EduTest exam format, section by section

The EduTest scholarship exam is a five-section sitting that screens for academic scholarship and selective entry places at independent Australian schools, including the cohorts Braintree Coaching Australia prepares each year through our EduTest selective and scholarship exam preparation programme. Confirm section names and parent-facing sitting notes on the Edutest Australia parents page. Edutest sits alongside other Australian assessment products from ACER. Where a NSW government school uses EduTest for Years 8–11 lateral entry, treat the NSW Department of Education selective high schools pages as the enrolment authority — not the scholarship pack. Each section is timed independently, and the paper is sat in one continuous block with short breaks between sections.

What sections does the EduTest exam include?

The EduTest exam includes five sections: verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, reading comprehension, mathematics, and written expression. The first four are multiple-choice and computer-administered; written expression is a timed writing task (creative or persuasive) marked by trained markers against a rubric.

Section	Duration	Questions	What it measures
Verbal reasoning	30 minutes	Not published	Vocabulary, analogies, classifications and word relationships.
Numerical reasoning	30 minutes	Not published	Number patterns, sequences, properties and logical number problems beyond standard arithmetic.
Reading comprehension	30 minutes	Not published	Literal, inferential and critical reading across literary, informational and persuasive passages.
Mathematics	30 minutes	Not published	Number and algebra, measurement and geometry, statistics and probability. No calculators.
Written expression	15 minutes	1 task	Creative or persuasive writing, marked on ideas, structure, language and conventions.

Sections are timed independently and sat in one continuous sitting with short breaks between sections. The four multiple-choice sections each run 30 minutes; written expression is a shorter 15-minute task. EduTest does not publish per-section question counts. A small number of independent schools sit slightly longer mathematics or reading components.

How long is the EduTest exam in total?

The EduTest exam runs about two hours and fifteen minutes of test time, plus short breaks between sections: four 30-minute multiple-choice sections and a 15-minute written expression task. EduTest does not publish a fixed start and finish time. Schools email families the specific starting and approximate finishing time the week of the sitting, so check that confirmation email for the exact schedule.

How is the EduTest scored?

EduTest scoring is a four-step process: raw scores are calculated section by section, converted to standardised scores, weighted equally across the five sections, and averaged into a single overall result. Written expression is marked by trained markers against a four-criterion rubric (ideas and content, organisation, language and vocabulary, conventions).

1. Raw scores. Each multiple-choice section is scored on correct answers. Written expression is marked on a rubric of 0–4 per criterion.
2. Standardisation. Raw scores are converted to a standardised score for each section, comparing each student's results to thousands of other students in the same year level across Australia, so results are comparable across sittings and year cohorts. EduTest does not publish the exact formula (mean, standard deviation or scale) behind this conversion.
3. Equal weighting. All five sections contribute equally to the overall score; no section is double-counted.
4. Overall result. The five standardised scores are averaged into a single overall EduTest score.

Each school sets its own cut-off score. Schools with high demand publish higher cut-offs in their information packs; cut-offs vary by year and by the number of available places. Several schools also use a combined score that weights the EduTest result alongside an interview, portfolio or school-report grade. EduTest does not send results directly to parents; it is up to the receiving school to decide if and when a parent report is shared.

Which schools use the EduTest?

The EduTest is administered by Edutest (Educational Assessment Australia) and is used by many independent schools across Australia for academic scholarship entry, as well as by a number of state selective schools in New South Wales for lateral entry into Years 8–11. Confirm the exact format and scoring with the individual school — some schools weight sections differently or add an interview round.

Test-day timeline

EduTest does not publish a fixed clock-time schedule. The exact start and finish time depends on the school and sitting, and is confirmed by email, but the stages themselves follow the same order at every sitting:

1. Arrival and registration. Your child signs in with photo ID; parents wait in a designated area.
2. Room and seat assignment. Your child is directed to a testing room and computer station.
3. Practice tutorial. A brief on-screen tutorial covers navigation and timing before the timed sections begin.
4. Five timed sections with short breaks. Verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, reading comprehension, mathematics and written expression, each timed independently (see the section table above).
5. Completion and dismissal. Your child submits their final section and is released to parents.

Check the confirmation email your school sends the week of the sitting for the specific starting and approximate finishing time. EduTest asks families to keep the whole day free rather than relying on a generic schedule.

What does this mean for preparation?

A child who is comfortable with primary-school maths and reading at a year-above level still needs targeted work on (a) the timed verbal and numerical reasoning sections, which most state-curriculum schools do not teach explicitly, and (b) the written expression task, which is marked under tight time pressure. See our EduTest preparation strategies for a four-stage practice plan. For Year 5 timed section practice with parent marking notes, use the Year 5 EduTest-style sample paper.