Free Selective practice test: start a timed section
Independent. Not affiliated with the NSW Department of Education.
Start a free NSW Selective practice section with no account: Reading, Mathematical Reasoning, Thinking Skills or Writing, each at the Year 6 test's real time limit. The result explains every answer but can't predict a band or an offer.
Free practice · no account
Free Selective practice test
Answers stay in this browser tab and are never uploaded.
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What does the free Selective practice test cover?
All four sections of the Selective test, one at a time, each with the real number of questions and the real time limit. The counts and times below are the Department's, and our free set follows them. Each section stands on its own, so your child can try one today and another next week.
| Section | Questions | Time | What's in it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 171NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published questions, 381NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published answers | 451NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published minutes | Texts include non-fiction, fiction, poetry, magazine articles and reports1NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published; one task asks your child to compare two short extracts on the same theme1NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 351NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published questions | 401NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published minutes | Problems with 51NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published options each, worked without a calculator |
| Thinking Skills | 401NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published questions | 401NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published minutes | Arguments, logic puzzles, shapes and data, with 41NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published options each |
| Writing | 11NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published task | 301NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published minutes | One prompt, a live word count and a self-check against the marking criteria |
What happens before, during and after a section?
Your child picks a section, works through it on the timer, then reads every answer explained. Nothing is sent while your child works: the page loads the questions once and marks them on your device.
Choose a section
Pick Reading, Maths, Thinking Skills or Writing. A short screen lists what your child needs first, such as paper, a pencil and no calculator.
Work through it on the timer
One question at a time, with a timer your child can hide, a map of every question, flags and cross-outs. At zero the section ends, as the real one does.
Carry on after a reload
Answers, flags and time used stay in this browser tab only. If the page reloads, your child carries on from the same question; finishing or leaving clears it.
Read the results
The mark, the time used and any questions not answered, then marks by topic, weakest first. Every question shows your child's answer, the right answer and why.
Save your results, if you want
A free account keeps all results together. Your child can take one full practice test with results, with a free account2SelectiveReady · 12 October 2026 · Published.
What does the free Writing section include?
A prompt, a timer, a live word count and a self-check against the marking criteria. There's no score: a marked report needs an account, and that feedback is automated AI feedback, not a Department mark2SelectiveReady · 12 October 2026 · Published.
The Writing test assesses ideas, purpose and audience, language for effect1NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published. Marks also count structure, grammar, punctuation, style and vocabulary1NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published. After the timer ends, your child answers Yes, Partly or Not yet for each question below.
Ideas: does every part answer the prompt, with ideas your child came up with? Off-topic writing is marked lower1NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published.
Purpose and audience: would the readers the prompt names find it useful, and is it written as the form asked for?
Language for effect: are some words and sentences chosen to make the reader feel or do something?
Structure: is there a clear opening, paragraphs that each do one job, and an ending?
Grammar, punctuation and spelling: read it aloud once, and fix anything that makes a reader stop.
Plan first, as on the day: children can plan on paper or on screen, then type1NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published. The writing stays in the tab until your child finishes, and then you can copy it to keep.
How close is this practice test to the real Selective test?
The format and timing match: the same sections, question counts, answer options and time limits. The questions are our own, written to that format, so no one can promise the same difficulty as this year's real test.
| What | The real Selective test | This free section |
|---|---|---|
| Sections and time | Reading 451NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published minutes, Maths 401NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published, Thinking Skills 401NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published, Writing 301NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published | Same. One section at a time, and the timer stops it at zero |
| Questions | Reading 171NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published questions with 381NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published answers; Maths 351NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published; Thinking Skills 401NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published; Writing 11NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published task | Same counts. Reading gives one mark per answer, as the Department's online practice does 1NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published |
| Answer options | Maths 51NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published options; Thinking Skills 41NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published | Same |
| Reading texts | Texts include non-fiction, fiction, poetry, magazine articles and reports1NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published | Same kinds: paired stories, a poem, a word-gap text, a sentence-gap text and short extracts to match |
| Screen | On computers provided by the Department3NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published | Similar, in any browser: a timer you can hide, a question map, flags and cross-outs |
| Calculator | No calculator1NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published | None. Ask your child to work on paper |
| Working paper | 23NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published sheets, more on request | Bring your own |
| Saving | Saved automatically every 30 seconds3NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published | Kept in this tab only. A reload carries on; finishing, leaving or closing the tab clears it |
| Marking | Multiple choice is computer-marked, with manual reliability checks4NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published; results come as bands 4NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published | Marked in the page: a mark for each answer, the right answer and why |
| Questions that don't count | Common items do not count3NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published | Every question counts |
| Who writes it | The Department. Papers from the computer tests: Not published1NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Not published | SelectiveReady, independently. Written to the published format, not copied from any test |
Which free Selective practice tests are there?
There are three kinds, and they do different jobs: the Department's online tests, its older PDF tests, and independent practice like ours.
Department PDF practice tests
31NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published sample tests with explanations of answers1NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published. They are older paper-based versions1NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published, so the layout differs from today's test. Personal, non-commercial use only1NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published.
These free sections
Full-length timed sections in the page, with every answer explained. They don't replace the Department's tests, so use both.
Where are the Department's own practice tests?
On the Department's Selective practice tests page. We link to them rather than copy them, and keep them apart from our own questions. See every official paper and sample, with its format.
How do you run a practice section at home?
Copy the real morning: a quiet room, a timer that doesn't stop, no calculator and paper for working. Then sit together afterwards to read the explanations.
Pick a calm morning
Not straight after school. The real test is a morning sitting.
A quiet room and a screen
A laptop or desktop is closest, because the real test is on computers provided by the Department3NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published. A tablet works too.
Start the timer and leave it running
No pausing and no help. If time runs out, that tells you something useful about pace.
Review together, kindly
Ask your child to explain one wrong answer back to you. Praise the effort, not the mark.
What does a practice score tell you, and what can't it?
It tells you which questions and topics your child missed, and how the time went. It can't tell you a band, a rank or whether your child will get an offer.
Which answers were wrong, and why. Each one comes back with the right answer and the reason.
Which topics to practise. Marks by topic, weakest first, point to the next lesson.
How the time went. Unanswered questions at the end usually mean pace, not knowledge.
Not a band. Real reports place a child in a band compared with everyone who sat that year: Top 10% · next 15% · next 25% · lowest 50%4NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published.
A low practice score early on is normal and useful: it shows where to start. The Department says the real test is not a measure of school learning4NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published, so no score says how your child is doing at school.
What should my child do after a free section?
Read every explanation, pick the one weakest topic, practise just that, then try another section on a different day. The Department says a small amount of preparation is enough 5NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published, so keep it short.
To spread practice over the weeks before the test, try the preparation planner.
If Thinking Skills was hardest
Learn one method that works on every question type, and try three questions with the reasons shown.
If the writing felt stuck
See how a persuasive piece is planned and built, with a lesson clip and a model answer.
If time ran out
Sit the same section again another day and aim to see every question once. Then read our guide to the whole test.
How often should my child do a practice test?
Less often than you might think. The Department says coaching is not necessary1NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published and that a small amount of preparation is enough.
Reviewing a section well teaches more than sitting several in a row. Leave a few days between sections to practise the weak topic.
How hard should practice questions be?
At the test's level, not above it. The test uses concepts from the NSW curriculum up to Year 61NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published, so very advanced material isn't needed.
If your child misses most questions in one topic, go back to that topic's lesson before trying again.
What does a free account add?
It keeps results and adds the full test screen, with all four sections in order. The free sections on this page need no account, and your child can take one full practice test with results, with a free account2SelectiveReady · 12 October 2026 · Published.
| Plan | Price | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | A$96SelectiveReady · 12 October 2026 · Published a week | It renews every 7 days until you cancel2SelectiveReady · 12 October 2026 · Published. Cancel any time in Settings → Manage plan2SelectiveReady · 12 October 2026 · Published. |
| 12-Month Pack | A$996SelectiveReady · 12 October 2026 · Published once | It gives full access for 12 months from the day you pay2SelectiveReady · 12 October 2026 · Published. Never renews2SelectiveReady · 12 October 2026 · Published. Change-of-mind refund within 77SelectiveReady · 15 October 2026 · Published days if no full practice test has been completed. |
Both plans include NSW Selective practice: four sections, results, lessons, writing feedback2SelectiveReady · 12 October 2026 · Published. Prices are in Australian dollars, with no GST charged2SelectiveReady · 12 October 2026 · Published. There is no promised score, placement or offer2SelectiveReady · 12 October 2026 · Published.
Can my child use a phone, tablet or printer?
A phone or tablet works, but a laptop or desktop is closest to the day, because the real test is on computers provided by the Department3NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published. The sections run in any up-to-date browser.
For Writing, a keyboard helps: on the day, children plan on paper or on screen, then type1NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published.
Our sections are on screen only, with no printable version. The Department's PDF tests can be printed: they are for personal, non-commercial use only1NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published.
Questions parents ask about Selective practice tests
Are there free Selective practice tests from the Department?
Yes. The Department has free online practice tests that copy the real test screen 1NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published, and 31NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published PDF sample tests with answers. The PDFs are older paper-based versions1NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published.
Are past Selective test papers available?
Not from the computer-based tests. Whether the Department will release them is not published1NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Not published. Papers sold as past papers are written by other people to match the format.
Is this the same difficulty as the real test?
We match the format, counts and timing, not a known difficulty, because the real papers aren't released. Treat the result as practice, and use the Department's online test to check the screen.
Can a practice score predict an offer or a band?
No. Bands compare your child with everyone who sat the real test that year 4NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published, and offers depend on test performance and the order of your school choices8NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published.
Does my child need an account?
No. Every section on this page runs without an account, and nothing is sent. Answers stay in this browser tab until your child finishes, and an account only adds saved results.
Is the real Selective test done online?
It's on screen, but not on your own device. Children sit it on computers provided by the Department3NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published, and answers save every 30 seconds3NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published.
Is this the same as a mock exam day?
No. Families often call a mock exam day a trial: a full sitting in a hall, run by a coaching business, usually for a fee. These are free practice sections your child does at home, one at a time, with every answer explained.
Can my child do a section more than once?
Yes. Try this again restarts the same section. The questions are the same, so a second score shows what your child learnt from the explanations, not a fresh measure.
Is the free writing task marked?
No. Your child gets a timer, a word count and a self-check against the marking criteria. A marked report needs an account, and that feedback is automated AI feedback, not a Department mark2SelectiveReady · 12 October 2026 · Published.