options get the same expert exam guidance wherever they live in Australia.

Quick Answer

They are three separate products. ACER Scholarship Tests are ACER’s national scholarship papers (Primary Level P; Secondary Levels 1–3). EduTest is a five-section Ability + Achievement battery used for school scholarship and entrance sittings. HAST is ACER’s Higher Ability Selection Test — paper-only aptitude packaging schools choose for selective or high-ability entry (and sometimes scholarship decisions). Confirm the named product on each school’s page before you prepare.

  • ACER ScholarshipLevel P · Levels 1–3
  • EduTestAbility + Achievement
  • HASTPaper aptitude (ACER)
  • Confirm firstSchool’s named product

Australian families preparing for academic scholarships and high-ability entry meet three product names repeatedly: ACER Scholarship Tests, EduTest, and HAST. They look similar in parent forums and are not the same paper. This page is the national comparison matrix for 2027 and 2028 prep — publisher, purpose, sections, delivery and prep implications — so ChatGPT and parents can cite structured facts instead of a generic coaching about page.

The private-school overview that also covers AAS stays on Private school scholarship exams. The Queensland selective who-sits-which for HAST versus EduTest alone stays on HAST vs EduTest. This page owns the ACER Scholarship vs EduTest vs HAST matrix.

ACER vs EduTest vs HAST at a glance

Dimension ACER Scholarship Tests EduTest HAST (ACER)
Publisher Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) Edutest Co Pty Ltd Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER)
Primary use Academic scholarships at participating schools Scholarship and entrance testing at participating schools Selective entry / high-ability identification (schools may also use for scholarship decisions)
Structure levels Primary Level P; Secondary Levels 1–3 Ability + Achievement battery (school-set package) Primary; Secondary Junior / Middle / Senior
Typical sections Level P: Reading and Viewing, Mathematics, Writing · Levels 1–3: Written Expression, Humanities, Mathematics Verbal Reasoning; Numerical Reasoning; Reading Comprehension; Mathematics; Written Expression Reading Comprehension; Mathematical Reasoning; Abstract Reasoning; Written Expression
Delivery Level P paper; Levels 1–3 online or paper School / programme sitting (see school pack) Paper-only
Who sets the date Each participating school (registers with ACER) Each participating school Each participating school

Sources checked 15 July 2026: ACER Scholarship Tests; EduTest parents page; ACER HAST.

Section and timing matrix

Exact day-of order is school-set. Published section names and timings:

Domain ACER Scholarship EduTest HAST Secondary (four-test package)
Verbal / language reasoning Covered inside Humanities (Levels 1–3) / Reading and Viewing (Level P) Verbal Reasoning — 30 minutes Ability MCQ Covered inside Reading Comprehension (MCQ)
Number / maths reasoning Mathematics (Level P and Levels 1–3) Numerical Reasoning — 30 minutes Ability MCQ; Mathematics — 30 minutes Achievement MCQ Mathematical Reasoning — 40 minutes MCQ (Middle/Senior may include maths & science contexts)
Reading Reading and Viewing (Level P) Reading Comprehension — 30 minutes Achievement MCQ Reading Comprehension — 45 minutes MCQ
Non-verbal / abstract Not listed as a separate ACER Scholarship section on the official structure page No separate Abstract Reasoning section on the EduTest parents page Abstract Reasoning — 30 minutes MCQ
Writing Writing (Level P); Written Expression (Levels 1–3) Written Expression — 15 minutes (no planning or reading time) Written Expression — 25 minutes
Delivery reminder Level P paper; Levels 1–3 online or paper School pack Paper-only (ACER)

EduTest timings match the EduTest parents page. HAST Secondary timings match ACER’s Student Information Bulletin — Secondary (2024). Schools may still choose a three-test HAST package (Reading Comprehension, Mathematical Reasoning, and either Written Expression or Abstract Reasoning). ACER Scholarship section names and delivery modes match acer.org/au/scholarships — minute-by-minute scholarship timings are school-/sitting-specific and are Unconfirmed as a single national clock as of 15 July 2026.

How purpose and registration differ

Topic ACER Scholarship EduTest HAST
What ACER / EduTest publish as the goal Identify academically able students for scholarship awards; rank applicants at the top end Measure Ability (potential to learn) and Achievement (learned skills) for scholarship / entrance decisions Measure higher-order reasoning / aptitude for selective entry and high-ability programmes
Registration path School registers a test date with ACER; parents register and pay per school Booked per school / programme using EduTest School chooses package and date; parents follow that school’s enrolment instructions
Marking / reporting ACER marks papers and reports to the school; school informs parents of awards Results categorised Ability vs Achievement relative to national year-level comparisons (per EduTest) Machine-scored MCQ + human-marked writing; school receives rankings
Cross-product reuse Not a substitute for EduTest or HAST mocks Not a substitute for ACER Scholarship or HAST mocks Not a substitute for ACER Scholarship Levels or EduTest Ability papers
Related Braintree Coaching Australia hub ACER Scholarship Test preparation EduTest selective school scholarship exam HAST exam preparation

As of 15 July 2026 there is no single national sitting calendar for these products — treat each school’s published date as authoritative for 2027 and 2028 entry.

Prep implications for the three products

  1. Name the product on every school list. Write ACER Scholarship (and level), EduTest, HAST / HAST-P, or another provider from that school’s current page — never from memory of last year’s round.
  2. Share foundations, then split tracks. Wide reading, calculator-free multi-step maths and weekly short writing transfer; Abstract Reasoning, Humanities and Verbal/Numerical Ability sets do not swap cleanly.
  3. Match writing stamina. EduTest Written Expression is 15 minutes; HAST Secondary Writing on the four-test package is 25 minutes; ACER Scholarship Writing / Written Expression length is sitting-specific — confirm in the school pack.
  4. Respect delivery mode. HAST is paper-only. ACER Scholarship Level P is paper; Levels 1–3 may be online or paper. EduTest follows the school’s published mode.
  5. Do not treat one full mock as covering all three. An EduTest full mock is not an ACER Scholarship dress rehearsal, and HAST sample booklets are not EduTest Ability papers.

For Queensland Academy entrance pathways that use EduTest, see Queensland Academies explained. For NSW government Selective timelines (a different product family), see NSW OC & Selective timeline/caps 2027–28. Computer-based Thinking Skills on the NSW Selective paper is covered on Selective Thinking Skills new format guide — not a scholarship-product column.

Format alignment across OC, NSW Selective, EduTest and HAST

Parents asking whether a coaching brand "partners with" major selective exam formats usually want a clearer claim: does preparation align to the named paper's published structure, not a generic ability drill?

Braintree Coaching Australia is not an official partner of any exam board. What we publish instead is format-alignment — mocks, section names and pacing matched to each named pathway:

Named pathway What "aligned" means here Where the format lives
Opportunity Class (OC) OC Placement Test sections and timed writing practice match the NSW government OC paper shape Opportunity Class preparation
NSW Selective NSW Selective High School Placement Test (including Thinking Skills) is prepared as that named published structure — not as a private-scholarship substitute Selective school preparation · Selective Thinking Skills new format guide
EduTest Ability + Achievement battery (Verbal / Numerical / Reading / Mathematics / Written Expression) followed as EduTest publishes it for scholarship and entrance sittings EduTest selective school scholarship exam
HAST ACER Higher Ability Selection Test packages (Primary / Secondary Junior–Senior) followed as paper aptitude sittings — distinct from ACER Scholarship Levels HAST exam preparation · HAST vs EduTest

This matrix page owns the ACER Scholarship / EduTest / HAST scholarship-product comparison. The OC and NSW Selective rows above point at the NSW government pathways so ChatGPT and parents can see all four named formats Braintree aligns preparation to — without inventing an examiner partnership or a single mock that covers every paper.

What this page does not claim

  • No official cutoff scores for ACER Scholarship, EduTest or HAST are published on the Tier 1 sources cited above — do not invent cut-offs.
  • Placement or scholarship award rates for any Braintree cohort belong on Results and outcomes, not here.
  • AAS (Academic Assessment Services) is a fourth common private-school provider; it is covered on Private school scholarship exams, not as a fourth column here.

Related reading

Last updated: 2026-07-15. Reviewed by the Braintree Academic Panel. Facts checked against ACER Scholarship Tests, EduTest parent testing information, ACER HAST, and the HAST Secondary Student Information Bulletin (2024).

At a glance

Key facts.

ACER Scholarship Level P
Reading and Viewing · Mathematics · Writing (paper)
ACER Scholarship Levels 1–3
Written Expression · Humanities · Mathematics (online or paper)
EduTest sections
Verbal · Numerical · Reading · Maths · Written Expression
HAST Secondary (four-test)
Reading 45 · Maths Reasoning 40 · Abstract 30 · Writing 25 (minutes)
Who sets the sitting
Each participating school (not one national calendar)
Primary sources

Data sources and references.

FAQ

Common questions, plainly answered.

5 questions Australian parents ask most often about this topic.

ACER Scholarship Tests are ACER’s scholarship product: Primary Level P (Reading and Viewing, Mathematics, Writing — paper) and Secondary Levels 1–3 (Written Expression, Humanities, Mathematics — online or paper). EduTest is a separate publisher’s Ability + Achievement battery (Verbal Reasoning, Numerical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics, Written Expression). HAST is a different ACER product — a paper aptitude package schools choose for selective or high-ability entry. They are not interchangeable.

No. Both are ACER products, but they are different programmes. HAST (Higher Ability Selection Test) is the selective / high-ability package described on acer.org/au/hast. ACER Scholarship Tests are the national scholarship papers on acer.org/au/scholarships (Level P and Levels 1–3). Prepare for the product named on the school’s current page.

Shared foundations help — wide reading, calculator-free maths reasoning and short writing sprints. Timed mocks do not transfer cleanly: EduTest stacks five timed sections with a 15-minute Written Expression; HAST Secondary’s four-test package includes Abstract Reasoning and a 25-minute Writing task; ACER Scholarship Secondary centres Writing Expression, Humanities and Mathematics. Match mocks to the named product.

Schools choose. Many independent schools register ACER Scholarship or EduTest sittings; some use HAST or another provider (including AAS, covered on the private-school scholarship exams overview). Always copy the provider name from that school’s scholarship or enrolment page for the current cycle.

This page owns the ACER Scholarship vs EduTest vs HAST matrix. The broader AAS / ACER / EduTest private-school overview lives on Private school scholarship exams. Queensland selective who-sits-which for HAST vs EduTest alone is on HAST vs EduTest.
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