Illustrative example
All deliveries arrive before noon.
“A delivery arrives at 2 pm.”
ACER Test
The Core Skills Profile for Adults, the Vocational Selection Test and the tertiary admissions test. What the verbal, quantitative, abstract and mechanical modules ask, how the adaptive versions change level as you go, and how the result is used.
- 10 practice tests in the ACER pack
- 100 questions, all solved
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What is an ACER test?
An ACER test is a selection assessment from the Australian Council for Educational Research, an independent not for profit research organisation based in Melbourne. Its most common recruitment tests are the Core Skills Profile for Adults and the Vocational Selection Test, which measure verbal, numerical, abstract and mechanical reasoning alongside literacy and numeracy. Tests are taken online and are mostly multiple choice, and the adaptive versions adjust question difficulty to your performance.
Which ACER test you sit depends on the employer and the role: an entry-level position will not be given the same assessment as a graduate or managerial one.
How an ACER test works
Four things to know before you sit one. Timings and difficulty vary with the level of the role.
- FormatModules, sat one at a time
- An ACER suite is a set of separate modules, mostly multiple choice, and you usually sit only the ones the employer or institution picks. The adaptive versions add short written tasks.
- PaceSet per module
- Each module has its own limit. Check the named test and edition in your invitation; the quantitative questions are short passages that take longer to read than to solve.
- DifficultyAdaptive where it is used
- The CSPA changes level with your answers, so the questions get harder as you get them right. Feeling stretched part-way through is the test working, not a sign you are failing.
- ScoringA profile against the intake
- Results go to the employer or institution as a profile of the modules you sat, read against the group being selected. There is no published pass mark.
ACER: assessment names, formats and timings
Match the name in your invitation to the assessment below. Timings marked “approx.” are completion estimates; other published durations are limits for the named version.
| Assessment | What it measures | Questions | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| CSPA (Core Skills Profile for Adults) | Core literacy and numeracy skills for adult education and training | Varies by module | Varies by module |
| Vocational Selection Test (historical catalogue) | Verbal, quantitative and abstract reasoning, with optional mechanical and interpersonal modules | Usually three of five | Varies by module |
| STAT (Special Tertiary Admissions Test) | Verbal and quantitative reasoning for mature and non-standard university entry | Two modules | Varies |
| ACER Mechanical Reasoning Test – Second Edition (MRT-2) | Basic mechanics and physics from diagrams; pulleys, levers, cause and effect | See invitation | See invitation |
Counts and timings vary by role level and by the version an employer licences. Check the instructions on the screen before you start. Facts checked 11 September 2026.
ACER offers distinct education and employment assessments. VST appears in its historical catalogue; current offerings and delivery arrangements should be confirmed with your institution. There is no single ACER question count or time limit.
Official sources for assessment names and timings
What ACER assessment formats look like
A visual guide to the skills and response formats covered on this page. Your invitation tells you which assessments to prepare for.
Illustrations by Practice Aptitude Tests · not official test screenshots
Illustrative example
80 Before→100 After
What is the percentage increase?
Illustrative example
Find the missing shape
Understanding practice scores
These results come from our own practice test in a format covered on this page. They are not official ACER results, a benchmark for our entire ACER practice pack, or an employer pass mark.
How our test takers score
Results from our numerical reasoning test.
Average score63%
75th-percentile score90%
0%50%100%
Average75th percentile
Source: Practice Aptitude Tests
Based on 784 completed practice sittings, all time. Checked 11 September 2026.
The 75th percentile marks the boundary of the top quarter of recorded scores; tied scores can share that boundary. These are our practice results, not employer pass marks.
How we calculate these figures
We use all-time completed, scored attempts at this practice test. Repeat attempts count separately, so the sample is sittings rather than unique people.
The average is the mean score across those sittings. The 75th percentile comes from their recorded score distribution. The “checked” date is when we retrieved the figures, not the period when the tests were taken.
Sharing these figures? Please credit Practice Aptitude Tests and link to this page.
Practise the real thing
One question tells you the style. A pack gives you the pace: timed and marked, with the working shown.
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- 10
- practice tests
- 100
- questions, all solved
ACER verbal reasoning test
The ACER verbal reasoning test looks at how well you understand and manipulate words, in three question types:
- List of statements: a series of statements or facts, and you identify which ones prove or disprove a given conclusion.
- Odd one out: pick the word in a list that does not belong, from its meaning.
- Word association: match one word’s meaning to another’s.
Speed and accuracy on the second and third come from vocabulary, so practise word meaning and analogies questions.
ACER quantitative reasoning test
Close to a standard numerical reasoning test in style. Each question is a short passage containing a mathematical problem; you digest the information and pick the correct multiple-choice answer. The maths is basic; reading the passage quickly and extracting the figures is the skill.
ACER abstract reasoning test
Non-verbal puzzles of shapes, patterns and diagrams, closest in style to a deductive reasoning test: you look for the relationship between the images and deduce which shape is missing. Unfamiliarity with the format costs more marks here than ability does, so abstract reasoning practice pays off quickly.
ACER mechanical reasoning test
Questions on the basic principles of mechanics and physics, from cause and effect to energy, pulleys and levers. Each question shows a diagram or illustration and asks a multiple-choice question about it. Unlike many mechanical reasoning tests only a basic understanding is needed, but gears, clamps, weights, conveyor belts, shafts and wheels are worth a refresher.
Frequently asked questions
What candidates ask us most often
Which ACER test will you sit, the CSPA or the VST?
The invitation should name it. Employers hiring adults into work generally use the Core Skills Profile for Adults, apprenticeship and traineeship intakes the Vocational Selection Test, and universities the STAT. The VST usually asks for three of its five sub-tests, so ask which three if the invitation does not say.
What are the three types of ACER verbal reasoning question?
Lists of statements, where you decide which prove or disprove a conclusion; odd one out, where you pick the word whose meaning does not fit the list; and word association, where you match one meaning to another. Practise word meaning and analogies for the second and third.
Is the ACER test adaptive?
The CSPA is. It changes level according to how you are finding the questions, so two candidates sitting the same module see different questions. The VST and STAT are fixed tests.
Do you need any prior knowledge for an ACER test?
Very little. The mechanical reasoning module needs only a basic grasp of pulleys, levers, gears and forces, the quantitative module basic maths applied to short written problems, and the STAT is designed to test reasoning rather than the school curriculum.
Reviews
Rated 4.5 out of 5 across 31 reviews. A selection:
It includes lots of percentages and ratio questions
It was quite challenging and tested different weaknesses and strengths. It incorporated lots of analysing graphs and data.
Percentage change
Most questions required a lot of working out and problem solving. Additionally, there was a lot to do about percentage change.
How to read graphs.
It uses many diagrams to visually see the data. I like how it tells you what percent or number it is when you hover your mouse over it. Overall a great text.
ACER is a trademark of its respective owner. Practice Aptitude Tests is not affiliated with ACER and our practice tests are not endorsed by them.
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