Edutest Scholarship Exams: What They Are, How They Work & How to Prepare

If you're exploring private school scholarships in Victoria, you will almost certainly encounter the name Edutest. Edutest is the largest provider of scholarship entrance examinations for independent schools across Australia, and its assessments are used by 29+ Victorian private schools — from Brighton Grammar and Caulfield Grammar to Wesley College and Trinity Grammar.

This guide explains what Edutest is, how its scholarship exams work, how they differ from the ACER selective entry exam, and how to prepare effectively. If your child is sitting a scholarship exam at a Victorian independent school, this article is for you.

What Is Edutest?

Edutest is an Australian educational testing company that designs and administers standardised scholarship entrance exams on behalf of independent (private) schools. Schools contract Edutest to create, run, and mark their scholarship assessments, ensuring a consistent, fair, and rigorous selection process.

Unlike the government selective entry exam (which is administered by ACER for the four state selective entry schools), Edutest scholarship exams are used by private schools to award academic scholarships — typically partial or full fee remissions for high-achieving students.

Which Victorian Schools Use Edutest?

As of 2026, the following Victorian independent schools (among others) use Edutest for their scholarship entrance examinations:

• Brighton Grammar School
• Camberwell Girls Grammar School
• Carey Baptist Grammar School
• Caulfield Grammar School
• Fintona Girls' School
• Geelong Grammar School
• Hume Anglican Grammar
• Kilvington Grammar School
• Methodist Ladies' College (MLC)
• St Catherine's School
• The Knox School
• Trinity Grammar School
• Wesley College
• Westbourne Grammar School

This is not an exhaustive list — over 29 Victorian schools use Edutest, and the full, up-to-date list is published on the Edutest website. Schools in other states (Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia) also use Edutest, but Victoria has the largest concentration.

Important: Always check directly with your target school to confirm which testing provider they use, as this can change from year to year. Some schools use ACER or Academic Assessment Services (AAS) instead of Edutest.

Edutest Scholarship Exam Format

The standard Edutest Year 7 scholarship exam consists of five components — four multiple-choice sections and one written expression task. The total testing time is approximately 2.5–3 hours including breaks.

Section Breakdown

Note: Individual schools may customise the exam slightly — some schools omit written expression, add an interview round, or adjust time limits. Always confirm the exact format with your school.

Ability Tests vs Achievement Tests

Edutest categorises its assessments into two types:

• Ability tests (Verbal Reasoning and Numerical Reasoning) assess problem-solving and reasoning capability. These sections test how a student thinks, not what they have memorised. No specific prior knowledge is required beyond basic literacy and numeracy.
• Achievement tests (Mathematics and Reading Comprehension) assess learned knowledge and skills. These sections are curriculum-based and test content the student should have covered in school up to their current year level.

This two-part structure is a distinctive feature of Edutest. Scholarship panels look at both types of score — they want students who are both academically strong and naturally capable reasoners.

Edutest vs ACER: Key Differences

Many Victorian families prepare for both scholarship exams (Edutest) and the government selective entry exam (ACER). While the subjects tested overlap significantly, there are important differences in style, difficulty, and purpose.

Purpose

• Edutest: Used by private schools to award academic scholarships (fee remissions). Students can sit exams at multiple schools.
• ACER: Used by the Victorian Department of Education for entry into the four government selective entry schools (Melbourne High, Mac.Robertson Girls', Nossal, Suzanne Cory). One exam, one sitting.

Question Style

• Edutest mathematics tends to be more straightforward — questions test curriculum knowledge directly, with clearer wording and less emphasis on multi-step problem solving. The reasoning component is separated into its own Numerical Reasoning section.
• ACER mathematics blends curriculum content with reasoning and problem solving within the same section. Questions are often worded as real-world scenarios requiring students to formulate the mathematical approach before solving. ACER uses simpler arithmetic but harder reasoning.

Question Volume and Pacing

• Edutest: More questions per section (~60 in maths, ~50 in reading comprehension in 30 minutes each). This creates significant time pressure — students must work quickly and cannot afford to spend too long on any single question.
• ACER: Fewer questions per section (30–35 in maths in 30 minutes). Each question may require more thought, but there is comparatively more time per question.

Timing

• Edutest scholarship exams are held between February and March each year, with registration typically opening in the preceding October–November.
• The ACER selective entry exam is held in June, with applications opening in February–March.

This means scholarship exams come first in the calendar year. Many families use Edutest scholarship exams as valuable practice leading into the ACER selective entry exam a few months later.

Entry Level

• Edutest: Schools offer scholarships at various entry points — most commonly Year 7, but also Year 5, Year 9, and Year 10 depending on the school.
• ACER selective entry: Entry at Year 9 only (exam sat in Year 8).

How Edutest Scholarship Exams Are Scored

Each section of the Edutest exam is scored separately. Schools receive a detailed report for each candidate, typically including:

• Raw scores per section
• Scaled or standardised scores for comparison across candidates
• Percentile rankings showing how the student performed relative to all other candidates

Schools set their own scholarship thresholds — there is no single “pass mark” across all Edutest schools. A score that earns a scholarship at one school may not be sufficient at another, depending on the number of applicants and places available.

Result sharing: When a student registers for multiple schools that test on the same day, Edutest coordinates so the student sits the exam once and the results are shared across those schools. This saves students from sitting multiple identical exams.

When to Start Preparing

Because Edutest scholarship exams are held in February–March, preparation needs to begin well before the school year starts. A solid preparation timeline looks like this:

• 6–12 months before (the preceding year): Build foundational skills. Focus on curriculum-based mathematics, reading widely, and developing vocabulary. Introduce reasoning question types gradually.
• 3–6 months before: Begin regular practice papers covering all four multiple-choice sections. Start untimed, then progressively introduce time limits. Review every mistake carefully.
• 1–3 months before: Shift to full timed practice under exam conditions. Focus on pacing — with ~60 maths questions in 30 minutes, speed is critical. Simulate the full exam experience fortnightly.
• Final 2 weeks: Light revision only. One or two confidence-building practice sessions. Prioritise sleep, nutrition, and arriving calm on exam day.

For a more detailed preparation timeline covering study strategies and cognitive science principles, see our step-by-step preparation guide. The strategies apply equally to Edutest and ACER preparation.

Preparation Strategies by Section

Mathematics

Edutest maths covers the standard curriculum up to the student's current year level: arithmetic, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratios, algebra, geometry, measurement, and statistics. The key challenge is speed — approximately 60 questions in 30 minutes means roughly 30 seconds per question.

• Build fluency with mental arithmetic (10 minutes of daily drills).
• Master common formulas so they are automatic (area, perimeter, volume, percentage calculations).
• Practise skipping and returning to difficult questions — never spend more than 45 seconds on one question.
• Use estimation to eliminate obviously wrong answers quickly.

For detailed topic coverage and study techniques, see our mathematics preparation guide.

Numerical Reasoning

This section tests pattern recognition, number sequences, data interpretation, and logical relationships with numbers. No specific mathematical knowledge is required beyond basic arithmetic — it tests how you think with numbers.

• Practise identifying sequence rules: addition, multiplication, alternating, combined operations.
• For data questions, read axis labels and scales carefully before attempting calculations.
• Look for patterns across rows and columns in number matrices.

See our numerical reasoning guide for detailed strategies.

Verbal Reasoning

Edutest verbal reasoning covers analogies, odd-one-out, codes and ciphers, logical deduction, and word relationships. This section rewards broad vocabulary and flexible thinking.

• Read widely across fiction, non-fiction, and newspapers to build vocabulary naturally.
• Learn word roots, prefixes, and suffixes to decode unfamiliar words.
• For analogies, define the relationship before looking at options.
• For codes, write out the alphabet numbered A=1 to Z=26 as a reference.

See our verbal reasoning strategies guide for in-depth techniques.

Reading Comprehension

Students read passages of varying genres and answer questions on main idea, inference, vocabulary in context, detail retrieval, and author purpose. The passages range from fiction and poetry to persuasive and informational texts.

• Use the three-pass method: skim the passage, read the questions, then re-read targeted sections.
• For inference questions, find specific textual evidence before choosing an answer.
• For vocabulary in context, substitute each option into the sentence to test which fits naturally.

See our reading comprehension strategies guide for detailed techniques.

Exam Day: What to Know

Registration

Unlike the ACER selective entry exam (which has a single centralised application), Edutest scholarship exams require you to register through each individual school's website. Each school charges its own application fee. If your child is applying to multiple schools, you will need to register and pay separately for each one.

Testing Logistics

• Exams are held at the school's campus (or a venue nominated by the school).
• If your child is registered for multiple schools testing on the same day, Edutest coordinates — they sit the exam once at one location and results are shared with the other schools.
• Bring pencils (HB or 2B), an eraser, and a clear water bottle. Calculators are not permitted.
• Arrive 20–30 minutes early. Allow time to find the venue, settle in, and manage nerves.

After the Exam

Results are sent directly to the schools, which then notify families of scholarship offers. Timelines vary by school — some respond within weeks, others take longer. If your child is offered a scholarship, you will typically have a set period to accept or decline.

Can You Prepare for Both Edutest and ACER?

Absolutely — and many Victorian families do exactly this. The four core subjects (Mathematics, Numerical Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, Reading Comprehension) are tested in both exams, so preparation for one directly benefits the other.

The main differences to account for are:

• Pacing: Edutest has more questions per section, so practise working at high speed. ACER has fewer questions but requires deeper thinking per question.
• Maths style: Supplement Edutest-style curriculum maths with ACER-style reasoning and word problems.
• Calendar: Use the Edutest exam in February–March as a real-world practice run for the ACER exam in June. The experience of sitting a formal exam under pressure is invaluable.

Practise with EduSpark

EduSpark offers timed practice papers in both ACER format (35 questions, 30 minutes for maths) and Edutest format (60 questions, 30 minutes for maths) across all four subjects: Mathematics, Numerical Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension.

Every question includes a detailed step-by-step explanation, and results are auto-corrected instantly so your child can review mistakes immediately — when the reasoning is still fresh. Our Edutest-format papers are clearly labelled, making it easy to focus preparation on the right exam style.

Paper 1 in each subject is free — no payment or subscription required. Create your free account to get started, or view our plans for full access from $59 per subject for 12 months.