WA selective test (ASET) for 2028 entry: dates, the four sections and how it differs from NSW
Western Australia’s selective test is the Academic Selective Entrance Test (ASET). Students sit it in Term 1 of Year 6, on a Saturday in early March, for entry to Year 7 the following year. For Year 7 entry in 2028, that means applications are expected to open in mid-October 2026, while your child is in Year 5.
The ASET is written and marked by ACER for the WA Department of Education. It is a paper test, and the writing section is handwritten.
Key dates for Year 7 entry in 2028
The Department publishes the 2028 calendar when applications open. Until then, the dates below follow the 2027-entry cycle, which ran from 14 October 2025 to 7 March 2026.
| Milestone | Expected timing | 2027-entry cycle for reference |
|---|---|---|
| Applications open | Mid October 2026 | Tuesday 14 October 2025 |
| Applications close | Early February 2027, 6 pm | Friday 6 February 2026 |
| ASET (Perth metro, Albany, Bunbury) | Early March 2027, Saturday | Saturday 7 March 2026 |
| ASET scores emailed | Early June 2027 | Early June 2026 |
| Round 1 offers | Late June 2027 | Monday 22 June 2026 |
| Round 2 offers | Late July 2027 | Wednesday 22 July 2026 |
| Start Year 7 | Term 1, 2028 | Term 1, 2027 |
Applications are online only and free for WA students tested at their nearest centre. Late applications are only accepted in exceptional circumstances. A child can sit the Year 7 test once. If they miss out, they can’t sit it again for the same intake.
The four sections
All four sections are worth the same. They are sat in a fixed order with strict timing, and each one has its own question booklet. Once a section’s time is up, your child can’t go back to it.
| Order | Section | Time | Format | Questions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reading Comprehension | 35 min | Multiple choice | 35 |
| 2 | Communicating Ideas in Writing | 25 min | Handwritten | 1 |
| Break | 10 min | |||
| 3 | Quantitative Reasoning | 35 min | Multiple choice | 35 |
| 4 | Abstract Reasoning | 20 min | Multiple choice | 35 |
Multiple-choice questions have four options each. Every question is worth one mark, and wrong answers cost nothing, so a blank answer is always a wasted chance.
Abstract Reasoning is the one to watch: 35 questions in 20 minutes is about 34 seconds per question. Children who have never seen shape-sequence and matrix puzzles often run out of time well before the end.
The writing prompt is an image, a short text, or both. Your child can write in any style or genre, as long as it clearly grows out of the prompt. Markers are told to look for original ideas, not a memorised piece adapted to fit. Handwriting and spelling count for little as long as the work is readable.
Which schools use it
The ASET is used for every WA Gifted and Talented selective program: academic, languages and arts. Arts applicants also do auditions or workshops. For the academic programs, Year 7 places for 2027 were:
- Perth Modern School: 225. This is the only fully selective school in WA.
- Shenton College and Willetton SHS: 64 each.
- Albany, Alkimos, Bob Hawke, Bunbury, Carine, Comet Bay, Duncraig, Ellenbrook, Fremantle, Governor Stirling, Harrisdale, Kelmscott and Melville: 32 each.
- Online program for country students enrolled at a regional public school.
You can list up to three preferences, and they can mix academic, arts and languages programs.
How the ASET compares with the NSW Selective test
If you have read about the NSW test, the sections don’t map across one to one:
- No Thinking Skills paper. NSW puts argument analysis, deduction and spatial puzzles into one Thinking Skills paper. The ASET has no verbal logic section. Its non-verbal reasoning is a separate Abstract Reasoning section, which is shorter and faster.
- No curriculum maths paper. NSW Mathematical Reasoning mixes school maths with number problem-solving. The ASET’s Quantitative Reasoning is described as not curriculum-based, and everything needed is on the page. Number patterns, reading data and multi-step reasoning matter more than recalled methods.
- Paper, not screen. NSW has moved to computer-based testing. The ASET is still pencil on paper, including the written response.
- Earlier in the year. The ASET is in March of Year 6. The NSW Selective test is in May of Year 6.
Should you prepare?
The Department says the ASET measures potential rather than learned knowledge, and it doesn’t endorse coaching. That’s fair: cramming content won’t do much for a reasoning test.
Knowing the format is a different matter. A child who has never had 20 minutes for 35 abstract puzzles, or never written from a picture prompt against the clock, loses marks to surprise. A practical plan for a Year 5 child:
- Apply in October, not in the last week of January.
- Use the official practice ASET on the Department’s site to see the question styles.
- Practise abstract reasoning under time, a few short timed sets a week in Terms 4 and 1.
- Write by hand from image prompts, 25 minutes each, a few times before March.
- Read widely. The Reading section rewards stamina and inference, and those build slowly.
Dates, section timings and place numbers come from the WA Department of Education Gifted and Talented applicant guidelines for 2027 entry. 2028-entry dates are expected timings based on that cycle. Check the confirmed calendar on education.wa.edu.au when applications open.