For every guess about a character, ask your child which words in the story prove it.
Practice test 1 is free. No card needed.
Inference questions ask what a text suggests but doesn't say; the right option rests on a clue you can point to. Children in Year 7 now meet them in Year 8, in the exam expected in June 2027.
Checked by the SelectiveReady team on 12 October 2026 · Updated 27 October 2026 · How we check facts
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ACER says Reading tests finding information in texts, and linking, interpreting, reflecting on and judging their ideas. An inference question is about interpreting: the story leaves clues, and your child works out what they mean.
The questions below are ours and share one short story, The MISC Box, about Theo helping Nell pack to leave home. Each one shows the answer and the working, so read them together. For each wrong option, ask which line it seems to rest on, then find the clue the explanation points to.
Nell's boxes had been stacked in the hallway for three days, and Theo had walked past them so many times that he could have drawn them with his eyes shut. The biggest one said BOOKS in thick black marker. The smallest one, which had once held a toaster, said MISC, and Theo suspected it held most of the things she actually cared about.
'You could help, you know,' Nell said from her bedroom doorway on the last evening.
'I am helping. I'm staying out of the way.'
She threw a rolled-up sock at him, which he caught without looking, and she laughed, and for a moment it was an ordinary evening.
He did help, in the end. He carried the BOOKS box to the car and complained loudly about its weight, and he wrapped her desk lamp in three tea towels when one would have done. When their father asked who was going to use Nell's room now, Theo said he hadn't thought about it, although he had already measured whether his drum kit would fit under the window.
In the morning there was a lot of hugging in the driveway. Theo had decided in advance that he would not be the sort of person who stood waving until a car turned the corner, so he went inside before the engine had even started. He sat on the stairs. Through the frosted glass of the front door he watched the blurred shape of the car reverse, pause and pull away.
Later, when he finally went into her room with his tape measure, he found the MISC box on the bed. Taped to the lid was a note in her handwriting: For Theo. You'll know what to do with these. He didn't open it straight away. He sat beside it for a while, the tape measure still in his hand, listening to how quiet the house had become.
Why does Theo wrap Nell's desk lamp in three tea towels 'when one would have done'?
Answer: D
Answer: D
Ask what the extra care shows. Theo acts as if he is not bothered, yet he takes more care than he needs to, which hints at feelings he does not say out loud. Nothing in the passage supports A, B or C; the father only asks about the room.
When their father asks who will use Nell's room, Theo says he 'hadn't thought about it'. Why does he say this?
Answer: B
Answer: B
Compare his words with his actions. He 'had already measured whether his drum kit would fit', so he has thought about it; saying otherwise avoids looking pleased while his sister is leaving. Option C fits his hidden sadness, but the measuring shows he means to use the room himself. Option D fails because he only finds the box later.
At the end, Theo sits beside the MISC box 'for a while' instead of opening it. What best explains this?
Answer: A
Answer: A
Link the ending to the first paragraph, where Theo suspects the MISC box 'held most of the things she actually cared about'. Finding it left for him, in a house now quiet, he takes in what that gift means. Option D is tempting because he still holds the tape measure, but he sits instead of measuring. The note 'For Theo' rules out C.
Start from a clue and finish with proof. That keeps each guess tied to the words on the page, which is where the right option comes from.
These steps are ours, drawn from the working in the answers above.
Find the line the question quotes and read the sentences around it.
Look at what a character does as well as what they say. Extra care, a small fib or a pause can all mean something.
When a character says one thing and does another, ask which of the two the rest of the story backs up.
The hardest question here joins the ending to a detail near the start, so look back before choosing.
The right option is backed by something in the text. If your child can't find that line, the option is a guess.
Each trap below comes from one of the questions above. Ask your child which one would have caught them, and give it a name, so they can watch for it in the next story.
Pause in a story your child is reading and ask, "How do you know she's upset? Show me the words." Then ask what else the clue could mean.
Watch a short scene from a show with the sound off. Talk about what the people feel and how you can tell.
ACER says these skills grow over time, through a culture of learning, varied engaging material and talking freely about ideas. So a few minutes of this talk, week after week, is worth more than a rush before the exam.
In Victoria, Reading shares one 55-minute sitting with Verbal Reasoning. Three questions show the method; a full sitting shows whether your child can still find the clue with the clock running.
Practice test 1 runs both parts together under the real time, and it's one full practice test with results, with a free account. Afterwards you'll see results by skill, so you know whether inference costs more marks than finding details. If the first score is low, keep it in proportion: ACER says half the questions correct is not unusual.
For another story and an information text, both with worked answers, see VIC selective entry reading questions.
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
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