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Selective Test Practice: free mock questions, practice papers and writing prompts

Twelve original Selective-style questions at Year 6 level — Reading, Mathematical Reasoning and Thinking Skills — marked instantly with worked answers, plus three writing prompts and a checklist based on how the writing test is marked.

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Updated 26 September 2026 · Test facts checked against the NSW Department of Education

Free Selective mock test: 12 questions

Before you start: the real Selective test has four tests over 155 minutes, sat on a computer with no calculator. This mini mock test samples each multiple-choice test; it cannot predict a score.

Selective mini mock test (12 questions)

Reading

Read the text, then answer questions 1–4.

Desire Lines

Look at almost any park and you will find one: a thin brown line cutting across the grass where no path was ever planned. These tracks are often called desire lines. They appear when enough people decide that the official route is too long, too awkward or simply not where they want to go. Each footstep flattens the grass a little; after hundreds of footsteps, the grass gives up.

For a long time, planners treated desire lines as a nuisance to be fenced off. Signs asked walkers to “keep to the path”, and hedges were planted to block the shortcuts. Yet the lines kept returning, sometimes on the other side of the new hedge.

More recently, some planners have taken the opposite view. Instead of fighting desire lines, they study them. A worn track across a lawn is, after all, a kind of free survey: it records exactly where people want to walk. Some have even waited a season before paving a new space, letting walkers choose the routes first.

Desire lines are a reminder that people rarely behave exactly as a plan predicts. The best designs, perhaps, are the ones that listen before they build.

1. According to the text, desire lines are formed mainly by A planners marking new routes B repeated footsteps flattening the grass C rain washing the soil away D hedges blocking the old paths

Show answer

Answer: B. “Each footstep flattens the grass a little; after hundreds of footsteps, the grass gives up.”

2. Why does the writer call a worn track “a kind of free survey”? A It costs nothing to remove it. B It shows where people actually want to walk, without anyone having to ask them. C Planners pay walkers to make it. D It measures how large the park is.

Show answer

Answer: B. A survey collects information about what people want. The track “records exactly where people want to walk” — and nobody had to run the survey.

3. What sometimes happened after hedges were planted to block a shortcut? A Walkers stopped taking shortcuts. B A new desire line formed on the other side of the hedge. C The grass grew back and the path disappeared. D The planners removed the signs.

Show answer

Answer: B. “The lines kept returning, sometimes on the other side of the new hedge.”

4. Which statement best expresses the main idea of the final paragraph? A Parks should not have any paths. B Good design pays attention to how people really behave. C Walkers should always obey signs. D Desire lines ruin lawns.

Show answer

Answer: B. “The best designs … are the ones that listen before they build” — listen to how people actually behave. A main-idea answer covers the whole paragraph, not one detail.

Mathematical Reasoning

5. A jacket costs $80. It is reduced by 25%, and then the sale price is reduced by a further 10%. What is the final price? A $52 B $54 C $56 D $58 E $60

Show answer

Answer: B. $80 − 25% = $60. Then 10% of $60 is $6, so $60 − $6 = $54. Adding the percentages (35% off → $52) is the trap: the second discount applies to the new price.

6. The ratio of boys to girls in a class is 4 : 5. There are 27 students. How many more girls than boys are there? A 1 B 3 C 5 D 9 E 12

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Answer: B. 4 + 5 = 9 parts = 27 students, so 1 part = 3. Boys 12, girls 15: 3 more girls (which is exactly 1 part).

7. The average of five numbers is 18. Four of the numbers are 12, 20, 15 and 22. What is the fifth number? A 18 B 19 C 21 D 23 E 25

Show answer

Answer: C. Five numbers with an average of 18 add up to 5 × 18 = 90. The four known numbers add to 69, so the fifth is 90 − 69 = 21.

8. A train travels 180 km in 2 hours 15 minutes. What is its average speed? A 72 km/h B 75 km/h C 80 km/h D 85 km/h E 90 km/h

Show answer

Answer: C. 2 hours 15 minutes = 2¼ hours = 9 quarter-hours. 180 ÷ 9 = 20 km every quarter-hour, so 4 × 20 = 80 km/h. (Using 2.15 hours is the classic mistake.)

Thinking Skills

9. Five friends sit in a row of five seats, numbered 1 to 5 from left to right. Priya sits in seat 3. Omar sits directly to the left of Priya. Kate sits at the right-hand end. Leo does not sit next to Kate. Who sits in seat 4? A Leo B Omar C Sam D Kate

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Answer: C. Priya is in 3, Omar in 2, Kate in 5. Leo and Sam fill seats 1 and 4. Seat 4 is next to Kate, and Leo is not next to Kate, so Leo is in seat 1 and Sam is in seat 4.

10. Maya says: “Every time I wear my blue socks, our team wins. So my blue socks make our team win.” Which statement best explains the flaw in Maya’s reasoning? A Two things happening together does not show that one causes the other. B Socks come in many colours. C Maya might not play in every game. D The team must lose sometimes.

Show answer

Answer: A. Maya confuses correlation with cause. The team may win for other reasons (training, opponents) whichever socks she wears.

11. A clock gains 3 minutes every hour. It is set to the correct time at 9:00 am. What time does it show when the correct time is 5:00 pm the same day? A 5:03 pm B 5:21 pm C 5:24 pm D 5:27 pm

Show answer

Answer: C. 9:00 am to 5:00 pm is 8 hours. 8 × 3 = 24 minutes gained, so the clock shows 5:24 pm.

12. “If it rains, the school fair will be held in the hall.” The fair was not held in the hall. If the statement is true, which of these must also be true? A It rained. B It did not rain. C The hall was closed. D The fair was cancelled.

Show answer

Answer: B. If rain always means the hall, then “not in the hall” means it cannot have rained. (The reverse does not work: holding it in the hall would not prove it rained.)

Selective writing practice: prompts and a marking checklist

The writing test is one task in 30 minutes, worth a quarter of the result. Choose a prompt, set a timer and use the plan 5 minutes planning · 20 minutes writing · 5 minutes checking.

Story. “The door had been locked for as long as anyone could remember. This morning, it was open.” Write a story that begins or ends with these words.
Persuasive. Should every student be allowed to drop one school subject they never want to study again? Write to persuade your principal.
Open choice. Write about a time when something small turned out to matter a great deal. You may write a story, a diary entry or a reflection.

Check the finished piece against this list

Ideas: is there one clear, interesting idea — something the reader would not have predicted?
Purpose and audience: does the form fit the task (a story that builds, or an argument aimed at the named reader)?
Structure: a clear opening, paragraphs that each do one job, and an ending that lands.
Sentences and style: varied sentence lengths and openings; vocabulary chosen for precision, not length.
Accuracy: punctuation (especially dialogue), spelling and grammar checked in the last five minutes.
Length: the Department says responses should not be longer than two pages — quality beats length.

Writing improves fastest with feedback from someone else. Our Selective exam preparation includes written feedback on every piece. For reading and writing technique, see OC & Selective English preparation.

Selective test timing: how long per question?

Average time available per answer
Test	Time	Per answer
Reading	45 min, 38 answers	about 70 seconds
Mathematical Reasoning	40 min, 35 questions	about 70 seconds
Thinking Skills	40 min, 40 questions	60 seconds
Writing	30 min, 1 task	5 plan · 20 write · 5 check

Averages hide the real skill: knowing when to leave a question and come back. There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so a best guess always beats a blank.

More Selective practice papers and tests

Official Selective practice tests

The NSW Department of Education publishes computer-based practice tests and three PDF practice tests with explained answers. Open the official Selective practice tests.

Maths practice

Six worked examples and eight practice questions for Mathematical Reasoning: OC & Selective maths.

Reading practice

Poetry, gap-fill and the four reading question types: OC & Selective English.

Thinking Skills method

The elimination grid for logic questions: logical deduction, solved properly.

The Selective test at a glance

NSW Selective High School Placement Test (Year 6, for Year 7 entry)
Test	Questions	Time	Weighting
Reading	17 (3 have several parts; 38 answers in all)	45 min	25%
Mathematical Reasoning	35	40 min	25%
Thinking Skills	40	40 min	25%
Writing	1 task	30 min	25%

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Questions parents ask

Where can I find Selective practice papers?

The NSW Department of Education publishes official practice tests — computer-based ones and three PDF tests with answers. This page adds a free mini mock test, writing prompts and a marking checklist; our live classes add full timed mock tests with feedback.

How should my child practise Selective writing?

One timed piece a week (30 minutes), using a mix of story, persuasive and open prompts, followed by feedback and a rewrite of one paragraph. Reading good writing every day helps too.

Is the Selective test harder than the OC test?

Yes. It is sat two years later, the Reading and Thinking Skills tests are longer, and there is a Writing test, which the OC test does not have.

Is there negative marking in the Selective test?

No. In the multiple-choice tests, wrong and unanswered questions both score zero, so every question should be answered.

What does “OCSC” mean?

Some families use “OCSC” as shorthand for the NSW OC (Opportunity Class) and Selective tests together. They are two separate tests run by the NSW Department of Education: the OC test in Year 4 for Year 5 entry, and the Selective High School test in Year 6 for Year 7 entry.

Is Mathkari affiliated with the NSW Department of Education?

No. Mathkari Concepts is an independent tutoring provider. Facts about the tests on this page come from the Department’s published information, and every practice question here is our own original material.

NSW OC & Selective exam preparation

OC exam preparationThe NSW Opportunity Class test in Year 4: format, dates and live one-to-one OC tutoring.
Selective exam preparationThe NSW Selective test in Year 6: all four tests, including Writing.
OC practice testA free OC mini mock test, marked instantly, plus the free OC sample paper.
Selective practice testFree Selective mock questions, practice papers and writing prompts.
OC & Selective mathsMathematical Reasoning: topics, worked examples and practice questions.
OC & Selective EnglishReading question types, practice texts, and Selective Writing.

Free guides: What’s on the OC test The Selective test, section by section Key dates and how to apply How OC and Selective scores work A 6-month OC study plan Thinking Skills: logical deduction The four kinds of reading question

Sources

Mathkari Concepts is an independent tutoring provider and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NSW Department of Education. All practice questions on this page are original Mathkari material.

Attempt the free Selective practice tests online

Every paper is attempted online and marked the moment you finish — nothing to download. The first three questions are open to everyone.

All Selective practice tests →