Selective School Reading Test: Guide and Free Practice
The NSW Selective Reading test asks students to interpret texts and choose answers supported by what they have read. It includes fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Reading contributes a quarter of the Selective School Test result.
Use this guide to practise finding evidence, comparing interpretations and checking close answer choices. The examples below are original iClass practice material with explanations you can reveal without an account.
Understanding the Reading format
The current computer-based section has 17 questions in 45 minutes. Three questions have multiple parts, bringing the total to 38 answers. A question group can therefore take much longer than a single response.
Use the department's online practice test to become familiar with the layout. During practice, notice how much time you spend reading a text and how much you spend deciding between options. Dividing the whole section into equal time per question group gives a misleading pace.
Find evidence before choosing an answer
After reading a question, describe what it asks in a few words: a character's reason, a change in attitude, a word in context or the writer's purpose. Then locate the part of the text that bears on that question.
An inference connects clues in the passage. It should not depend on a story you have invented about the character. For a purpose question, ask what a sentence does in its paragraph: introduce a difficulty, give an example or challenge an earlier view.
- Check the strength of the claim. An option saying 'always' needs stronger evidence than one saying 'sometimes'.
- Keep the whole passage in view. A detail from the opening may no longer describe a character's attitude at the end.
- Explain the rejected answer. Being able to name its unsupported word is more useful than saying it sounds wrong.
Approaching poetry and paired texts
For a poem, establish who is speaking, what they notice and whether their feelings change. Read an image in its surrounding lines before deciding what it suggests. A familiar word can carry an unusual meaning in a poem.
For paired texts, make a brief mental summary of each viewpoint. An answer about both texts must fit both. Shared subject matter does not guarantee that their writers agree.
A useful practice routine
- Read widely. Alternate stories, poems and information texts, discussing one specific choice the writer made.
- Work untimed first. Point to the evidence for an answer and explain why the nearest competing option fails.
- Add timing gradually. Practise on screen once the reasoning feels clear, then compare the mistakes made with and without a timer.
- Keep a short mistake note. Record whether the error came from vocabulary, missed evidence, a rushed comparison or misunderstanding the question. Choose the next practice task from that note.
Example questions (written by iClass)
Read the passage.
Arun had rehearsed his explanation of the broken greenhouse pane all the way home. At the gate he saw his grandmother kneeling beside the frame, fitting a new sheet of glass. She looked up and handed him the brush. The speech he had prepared suddenly seemed much too long. He set down his bag and began sweeping.
Why does Arun's prepared speech now seem too long?
- A.He has forgotten how the pane broke.
- B.He thinks his grandmother cannot hear him.
- C.He recognises that helping with the repair matters more than his rehearsed explanation.
- D.He wants to finish sweeping before his grandmother notices the damage.
C connects the offered brush with Arun's decision to help. His grandmother already knows about the broken pane and is repairing it, so D cannot fit. Nothing suggests memory loss or difficulty hearing. The passage shows his shift from preparing words to taking responsibility through action.
Read this short poem.
At dawn the harbour holds its breath; the ropes lie slack, the gulls are still. One engine coughs beneath the pier, and ripples loosen every hill.
The 'hills' in the last line are most likely
- A.reflections disturbed on the water.
- B.piles of rope falling from the pier.
- C.waves breaking over the nearby hills.
- D.clouds moving away from the harbour.
A fits the quiet harbour, the starting engine and the ripples. The hills themselves cannot be loosened by ripples, but their reflections can lose their shape. The other options introduce objects or events that the poem does not support.
Read the text and answer both parts.
The library's seed exchange began with six envelopes on a shelf. By spring, people were leaving jars, packets and handwritten growing notes. The librarian welcomed the enthusiasm but noticed a problem: several packets had no plant names. She introduced labels for the plant, collection date and donor's growing advice. Some visitors worried that the extra work would discourage donations. A month later there were fewer packets, but more people were taking seeds home. 'Now I know what I am planting,' one visitor said.
Part 1. What problem were the new labels intended to address?
- A.The shelf was too small for jars.
- B.Visitors lacked information needed to choose seeds.
- C.The library wanted to stop people donating seeds.
- D.Visitors were taking too many packets.
Part 2. Why does the writer include the final visitor's comment?
- A.To prove every seed will grow.
- B.To show visitors prefer buying seeds.
- C.To suggest the new labels helped people use the exchange.
- D.To show the number of donations had increased.
B follows from the unnamed packets and the information required on the labels. The text never says the shelf was too small, donations should stop or visitors were taking excessive quantities.
C explains how the comment supports the reported increase in people taking seeds home. Knowing what a seed is does not guarantee growth. Buying is not mentioned, and the number of packets actually fell.
Common questions
The department describes 38 answers across 17 questions, with three questions containing multiple parts. The time limit is 45 minutes.
Find the exact words supporting the correct answer, then identify the claim in your chosen option that the passage does not support. Revisit the question later without looking at the explanation.
These are original iClass examples. Use the NSW Department of Education links below for official practice materials and the current computer-based interface.
Other NSW Selective School Test sections
Next steps
- NSW Selective School Test guide: format, dates and how placement works.
- Selective School Word List: meanings, examples and memory hooks.
- Selective test practice books: full practice papers with worked solutions.
Sources
- NSW Department of Education: Selective test format and student guide
- NSW Department of Education: Selective practice tests
Last reviewed 16 October 2026