How the ACER numeracy test works
Victoria Police and Fire Rescue Victoria both set 30 questions in 35 minutes, about 70 seconds each. The Queensland Police assessment has no numeracy section. The questions use words, tables, graphs, plans, maps and diagrams, and they are set in everyday adult contexts rather than school algebra.
Some questions are multiple choice, some ask whether statements are true or false, and some ask you to type a number or a measurement. ACER provides an onscreen calculator for the whole section.
As with literacy, ACER turns your raw mark into a scale score on the Australian Core Skills Framework. Victoria Police needs 105 or more; Fire Rescue Victoria reports Standard Met or Not Met.
How to answer the questions
ACER suggests practising money, percentages, rates and ratios, area and volume, and reading data. On each question:
- Read the last line first so you know what the answer has to be: a cost, a count, a length or a time.
- Write down the figures you need from the table or diagram, with their units.
- Convert units before you calculate: centimetres to metres, minutes to hours, per week to per year.
- Use the calculator for every step and keep the full figure until the end. Round only at the last step.
- When the answer is a count of things you buy or carry, such as tins, bags or trips, round up.
Worked example
A deck is 4.2 m long and 3.5 m wide. One tin of stain covers 6 square metres per coat, the deck needs two coats, and a tin costs $38.50. How many tins do you need, and what do they cost?
Area: 4.2 × 3.5 = 14.7 square metres. Two coats: 14.7 × 2 = 29.4 square metres. Tins: 29.4 ÷ 6 = 4.9, so you need 5 tins, because 4 would leave part of the deck unfinished. Cost: 5 × $38.50 = $192.50.
Tips for the real ACER numeracy test
- Use the onscreen calculator rather than mental maths. It is there for the whole section.
- Check the unit and the period in the question before you type: kilograms or grams, per week or per year.
- On a set of true or false statements, judge each one on its own figures rather than assuming they all go the same way.
- Put an answer in every box. ACER states that points are not deducted for incorrect answers.
- At 70 seconds a question the clock is generous. Running out of time usually means re-reading tables, so read each table once for all the questions that use it.
Practise the ACER numeracy test on CogniPrep
Our ACER Numeracy test is 30 questions in 35 minutes with an onscreen calculator, mixing multiple choice, typed answers with the unit shown beside the box, and sets of true or false statements that score only when every one is right. Rounding is accepted the way ACER accepts it in its own practice answers. You can move back and forth and nothing is deducted. Questions come from a fixed bank of 98, easiest first, so a repeat run brings some back. You get a score out of 100 and a percentile against other CogniPrep users, not an ACER scale score.