How long is the NSW Selective School Test?

Updated: 30 July 2024

The NSW Selective School Test consists of four separate tests as follows:

• The Reading Test is 40 minutes long and has 30 questions in total (average of 1.33 minutes per question)
• The Maths Test is 40 minutes long and has 35 questions in total (average of 1.14 minutes per question)
• The Thinking Skills Test is 40 minutes long and has 40 questions in total (average of 1 minute per question)
• The Writing Test is 30 minutes long and has one writing task

To successfully complete the Selective Test, students need to be able to focus for extended periods. They also need to be able to mentally “switch off” during break times. There are brief breaks between each test, with a longer break after the second test (Maths).

As time is limited in the Selective Test, it is important that students work on their test time management skills. Students need to ensure that they don’t spend too long on any individual question, as this could jeopardise their ability to correctly answer other questions in the test.

In particular, the Thinking Skills Test has the most number of questions and is usually the test where students will feel the most time pressure.

Generally, if a student cannot answer a question in less than a minute, then they should make an educated guess for that question and move on. If they have spare time at the end of the test, they can go back and check their answer for that question (revising their answer if necessary).

For the Writing Test, students should spend a few minutes planning their response before they start writing. They should also leave a few minutes at the end to read through their response and make any required changes. For students with strong typing skills (e.g. they can touch type), the move to computer-based tests should reduce the amount of time pressure they feel during the Writing Test, as their typing speed will be faster than their handwriting speed.