Teach your child to underline the clue in pencil before deciding what a character feels.
Practice test 1 is free. No card needed.
An inference question asks what the text shows without saying it, and the right option always rests on a clue in the passage. Children in Year 5 now meet them in the ASET on 6 March 2027.
Checked by the SelectiveReady team on 12 October 2026 · Updated 27 October 2026 · How we check facts
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It points to a moment in the story and asks what that moment suggests. A raised eyebrow, a small gift or a joke can be the clue, but the answer itself is never written out.
These three are ours, on one short story, Moving Day: Lachlan helps his big sister Imogen pack for university. The last question asks about Lachlan across the whole story, so it's the hardest.
Each shows the answer and the working. As you read them together, ask your child to read out the line that backs each right answer. An answer with no line behind it is a guess, and that's the habit to work on.
The removal truck was due at nine, and by half past eight Lachlan had carried every box marked "Imogen" out to the front verandah. He did it quickly and without being asked, which made Mum raise her eyebrows at Dad over the top of her mug.
"Keen to get rid of me?" Imogen said, coming out with the last of her pot plants.
"Obviously," said Lachlan. "I'm getting your room. It's got the good window."
She laughed and flicked him on the ear, and he ducked away the way he always did.
When the truck had gone and Imogen's little car was packed so full that the passenger seat had disappeared under a beanbag, the family stood in the driveway. The university was a four-hour drive away. Mum hugged her twice. Dad gave her a long speech about tyre pressure. Lachlan looked at the gutter.
"Here," he said at last, and pushed something into her hand. It was the old torch from the shed, the heavy one with the cracked handle that the two of them had used for years to read comics under the blankets in the backyard tent.
"I put new batteries in," he said. "In case the city has blackouts or something."
Imogen turned the torch over. For a moment she didn't say anything at all. Then she put it on the dashboard, where she could see it.
That night Lachlan didn't move into the room with the good window. He said he couldn't be bothered carrying all his stuff, and anyway, it would only get messy again.
Mum raises her eyebrows at Dad when she sees Lachlan carrying out the boxes. What does this suggest?
Answer: A
Answer: A
Raised eyebrows show surprise, and Mum shares the look with Dad because Lachlan helped 'quickly and without being asked'. People are surprised by what is unusual, so this is not how Lachlan normally behaves. Option B is tempting, but nothing suggests the boxes are in the way; C is wrong because the truck was not due until nine.
Why does Lachlan look at the gutter while the family says goodbye?
Answer: C
Answer: C
Watch what a character does, not only what he says. Mum hugs Imogen twice, but Lachlan looks away, then gives her a treasured torch they shared. That points to sadness he is hiding. Option B is tempting because he jokes about wanting her room, but the gift shows he does not want her gone.
Which statement best explains Lachlan's behaviour across the whole story?
Answer: B
Answer: B
Look for the one explanation that fits every moment, not only one. His joke about the room, his quick packing, looking away, the torch and staying out of her room all fit B. A fits only his words, and C ignores the gift he gives her. D takes the 'blackouts' excuse at face value, when the torch is really a shared memory.
The handbook says everything your child needs is printed on the paper, so no special subject knowledge is needed. That holds for inference too: the clue is in the story, even when an option sounds truer to life.
Find the clue first, decide what it shows, and only then read the options. In that order, a likely-sounding option can't do the thinking for your child.
The ASET is on paper, in pencil, so your child can underline the clue as they read. Rough working is fine in the question booklet, but markers never see it.
Underline the look, action or words the question points to, like Mum's raised eyebrows.
Raised eyebrows show surprise. Looking away during a goodbye can hide a feeling.
A character can joke about one thing and do another. When the two clash, trust what they do.
For a question about the whole text, the right answer fits every moment, not just the opening.
Each wrong option here is tempting for a reason. Once you have read all three together, go through the list and ask which trap your child might fall into.
Taking a joke at face value: Lachlan says he wants Imogen's room, but he gives her their old torch. The gift says more than the joke.
An option with no clue behind it: nothing in the story says the boxes block the verandah. No line, no answer.
Fitting only one moment: 'He wants her room' matches his first words, but not the ending, when he doesn't move in.
A few minutes of talk while you read does more than extra worksheets. Whenever your child names a feeling, ask how they know.
Three worked explanations show the method. A full Reading Comprehension test, 35 questions in 35 minutes, shows whether your child still finds the clue with the clock running.
Practice test 1 is free, and its results by skill show whether inference is costing marks. For eight more worked questions, see our ASET reading sample questions; our guide to ASET Reading covers the whole test.
Go back to the clue and ask which option it fully supports. The handbook's tip is to narrow it to two of the four options by ruling out obvious wrong answers, then test what's left against the story.
Year 6 children in Perth metro, Bunbury and Albany sit it on 6 March 2027. Dates for regional WA and interstate sittings are on the ASET dates page.
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.
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