EduTest preparation: a four-phase, twelve-month plan

The EduTest scholarship exam tests five sections in a single sitting and rewards students who have prepared methodically over six to twelve months — see our EduTest selective and scholarship exam preparation programme for the full course outline. This page sets out a four-phase preparation plan, the weekly hours to budget for, and the techniques that work best in each section of the paper. It assumes a child who is already meeting year-level expectations at school; the plan stretches naturally for students who need a longer build-up.

When should we start preparing for the EduTest?

Plan to start six to twelve months before your child's first sitting. The right lead time depends on how comfortably your child is currently performing at school. As a guide:

Current school performance	Recommended lead time	Weekly study commitment	Focus
Consistently top 10%	6–9 months	4–5 hours	Refining technique and pace across all five sections.
Consistently top 20–30%	12 months	5–6 hours	Building vocabulary, reasoning patterns and writing sophistication.
Middle of the year group	18–24 months	6–8 hours	Foundational skill-building, extended practice and gradual difficulty progression.

Spread practice across the week. A child who studies for six hours on a Saturday will retain less than one who studies for an hour on six days. Aim for 30–60 minutes most weeknights and a longer block on the weekend for a timed sectional or mock paper.

What does each preparation phase cover?

The plan moves through four phases. Each phase ends when the child reaches the success markers below — not when the calendar runs out — so a student who is ahead can move on, and a student who is behind can hold position and consolidate.

Diagnostic and foundation (months 1–3)

Sit a full-length, timed diagnostic paper in week one. Mark it carefully and identify the three weakest areas; design the term around closing those gaps. Build a daily routine: 20 new vocabulary words, ten minutes of mental arithmetic, one timed reading passage, and one short writing task each week. By the end of month three, baseline accuracy should sit at 60–70% across the multiple-choice sections and the child should be comfortable with the test format and the on-screen tutorial.

Skill development and speed building (months 4–8)

Increase the difficulty of practice and start tracking time per question. Targets at this stage: vocabulary of 1,500–2,500 words at year 9–10 level; mastery of analogy types (synonym, antonym, part–whole, degree, category) and of the major number patterns (arithmetic, geometric, alternating, two-step); confident handling of multi-step word problems and coordinate-geometry questions; and a polished 15-minute write in either the narrative or persuasive form. Complete six to eight full-length mock papers in this phase, and review each paper carefully — the value sits in the review, not the score.

Mastery and test simulation (months 9–12)

Move into weekly full-length mock papers under real test conditions: timed, scored, no calculator, no notes. Aim for 80–85% accuracy across the multiple-choice sections and consistent writing rubric scores of 80%+. By the end of this phase, the child should be finishing each section with two to five minutes to review, recognising analogy and sequence types on sight, and confident enough to leave a question and move on under pressure.

Final-month tapering and test-day readiness

In the last four weeks, taper rather than cram. Sit one or two full-length papers in the first fortnight, then taper down to light vocabulary and mental-math review only. In test week, no new material — focus on sleep, nutrition and the test-day logistics (route, photo ID, water bottle, permitted materials). The goal of the final month is to arrive rested and confident, not to learn anything new.

How should the week be structured?

A productive week balances skill work, timed practice and review. A typical phase-two schedule looks like this:

• Monday — verbal and numerical reasoning, 45 minutes each, with mistake review.
• Tuesday — reading comprehension and vocabulary, three passages and 20 new words.
• Wednesday — mathematics problem-solving, focused on the weakest strand.
• Thursday — timed speed drills on verbal and numerical reasoning.
• Friday — a 15-minute timed write, followed by self-assessment against the rubric.
• Saturday — one full-length mock paper, sat in real conditions.
• Sunday — review of the week's mistakes and patterns; light vocabulary refresh.

Adjust the volume to suit the phase: 60 minutes per session in phase one, 90 minutes per session in phase three. Keep one day each week genuinely off — fatigue accumulates over a year, and a tired child loses marks they would otherwise hold.

What strategies work best in each section?

Verbal reasoning. Learn vocabulary in context, not from lists. For analogies, identify the relationship type before looking at the answer choices, then test the same relationship against each option. Most errors come from rushing without naming the relationship first. Build word families through prefixes and roots ("bene-", "mal-", "trans-") so unfamiliar words can be decoded rather than guessed.

Numerical reasoning. Apply the difference method to every sequence: find the differences between consecutive numbers, then the differences of those differences. Most patterns reveal themselves at one of those two levels. Try alternating-rule patterns when the simple difference does not resolve, and check grid questions across rows, columns and diagonals before settling on a rule.

Reading comprehension. Read the questions before the passage, then read the passage with the questions in mind. Return to the text to verify every answer — never rely on memory for inference questions, where the test rewards specific textual evidence over plausible interpretation. Eliminate answer options containing absolute words ("always", "never", "only") that are not supported by the passage.

Mathematics. Draw a diagram for every geometry and word problem. Sanity-check the answer against the question (perimeter vs. area, minutes vs. hours, units). Working backwards from the answer choices is often faster than algebra for two- and three-step problems, particularly under time pressure.

Written expression. Use a 2-2-8-3 split inside the 15 minutes: two minutes planning, two on the introduction, eight on the body, three on the conclusion and proofread. A planned piece beats an unplanned one almost every time; an unplanned 15-minute write tends to lose marks for structure and conclusion. Vary sentence structures and avoid stock openings ("My name is…", "Once upon a time…").

What are the most common mistakes to avoid?

A handful of mistakes recur across every cohort we prepare. They cost marks in any single section, and they compound when a child carries them across the whole paper:

• Choosing analogy answers without naming the relationship first. A student who reads the stem, names the relationship out loud ("part to whole", "cause to effect"), and only then looks at the options is significantly more accurate than one who scans options and picks the one that "feels right".
• Verifying a sequence on only two numbers. A pattern that fits the first two differences may break on the third — check three before committing.
• Answering from memory in reading comprehension. Inference questions reward returning to the passage; opinion-based reading loses marks the test is designed to catch.
• Misreading what the maths question asks. Underlining the units and the requested quantity (area, perimeter, hours, minutes) takes five seconds and prevents a whole-question loss.
• Writing without a plan. A weak conclusion is almost always a sign of a missing plan, not a missing idea.

Build mistake review into the routine. After every sectional or mock paper, write the type of mistake (not just the question) into a running list. Patterns become visible quickly and the same mistake stops recurring.

What does this mean for preparation?

A twelve-month plan rewards consistency over intensity. Hold the weekly schedule, review every mock paper carefully, and protect sleep in the final fortnight. Pair this plan with our EduTest exam format overview to understand what each section measures, and with our EduTest practice resources for the materials we use in class.