English and Numerical Reasoning Diagnostic Assessment

Hello, and welcome to your selective-school English preparation course. Over the course, you will strengthen reading, vocabulary, grammar, writing, verbal reasoning, and the mathematical reasoning skills that support the entrance test.

We begin with a diagnostic, not a judgement. Its job is to show your current starting point honestly, so later study is aimed at the skills that will make the greatest difference. Since this is an untimed diagnostic, accuracy and thoughtful reasoning matter more than speed today.

By the end of this lesson, you will have completed and scored a short official-style Reading and Mathematical Reasoning diagnostic, recorded how confident you felt, and saved useful evidence for the next lesson.

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What this diagnostic can—and cannot—tell you

A score is a map, not a label. A low score does not mean that you are “bad at English”; it only tells us which skills need deliberate teaching and practice. You are in Year 6 and preparing well ahead of the 2028 or 2029 entry tests, so there is plenty of time to turn a weak area into a reliable one.

This short diagnostic samples two areas:

• Reading: understanding a text, finding explicit information, making inferences, understanding vocabulary in context, and noticing an author’s choices.
• Mathematical Reasoning: choosing and carrying out a sensible method to solve a problem, without a calculator.

It does not test every English skill. In particular, grammar, spelling, paragraph writing, and imaginative writing will be diagnosed through later lessons and writing tasks.

The official NSW test is computer-based and its exact format may change before you sit it. The current official information lists Reading and Mathematical Reasoning as separate multiple-choice sections, with Mathematical Reasoning completed without a calculator. For today, we are using selected official sample material simply to establish a fair baseline.

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Set up an honest starting point

Before opening the questions, prepare:

1. A quiet space.
2. Pencil, paper, and an eraser.
3. No calculator, dictionary, internet search, parent help, or worked solutions.
4. A simple answer sheet with three columns: answer, confidence, and brief note.

Use these confidence codes beside every answer:

Code	Meaning
C	Confident: you had a clear reason for the answer.
U	Unsure: you narrowed it down, but were not certain.
G	Guess: you chose an answer with little or no reason.

For example:

Item	Answer	Confidence	Brief note
R1	B	U	Two choices seemed possible.
M1	D	C	Used place value.

Do not look at an answer key or explanation until both sections are finished. It is fine to reread a passage or check your arithmetic, but do not seek help. Every response, including an uncertain one, gives us information.

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Complete the short official-style diagnostic

Use the NSW Department of Education practice-test page below. Its online tests are designed to simulate the computer-based experience, while the downloadable PDFs provide sample questions, answer keys, and explained answers. For this first untimed baseline, use the PDF materials.

Part A: Reading baseline

In Sample practice test 1, open the Reading sample questions PDF.

Complete the first reading task or passage and all questions that belong to it. This will usually be a compact set of questions based on one text. Read the passage carefully before answering. If a question requires more than one response, treat each response as a separate answer slot.

Work in this order:

1. Read the entire text once without answering.
2. Read each question and return to the exact part of the text that helps you answer it.
3. Choose an answer for every item.
4. Record C, U, or G beside each answer.
5. Do not change an answer merely because it “feels too easy” or “feels too hard.” Change it only if you can identify a better reason in the text.

Try to spend about 15–20 minutes on this section, but do not use a timer. If you need longer to read carefully, take longer.

Part B: Mathematical Reasoning baseline

Open the Mathematical reasoning sample questions PDF from the same Sample practice test 1 table.

Complete Questions 1–10 only. Write enough working to show the method you used; mental calculation is fine for easy steps, but put down key calculations. Do not use a calculator.

For each question:

1. Underline what the problem is asking for.
2. Identify the information you have been given.
3. Work out a method before looking closely at the answer options.
4. Choose one answer and record C, U, or G.
5. If you become stuck, write a short note such as “did not know how to begin” or “two methods seemed possible.” Do not abandon the item without choosing an answer.

Again, this is untimed. The aim is to find out whether errors come from maths knowledge, interpreting words, selecting a method, or calculation accuracy. Timing will be tested later, once you have stronger methods.

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Score it carefully

Only after completing both parts, open the matching Reading sample answers and Mathematical reasoning sample answers PDFs. Check answers one at a time and mark each answer slot either correct or incorrect.

Do not read the explained-answer documents yet. Those explanations will be much more valuable in the next lessons, when you learn how to classify and repair mistakes.

Use this record:

Section	Correct answers	Available answers	Percentage	Questions marked U or G
Reading: first task
Mathematical Reasoning: Q1–10		10

Calculate each percentage as:

$$\text{percentage}=\frac{\text{number correct}}{\text{number of available answers}}\times 100$$

For Reading, the number of available answers is the number of answer slots in the first task. For Mathematical Reasoning, it is 10.

Keep the following materials together in a folder or notebook called Diagnostic 1:

• your original answer sheet;
• your working for the maths questions;
• your two scores;
• the question numbers you marked U or G;
• the question numbers you got wrong.

A useful final record might look like this:

Reading: ___ / ___, or ___%
Mathematical Reasoning: ___ / 10, or ___%
Most uncertain Reading items: ___
Most uncertain Maths items: ___
Questions I most want explained: ___

Notice the important difference between these results:

• A wrong answer marked C may reveal a mistaken rule, misreading, or overconfidence.
• A wrong answer marked U or G may reveal a missing skill or an incomplete method.
• A correct answer marked G is not yet a dependable strength; it may need revision.
• A correct answer marked C is stronger evidence that you can use that skill reliably.

For now, resist the temptation to explain every mistake straight away. First preserve the evidence. In the next lesson, you will learn to identify why an answer went wrong rather than simply seeing that it was wrong.

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Key takeaways

A useful diagnostic is:

• short enough to complete carefully;
• unaided, so the result is honest;
• scored by section, rather than treated as one vague overall result;
• recorded with confidence levels, not just right and wrong answers;
• saved for later analysis.

You have now established a starting point in Reading and Mathematical Reasoning using official-style materials. Your score is not a prediction of your future selective-school result. It is the first piece of evidence we will use to plan targeted improvement.

Next, you will learn to classify mistakes as knowledge, reasoning, reading, accuracy, or time-management errors.