FRV Written Selection Test Practice (ACER)
Preparation guide for the ACER-administered Written Selection Test in Fire Rescue Victoria firefighter recruitment
Who runs the test
Both sides say the same thing. ACER: "The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) delivers the Written Selection Test (WST) on behalf of Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV)." FRV: "The WST was developed and is administered by Australian Council for Education Research (ACER)", naming the four sub-tests, giving a fee of $238 including GST, and stating that all four must be passed. Health Care Card holders are exempt from the fee.
The WST is the successor, for fire services, to ACER's retired Vocational Selection Test. If you have found preparation material about the VST, the construct is broadly similar but the delivery and the component set are not, and the VST's own site no longer exists.
The four components
ACER puts it directly: the WST is a 2 hour and 5 minute online assessment and "each of the four components is scored and timed separately". Being strong at mechanical reasoning will not carry a failed numeracy component.
| Component | Questions | Time | Seconds per question |
|---|---|---|---|
| Literacy skills | 30 | 35 min | 70 |
| Abstract reasoning | 30 | 35 min | 70 |
| Numeracy | 30 | 35 min | 70 |
| Mechanical reasoning | 32 | 20 min | 37 |
Three of the four run at a comfortable 70 seconds a question. Mechanical reasoning does not: 32 questions in 20 minutes is 37 seconds each, which is tight for a question that asks you to work out what a mechanism does. That is the component where pacing costs people marks.
What FRV says the components measure
- Literacy. About six texts of varying difficulty, some including graphs, charts, diagrams and maps. Most questions are multiple choice and some are answered true or false, or yes or no.
- Abstract reasoning. Recognising the rules governing a progression of abstract visual patterns. Three styles: next in sequence, complete the pattern, and order the shapes and choose the middle one. The third is the one nobody has met before.
- Numeracy. Understanding, using, applying and interpreting maths set in adult contexts, based on data presented in words, tables, graphs, plans, maps and diagrams. An onscreen calculator is provided, and it is the only component that gives you one.
- Mechanical reasoning.Basic physics, three-dimensional visualisation, and cause and effect between mechanical components, across FRV's seven named domains.
How it is marked
Outcomes are reported per component as "Standard met" or "Standard not met". Points are not deducted for incorrect answers, so a blank is the only answer that cannot score, and ACER's own preparation advice is to answer to the best of your ability and return to the more challenging questions if there is time at the end.
The WST is not adaptive. ACER runs multiple parallel forms and equates them afterwards: "The analysis of WST results accounts for differences in test difficulty and places all test versions on a single scale." It also warns that unscored trial questions may be added for validation purposes, with extra time added where applicable, so a question count that does not match the published one is not a mistake.
There are no appeals. ACER and FRV state they will not enter into appeals about results, and there is no special consideration for illness on the day. Results stand for three years.
It is a ranking as well as a hurdle
FRV notes that after the WST only the highest-ranking candidates advance to the Group Assessment stage. So clearing every pass mark is necessary and is not by itself sufficient, which is a reason to aim well above the line rather than at it. FRV does not say who runs the Group Assessment, and nothing here implies ACER does.
Sitting it
The test runs in the ACER Test App, downloaded onto the computer you will use at least three days beforehand, with ProctorU supervision through the Guardian Browser for remote sittings, or at one of several Victorian venues. Tablets, phones, Chromebooks, work and school computers, virtual machines and Microsoft Edge are unsupported. ACER does not accept bookings from members of the public: the invitation comes from FRV.
ACER also sells its own practice tests for the WST at $25 AUD each or $80 for the set of four, plus a Practise Now! book. Those are the only genuine ACER items in circulation, and ACER says its free practice tests "match the display and computer functionality experienced in the FRV Selection Test", so they are worth doing for the interface even if you prepare the content elsewhere.
Practise all four components
This is the one ACER programme where our five tests cover every scored component: there is no writing task in the WST.
- ACER Literacy Skills (30 questions · 35 minutes · free) - Six texts including tables, charts, maps and procedures, 30 questions in 35 minutes. The WST runs this component at exactly this length.
- ACER Abstract Reasoning (TAR) (45 questions · 20 or 35 minutes · free) - Choose the Fire Rescue Victoria and Queensland Police preset: 30 questions in 35 minutes, about 70 seconds each.
- ACER Numeracy (30 questions · 35 minutes) - Applied adult maths with an onscreen calculator, 30 questions in 35 minutes. Typed answers carry units and sensible rounding is accepted.
- ACER Mechanical Reasoning (MRT-2) (32 questions · 20 minutes) - Gears, belts, linked bars, levers and pulleys, simple machines, fluids and pressure, and forces and motion: 32 questions in 20 minutes, matching the WST exactly. Those seven domains are FRV’s own published list.
Also available under the same publisher, though not part of the WST:
- ACER Select Verbal (34 questions · 15 minutes) - Not part of the WST, but the same publisher’s verbal reasoning at a faster pace. Useful conditioning for the literacy component.
Full detail on how ACER builds and marks these components is on the ACER provider page, with tactics at ACER entrance exam tips.