ACER Tests

Who are ACER?

ACER is an assessment provider who offers reporting tools and services to Universities, Schools, Employers and other training organisations. ACER, which stands for The Australian Council for Education Research, are associated with Testgrid. There are a number of aptitude and psychometric tests within their offering, and we have provided more information on each of them below.

CER VST (ACER Vocational Selection Test)

Whilst there are five types of tests that fall within the ACER VST, generally only three will be used per candidate. These five elements include:

1. ACER verbal reasoning. This consists of two types of verbal reasoning questions. The first is where you will be given passages of texts to read, and you will be asked to answer questions based on this. The second will present you with a flow chart detailing a task or review and again, you will be asked to answer questions in relation to this information.

2. The Core vocational selection test. This consists of three tests: verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning and abstract reasoning.

3. ACER quantitative reasoning / numerical reasoning. This test will determine your numerical skills and ability to handle mathematical concepts. Quantitative reasoning is another term used to describe numerical reasoning,

4. ACER abstract reasoning test. This consists of non-verbal diagrams where you will need to identify the relationship between each diagram, and choose the missing one. This is similar to deductive reasoning and will be in the format of multiple choice.

5. Optional Components. This section consists of two tests including Mechanical reasoning and interpersonal understanding. The mechanical reasoning test will determine your understanding of mechanical devices and systems, and the relationship between the moving parts within each mechanism. The interpersonal understanding test is a personality questionnaire, used to determine your feelings relating to different circumstances and how you behave in response to these.

The ACER CSPA Aptitude Test (Core Skills Profile for Adults)

The ACER CSPA Aptitude test is commonly used in Australia, and consists of five test types. It is an adaptive test, which means the test will adapt to your capability level based on how you have answered the previous question. The five test types include:

1. Numeracy: this test will determine your ability to solve simple calculations. It will evaluate your problem solving skills, measurement and geometry skills, statistics / probability skills and algebra skills.

2. Reading: this test is similar to verbal reasoning. You will be required to read and understand passages of texts, and subsequently answer questions that relate back to this information.

3. Writing: this test will require you to demonstrate your writing capabilities. You will be asked to write a letter, report or short passage based on a specific skill, for example, you may be asked to respond to a client complaint.

4. Abstract reasoning: this test will require you to determine abstract patterns, rules and relationships between different images.

5. Mechanical reasoning: this test specifically focuses on your understanding of circumference, diameter, radius, volume and area. It will ask you to identify movable parts within a mechanism, and the effect any changes within these parts will have.