Read every label before any sum, then check which whole a share is out of.
Practice test 1 is free. No card needed.
Tables and charts questions are solved by reading every label first, then working out averages, missing values or shares. Children in Year 7 now sit the exam in Year 8 , expected in June 2027.
Checked by the SelectiveReady team on 12 October 2026 · Updated 27 October 2026 · How we check facts
Independent. Not affiliated with the Victorian Department of Education or ACER.
A tables and charts question gives a set of data and asks for an average, a missing value or a share of a group. It sits in the Mathematics part, which shares a 60-minute sitting with Quantitative Reasoning.
ACER says the Maths part tests year-level maths knowledge and reasoning, and using maths in real-world contexts. A table of quiz scores or visitor numbers is one everyday setting for that.
These three are our own questions, from easier to harder: quiz scores, garden visitors and how students travel to school. Each one shows the answer and the working, so read them with your child.
As you read, ask your child to read out the row and column each step uses. A right sum on the wrong row is the slip to look for first.
The table shows the scores of five friends in a 20-question science quiz. What is the mean (average) score?
| Student | Score |
|---|---|
| Aiko | 14 |
| Ben | 9 |
| Chloe | 12 |
| Dev | 15 |
| Ella | 15 |
Answer: B
Answer: B
Add the scores and divide by how many there are: 14 + 9 + 12 + 15 + 15 = 65, and 65 ÷ 5 = 13. The tempting 14 is the median (the middle score once they are put in order), and 15 is the most common score. Both are averages of a kind, but not the mean.
The table shows the number of visitors to a community garden over six days. Saturday's number is missing. The mean (average) number of visitors per day over the six days was 45. How many visitors came on Saturday?
| Day | Visitors |
|---|---|
| Monday | 38 |
| Tuesday | 42 |
| Wednesday | 40 |
| Thursday | 51 |
| Friday | 47 |
| Saturday | ? |
Answer: C
Answer: C
A mean of 45 over 6 days means 45 × 6 = 270 visitors in total. The five known days add to 218, so Saturday had 270 − 218 = 52. The tempting 7 comes from multiplying by 5 days instead of 6, and 270 is the total, a step before the answer.
200 students in Years 7 and 8 were asked how they travel to school. Some numbers are missing from the table. One quarter of the Year 8 students walk. What percentage of the students who travel by bus are in Year 7?
| Year 7 | Year 8 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walk | ? | ? | 56 |
| Bus | ? | 36 | ? |
| Car | 20 | ? | ? |
| Bike | 10 | 14 | 24 |
| Total | ? | 120 | 200 |
Answer: D
Answer: D
A quarter of 120 is 30 Year 8 walkers, so 26 Year 7 students walk. Year 7 has 200 − 120 = 80 students, so 80 − 26 − 20 − 10 = 24 go by bus. There are 24 + 36 = 60 bus travellers, and 24 out of 60 is 40%. The tempting 30% is 24 out of 80: the share of Year 7 who catch the bus.
Read before you calculate: in these questions, careful reading matters as much as the sums. These steps are ours, drawn from the working in the answers above.
Before any sum, read the title, the row and column headings, and what the numbers count.
The mean is the total shared out equally. The median is the middle value once they are in order. The mode is the most common value.
If you know the mean and how many values there are, multiply them to get the total. Then take away the values you already have.
Each row and column adds up to its total. Fill a gap that is the only unknown in its row or column, then look again.
A percentage needs the right whole. Reread the question to see which group it is a share of.
Each wrong option below is a real number from the table or the working, used for the wrong job. For each one, ask your child what that number is, then which number the question wants.
Use everyday numbers. Keep a week of footy scores, temperatures or screen time in a small table. Ask for the mean, the median and the range.
Then hide one value, tell your child the mean, and ask them to find the missing one. For two-way tables, sort the family's shoes by owner and type, and fill in the totals together.
Tables take time to read, so check your child can still read every label at exam pace. Practice test 1 in our selective entry practice tests is free and follows the real exam's parts and times, with results by skill afterwards.
For more worked items, see our maths sample questions. For the whole part, see VIC selective entry mathematics.
Practice test 1 marks every answer and shows results by skill: what your child already does well and the three skills to work on next.
Practise for the real test
Practice test 1 is free. Then packs from A$109 for 12 months, or A$9 a week, per exam.