HAST Primary & Secondary · 2027 Entry
The Higher Ability Selection Test rewards reasoning, not recall. Twenty-one full ACER-format papers, worked solutions on every question, and writing marked by tutors who sat these tests themselves.
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Schools using HAST
Introduction
HAST Primary is the entry route into top high schools from Year 7 through Year 12.
The Higher Ability Selection Test (HAST) is a skill test used by secondary schools to classify academically talented students for enhanced learning and enhancement programs. The test draws upon ACER's extensive experience in high-stakes testing programs for schools, such as the Selective High School Placement Test in New South Wales, the Ignite program in South Australia and the Queensland Academies Student Entrance Test.
All practice questions are followed as per ACER format. Some schools in Australia use HAST for placement in High Performing & Gifted Education Programs.
HAST is an ability test used by secondary schools that identifies the very brightest students for selective entry, accelerated learning and gifted and talented programs. It focuses on assessing higher-order, cross-curricular reasoning skills that are characteristic of gifted students.
HAST-P is the primary-level version. Year 4 and Year 5 students prepare for HAST Primary to get into high school. Some schools add an Abstract Reasoning test, so we include 7 Abstract Reasoning sets in every package.
The four components
Test levels
The choice of test level is determined by the candidate's current year level at the time of the test — not their age.
HAST is conducted in NSW, VIC, QLD, SA and WA, at Junior Secondary, Middle Secondary and Senior Secondary levels.
Test structure
Four components, roughly two and a half hours of testing. Knowing the shape of the paper before test day is worth as much as knowing the content.
| Test subject | Duration | Question type |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 30–45 min | Multiple choice |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 30–40 min | Multiple choice |
| Abstract Reasoning | 30 min | Multiple choice |
| Written Expression | 25–30 min | Writing topic (discursive or creative) |
Results
HAST measures reasoning against the other candidates sitting it — not against a curriculum checklist. That changes how you should read a result.
Reading, Mathematical Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning are multiple choice and machine-marked. Because HAST tests general reasoning rather than taught content, a raw score means little on its own — schools look at how a candidate performs relative to the rest of the cohort applying to that programme.
Written Expression is marked by people, not machines. Assessment is based on thought and content, structure and organisation, expression, style, and the mechanics of the response. Two different task types — one discursive, one creative — let a candidate show range across purposes and audiences.
Schools receive results within 10 working days of submitting papers to ACER. When schools pass those on to families varies: usually within a few weeks for primary-to-secondary transitions, and around September–October for NSW selective high school placements.
In our portal, the number to watch is not the score — it is the pattern. Which question types keep costing marks, and where the clock runs out. Every question can be reviewed with a worked solution, so a wrong answer becomes the thing you practise next rather than a number you worry about.
Plays here — nothing loads from YouTube until you press play.
Student story
The papers on this page are the same ones she worked through: full ACER-format sets, sat under real timing, with every question reviewable afterwards alongside a worked solution.
Hear it in her own words — what she practised, what changed, and what she would tell a student starting out.
HAST practice package Full-set timed papers Worked solutions
Packages
Preparation
ACER's own advice is familiarity, not cramming: know the question styles, and build reasoning through regular reading and critical thinking. These stages are sequential — each one assumes the last.
Why our trial tests
Time-bound exam model questions, revision questions and brief remarks that help students understand their mistakes — and walk into the real test with confidence.
What you get
Where HAST is used
Writing test review
Writing will be assessed against the three points below.
Does the response actually answer the stimulus it was given?
Ideas selected, developed and organised so they land.
Sophisticated vocabulary and careful mechanics throughout.
Students who do not address the above points in their writing will receive low marks.
*Writing Review is applicable only with Last Minute Selective Practice Tests, Plus, Pro & Premium packages.
Watch real writing prompts in action and see how structured practice sharpens your child's written expression.
Written Expression is the one HAST section a computer cannot mark — it is read and judged by people, on thought and content, structure and organisation, expression, style and mechanics. Selectivetrial provides writing topics styled around the ACER format so your child practises both task types under real exam timing.
*Marked writing is included in the HAST Premium packages — or available separately as the 4 Marked Writing packs above. Each writing is marked manually with brief feedback, within three to four working days.
Questions
21 exam-style tests, one subscription
Reading, Mathematical Reasoning, Abstract Reasoning and Writing — HAST-P or Entry Year 7/8/9/10.
Free downloads
Open any sample to download the free PDF practice paper.
