Important Information

The Edutest practice tests, for current students in years 4-10, give students an idea of the style and format of questions that they will encounter on the day of their scholarship exam, but not necessarily the level of difficulty that a scholarship exam will present.

The practice tests only have 20 questions per test, while the actual scholarship exams are more detailed and have more questions, with varying degrees of difficulty.

It must be remembered that scholarship and entrance exams are quite demanding and are designed to discriminate students at the top end.

It is important to understand that when sitting a scholarship or entrance test, most children will only get half of the questions correct. Whilst we are unable to provide you with a “score” that is typical, it is quite normal for children to get only half of the questions correct. In fact, on some occasions children who get less than half correct may still receive a relatively good score. It is also very important to explain this to your child, ensuring that they too have realistic expectations prior to sitting the tests. In addition, most scholarship/entrance tests are designed in such a way that many children may not finish every question, so you and your child should not panic if this is the case. Once all tests have been scored, schools often provide you with a parent report that goes into a lot more detail about your child's score in comparison to the normal population.

Each scholarship/entrance test is 30 minutes long and the students do not get any additional reading time. Additional reading time is usually introduced into exams when students are required to provide an essay type response or where they have the choice to answer one question from a list (in which case the extra reading time allows them to decide which question they wish to answer). Therefore, with regard to a multiple-choice test, extra reading time is not necessary. However, prior to commencing each of our tests the administrator will go through three practice examples with the group, ensuring that they have an understanding of what to expect.

Therefore, practice tests are designed to make the student feel comfortable with the style of question. They are not coaching tools and therefore they cannot entirely duplicate the actual scholarship material.

Please remember that schools take many factors into consideration when offering a scholarship:

• how many places they can offer;
• there may be gender considerations in some coeducational schools;
• interview with the student and parents;
• interest or motivation of the student in wanting to attend the school;
• school reports;
• community involvement or extra-curricular activities etc.

Please check with individual schools about their scholarship and entrance selection process.

Also, there are many other factors that can affect your child’s performance on the day of a scholarship/entrance exam: whether they have a good night’s sleep; any pressure they feel to do well; and their motivation.

The best advice is to ensure that your child is as relaxed as possible, and that they try to do their best.