ACER HAST format

Schools have a choice of different combinations of HAST. They can choose the following formats:

Our Year 6 datebook has details of times and dates for all our workshops.

Written Expression

This area looks to assess the ability of the writer to clearly convey their thoughts in a written piece. The ACER website refers to the assessment of thought and content; structure and organisation; expression, style and mechanics of a candidate’s response.

It must be noted that from past experience, ACER has sometimes provided an opinion or analytical question for written expression. We recommend that to be prepared for the written expression of a scholarship exam, you should also undertake our opinion writing workshop to prepare for any unexpected topics.

We have two programs.  They are called Creative Writing and Opinion Writing (EACH is two half days).

Creative Writing - our emphasis here is on the structure of an essay, the use of expressive language and the way to respond to an illustration or other visual prompts.

Opinion Writing - our emphasis here is on the organisation of this type of essay, the use of effective language and the way to express a point of view or an argument.

Mathematics (HAST)

This is to test mathematical abilities rather than mathematical knowledge. It is widely different from school based Maths.  Most are worded problems. The ACER website states that the test may require the candidates to extract information; interpret figures; identify connections, relationships and patterns; and identify similarities and differences.

Our four half days focus on Maths problem solving and exam technique. These workshops are not about training in the basic processes of Mathematics.  Students entering for places at these schools should already be proficient at Maths. (over nearly twenty years we have gathered from students information about the questions used in exams).

There are two stages in solving any problem.

o             Analysis – what is this problem really about?    What data does the question have which may help solve it?

o             Strategies – the skills that will help to solve the problem.

Reading Comprehension

This is a paper requiring inferential skills to interpret written text, maps, diagrams, graphs, cartoons or photographs for 40 minutes with forty questions.

Our one-day course teaches the students the skills of inferential reading, as well as how to interpret maps, diagrams, charts, and illustrations. To select from answers which include partly correct answers, common errors of reasoning and misconceptions requires students to analyse the text quite closely.

Abstract Reasoning

A test of the ability to recognise similarities and patterns in unfamiliar designs.  Such reasoning processes are widely accepted as being fundamental to understanding new information and ideas.  Using designs rather than words allows reasoning processes to be assessed independently of language skills.-

Our half day course teaches our techniques on how to attack and solve these puzzle type papers.

We provide Practice Exams for all types of entrance exam formats. They are fundamental to our program.  Every practice exam comes with complete performance analysis with a detailed explanation for every answer.  We provide you with the most authentic testing experience outside of the actual exam.  If you were to book one thing, we recommend it be a Practice exam.  This will give your child an idea of the energy and concentration needed for the actual exam.

For a more detailed explanation, visit the ACER HAST web page .