ACST: Selective Test Mock Exam, Parramatta or Online | Test Academy
Test Academy Logo

Australian Computerised Selective Trial2027 test A selective trial test built to feel like the real thing.

A full mock of the NSW Selective High School Placement Test: four papers on a computer, to the real clock, sat under supervision in Parramatta or online. A percentile and a band for every paper, and a school projection built from real entry outcomes, not a guess.

Choose a sitting

Four papers on the real clock, Parramatta or online. $150 a sitting, $100 for the second.

Google reviews

What families found out early.

Thanks to Aryan’s strategic guidance and the Academy’s top-tier resources, Ayansh cleared every hurdle and secured a direct offer to his dream school [Sydney Boys]! We couldn’t have asked for a better partner in this journey.
Sydney Boys direct offer Praveen Singh Google review
My daughter’s academic skill improved significantly within Test Academy’s selective course run by Arya and Aryan. She successfully gained an offer from her dream school, James Ruse.
James Ruse offer Khadga Tamang Google review
He really enjoyed doing the mock tests and found the platform easy to use, with good-quality questions. It helped him get familiar with the OC test format, question types and time management, while also building his confidence.
OC offer Kamini Garg Google review
Screenshot of two parents’ Facebook comments comparing their child’s ASAT and ACST results against the August 2026 selective outcomes

“R 10, M 15, T 10, W 15. Normo first choice - offer. ASAT is no way near accurate as the actual result.”

“M 10%, TS 10%, W 10%, R 25%. Sydney boy’s offer - 1st choice. ASAT didn’t even so penrith offer - 3rd choice. Test Academy (ACST) was far more accurate.”

Two parents, August 2026 Posted in a selective-schools parent group
How it helps

Three things a sitting gives you.

Know where they stand

A percentile and a band, per paper and overall

Reading, Mathematical Reasoning, Thinking Skills and Writing are counted equally, the way the real test has counted them since 2025, so the combined result moves the way the real ranking moves.

Know what to fix

The question types that cost the marks

The report names the strongest and weakest question types on each paper, and how the clock was spent, so the next few weeks go where the marks were actually lost.

Choose schools with evidence

Every school placed in a tier

Tiers come from verified entry outcomes, not a guess, and the size of the cohort your child was ranked in is printed on the same report. Estimates from past outcomes, never offers.

Sitting 1

January: find the gaps

The first sitting shows which of the four papers deserve the hours between now and the real test, while there is still time to fix them.

Sitting 2

April: confirm it, set the preferences

A second measurement closer to the test is the one to use when you choose school preferences. Book both in one checkout and the second is $100.

Sample report

Read one before you book one.

Not a mockup: this is Ayansh’s actual April 2026 result, marks and all.

  • A band and a percentile for each paper, and for the set overall.
  • The question types that cost the marks, and how the clock was spent.
  • Writing marked against the rubric, criterion by criterion, with what to improve.
  • Every selective school placed in a tier, built from verified entry outcomes.
  • A next step, naming the paper to work on and the second sitting.

Ayansh S., April 2026 sitting. Sydney Boys offer, August 2026.

Format

The same four papers, the same clock.

Weighted equally, like the real test.

Two ways to sit it

Parramatta, or online.

Parramatta

Suite 107, 18-20 Ross Street. We provide the computer and a supervisor runs the room.

Arrive 10 minutes early with a pencil case, water and a snack. Students who arrive more than 15 minutes late cannot be admitted, because the first paper is already under way.

Capped at 16 students a sitting, so it never turns into a lecture hall.

Online

One Google Meet for the whole sitting, with a supervisor. The papers are sat on Test Academy in another tab, and the access code is given on the call, the same way it is given in the room.

Your child needs a laptop or desktop with a working camera and microphone, and a quiet room.

Same papers, same clock, same cap of 16, and the report is identical either way.

Why the cohort matters

Why a mixed room measures better than a coaching college’s own.

The Department ranks your child against about sixteen thousand Year 6 students from every school and every tutoring college in NSW, and it reports a band, not a score. A coaching college’s own trial ranks your child against that college’s own students, most of whom sit that college’s papers every week.

The ACST is sat on a computer, to the real 45, 40, 40 and 30 minute clock, by families from many colleges and from none. Every report carries a percentile and a band for each paper, the size of the cohort your child was ranked in, and a school projection checked against entry outcomes families told us about in August 2026.

It is a smaller cohort than the state’s, and we say so. It is not a cohort trained on our own questions.

ACST vs Pre-Uni ASAT

ACSTPre-Uni ASAT
Price $150 a sitting. $100 for a second sitting in the same checkout. $100 to $110 a sitting. $90 to $100 for their own enrolled students.
Device We provide the computer. Bring your own laptop, or rent one on the day for $50.
Who sits it Families from many tutoring colleges, and plenty with none. Mostly students already enrolled in their weekly trial course, sitting at a discount.
How the result is built A percentile and a band for every paper, against everyone in that sitting. A rank and a gender rank against their own candidates.
School projection A tier for every selective school, checked against entry outcomes families reported to us. Statistical indicators for school choice, described on their own site as not definitive predictions.
On accuracy We print the size of the cohort on every report. Their own materials say no warranties are made about how accurate the mock test is.

Figures for the Pre-Uni ASAT are their own current prices and published wording, checked in September 2026. Neither trial has published how closely its result has matched real offers.

Pricing

$150 a sitting.

One sittingParramatta or online, four papers $150
A second sittingBooked in the same checkout as the first $100
Both sittings $250AUD, per student
  • Four papers on the real clock
  • A supervised sitting, Parramatta or online
  • Writing marked against the rubric
  • A band and a percentile for every paper
  • School projections from verified entry outcomes
  • The full PDF report, with a sample above to read first

Adjustment codes go in at checkout. A sitting booked later, on its own, is $150 again.

Choose a sitting
Sittings

Pick the sittings you want.

You will register or sign in first, then pay on your dashboard. One sitting per event: picking another sitting of the same event replaces the first.

Already have an account? Sign in.

How it works

Register, book, sit, read the report.

1

Register

Create your child’s Test Academy account and confirm the email address. The year level on the profile needs to be Year 5, Year 6, OC or Selective.

2

Book

Choose a sitting in Parramatta or online and pay on your dashboard. You can put two sittings in one checkout.

3

Sit

Four papers over about 3.5 hours with supervised breaks, either in our Parramatta room or on the Google Meet for your sitting.

4

Read the report

The results page opens in your account, with the paper reviews beside it, and the PDF report arrives by email.

See it in action

The computerised format, explained.

Questions

Things parents ask before they book.

The ACST is designed for Year 5 and Year 6 students preparing for the NSW Selective High School Placement Test.

Your analytics report includes scaled percentile rankings in official NSW style, a section-by-section breakdown, time efficiency analysis showing time spent per question, cohort comparisons, and school entry projections modelling your child's competitiveness across NSW selective schools.

ACST is the only fully computerised mock exam in NSW that uses the real selective test software interface. Most mock exams are paper-based — ACST replicates the exact digital experience your child will face on exam day.

Just your child and their booking confirmation. We provide dedicated computers, all stationery, and supervised exam conditions. No BYOD required.

No — each student sits one session only. Choose either the morning session (10:00 AM – 1:30 PM) or the afternoon session (2:00 PM – 5:30 PM) when booking.

Click "Reserve Your Spot" on this page, select your preferred session date and time, create or log in to your Test Academy account, and complete payment. Spots per session are strictly limited.

ACST registrations are non-refundable. If your child is unwell, contact us as soon as possible — we will do our best to accommodate a transfer to another available session.

Detailed analytics are delivered to your Test Academy account within approximately one week of the final ACST session date.

ACST mirrors the official NSW Selective High School Placement Test in every way: same computer interface, same 4-section structure (Reading, Mathematical Reasoning, Thinking Skills, Writing), same 3.5-hour duration, and same supervised conditions.

Yes — our Selective Mastery course runs throughout the year and provides weekly intensive preparation. The ACST is an ideal checkpoint to measure progress. Students who combine ongoing preparation with a full trial exam consistently perform at a higher level on exam day.

Absolutely. The ACST is valuable for all students, regardless of preparation level. For students who haven't begun formal prep, ACST serves as a powerful diagnostic — it reveals exactly where your child stands and which areas to prioritise. Many parents use the ACST results to decide whether to enrol in ongoing preparation.

No — parents are not permitted in the exam room. This replicates the real selective test conditions where students sit independently under supervision. Drop-off is at the session start time and pick-up is at the end. This helps your child build confidence and independence before the real exam.

Yes. There is a McDonald's car park directly in front of our building with 1 hour of free parking. We are also a 3-minute drive (approximately 15-minute walk) from Westfield Parramatta, which offers additional paid parking options.

Each ACST session is capped at 16 students. This ensures every student has a dedicated computer, adequate space, and a quiet, focused exam environment — just like the real test.

No. Just like the real NSW Selective Test, no calculators, dictionaries, or external aids are permitted. All tools required (such as the on-screen calculator for the Maths section) are built into the test software.

All the details

Selective trial tests, computer-based practice, and the real Selective test, explained properly.

The long version for parents who read everything before they book a selective trial test. Facts about the real test come from the NSW Department of Education and are current as at September 2026.

What a selective trial test actually measures

For a selective trial test to mean anything, it has to rank a child against a cohort that looks like the real one. Since 2025 the Department has weighted Reading, Mathematical Reasoning, Thinking Skills and Writing equally, one quarter each, for a score out of 100. Parents are given a band for each paper, top 10 per cent, next 15, next 25, or the lowest 50, and never a score or a rank. A trial that only reports the percentage correct is not answering the question a parent actually has, which is how that mark compares with everyone else sitting the real test.

A selective mock test in Parramatta or online

The ACST sits your child at a computer, either at our Parramatta centre with a supervisor in the room, or on one Google Meet call with a supervisor and the papers open in another tab. Sessions are capped at 16 so the room never turns into a lecture hall, and the four papers run back to back over about three and a half hours, close to the length of the real day.

Why the test is computer based now

The Selective test moved onto department computers from 2025, marked automatically for the three multiple choice papers and by a human marker for the typed writing task. Two A4 pieces of paper are allowed for working out, and no calculator. A trial test still done on paper, or sat unsupervised at home, is practising for a different exam to the one your child will actually sit.

Selective test percentile and bands, explained

The Department will not give your family a percentile or a score, only a band per paper. The ACST reports both: the band, in the same words the real report uses, and a percentile within that sitting’s own cohort, whose size is printed on the report. That number moves the way the real ranking moves, because the four papers count equally, the way the real test has counted them since 2025.

The Pre-Uni ASAT, and how the ACST differs

Pre-Uni New College’s ASAT is the best known alternative, run twice a year from their Strathfield campus, bring your own laptop. Most of the students sitting it are already enrolled in Pre-Uni’s own weekly trial course, at a discounted fee. The comparison further up this page sets out the differences that matter most: the cohort, the device, and what the report actually tells you.

2027 selective test dates

Applications for the next round of entry are expected to open in November 2026, and the Department has not yet published the 2027 test date. Based on the pattern of past years, families should plan around expected early May 2027, with results following in Term 3. Nothing here is official until the Department publishes it, and there are no published minimum entry scores for any school in any year.

Book the sitting. Read the report.

A full mock on the real clock, a percentile and a band for every paper, and a school tier built from real entry outcomes, not a guess.

Choose a sitting

Parramatta or online. $150 per sitting

Choose a sitting

Sample report

Sample ACST report, page 1 of 5 Sample ACST report, page 2 of 5 Sample ACST report, page 3 of 5 Sample ACST report, page 4 of 5 Sample ACST report, page 5 of 5
Download the PDF