How to prepare for the ACER scholarship test

Familiarity, more than ability. ACER says short-term training is unlikely to help, and advises children to read widely and think critically. The skills it tests grow slowly, through reading, talking and thinking.

What practice can change is surprise. Seeing the question types, feeling the clock and planning a piece of writing under time pressure take the surprise out of the day. ACER says its practice materials are meant to get familiar with the question types, not to drill.

So plan for both: steady reading and talk all year, and a few full practice tests closer to the day.

Work back from the test date. For 2028 entry, the cooperative test is on 27 February 2027. Schools on an alternative date set their own, so check yours on the ACER scholarship dates page.

The cooperative date falls a few weeks into the school year, soon after the summer holidays. Plan the reading over the holidays, and don't leave the first practice test until the last week.

By reading widely and talking about what they read. Humanities asks your child to think critically about fiction, non-fiction, poetry, cartoons, diagrams and maps. It's judgement, not recall: texts may come from English, History or Geography, but no specialist knowledge is assumed.

Read together, sometimes out loud, then ask the questions the test asks: what is the writer suggesting, why that word, what is the cartoonist's point? Give poems and cartoons extra time, especially if your child rarely reads them.

The ACER Humanities questions show the kinds of text and question, with worked answers.

By practising how to read a problem, not only how to calculate. ACER's maths aims at mathematical ability rather than school achievement, so questions can look unfamiliar. The habit to build is reading the situation slowly, finding the maths inside it, then checking the answer makes sense.

Without a calculator, accurate mental arithmetic and quick estimation save time for the thinking. The ACER Maths questions show the style.

By practising both kinds of piece on topics they haven't seen. There are two topics, each with its own 25 minutes, set so children can write in different styles. ACER says ideas matter more than length; plan for a couple of minutes.

Practise a story and a persuasive or reflective piece. ACER requires original thought about the prompt, not a pre-prepared piece, so memorised essays don't help; a quick planning routine does.

The ACER writing topics give open topics in pairs, each with a plan and an opening.

As rehearsals, on the clock. ACER's advice is to practise as if it were the real test, to learn the timing. Our 15 Practice tests follow Level 1's sections and times.

Sit the first one early enough to act on it, not in the last week. Practice test 1 is free, with results by skill and feedback on both writing topics, so you'll know what to work on first.

Treat the feedback as practice feedback written by AI, which can be wrong or incomplete and is not a mark from Edutest, ACER or any school. To begin, see the ACER practice test.

ACER's own practice material is worth using close to the test: two practice tests with different content.

Ask these before you pay anyone, including us, and expect plain written answers. ACER says short-term training is unlikely to improve performance, so look for steady practice, not cramming.

Arrive early and pack the night before. ACER asks children to arrive at least 15 minutes before the start. At ACER tests, latecomers are admitted only at the supervisor's discretion, and get no extra time.

If your child needs special arrangements, apply with evidence 4 weeks before the test. Otherwise, keep the last evening ordinary: a calm arrival helps more than a last practice set.