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Abstract reasoning test: the three question types

Abstract reasoning tests use pictures instead of words to measure how quickly a child finds a rule. In ACER's Higher Ability Selection Test there are exactly 30 abstract reasoning questions in 30 minutes, across three named formats: next in sequence, middle of sequence, and complete the pattern.

One minute per question, non-verbal, with everything needed printed on the page. It is the section that most rewards familiarity and most punishes surprise.

What is an abstract reasoning test measuring?

The capacity to make sense of complex situations and draw meaning out of them. ACER describe abstract reasoning as a non-verbal test measuring the ability to perceive and think clearly, by identifying and completing picture sequences and patterns.

Because it is non-verbal, it is doing something the other sections cannot. A child with a smaller vocabulary or a language background other than English is not disadvantaged by the format, which is precisely why selective tests include it.

What are the three question formats?

Next in sequence, middle of sequence, and complete the pattern. ACER name and illustrate all three in the HAST Student Information Bulletins.

FormatWhat you are givenWhat you must do
Next in sequenceA sequence of frames, plus four options A to DChoose the option that most logically and simply comes next
Middle of sequenceFive frames in scrambled order, options A to EArrange them into the simplest logical sequence, then name the one in the middle
Complete the patternA grid with one cell marked with a question markChoose the option A to D that fits most logically and simply into the gap

Middle of sequence is the one that catches students out, because it does not ask for the answer to the sequence, it asks for a position within it. A child who orders the frames perfectly and then reports the last frame has done all the work and scored zero.

The one word that solves most of these

"Simply." It appears in all three of ACER's instruction lines, and it is not filler.

ACER's own worked answers show why. In their next-in-sequence sample, the pattern consisting of a cross and a dot rotates anticlockwise by 45 degrees from one frame to the next, and the answer is D. In their complete-the-pattern sample, the shape at the right end of each row is made by combining the shapes in the other two boxes of the row, and the answer is B.

Both rules are boring. Rotate a fixed amount. Combine two shapes. Neither requires a clever multi-step theory, and a student who invents one will find an option that matches it, because the distractors are built for exactly that mistake.

So the instruction to give a child is: find the dullest rule that explains every frame. If your rule needs an exception, it is the wrong rule.

The way to stop a child over-theorising is to stop asking them to theorise at all.

Over-theorising happens when a student meets a question with no plan and starts inventing explanations until one fits. Give them a system instead. Teach them to recognise which type of question they are looking at, then run the strategy that belongs to that type. Once a child can name the question type in the first few seconds, the inventing stops, because they are no longer searching for a rule, they are checking for a specific one.

That is what we teach in our own classes. We run critical reasoning as part of the syllabus, and one thing worth saying plainly is that the full critical reasoning syllabus is far more than a child needs for a selective exam. For exam preparation we take a selection from it, matched to the particular question types that actually turn up. Teaching the whole thing to an eleven-year-old preparing for one paper is not a better use of their year.

So if you are working at home, resist the urge to expand. Three question types, three strategies, practised until recognition is instant. That is the entire job for this section.

What are the rules actually based on?

A small, learnable set. Almost every abstract reasoning item in selective testing turns on one or two of these:

45 and 90 degrees are the common ones.

middle-of-sequence sample runs one to five figures.

sometimes wrapping around.

them.

itself.

  • Rotation. A shape turns by a fixed amount each frame, clockwise or anticlockwise.
  • Reflection. The figure flips across a horizontal or vertical axis.
  • Counting. The number of elements increases or decreases by a fixed step. ACER's
  • Movement. An element travels around the frame, often one position per step,
  • Combination. Two frames merge into a third, keeping shared elements or removing
  • Shading and size. A property alternates or progresses independently of the shape
  • Substitution. One element is consistently swapped for another.

The productive way to practise is not to grind hundreds of items. It is to work through twenty items slowly, naming the rule out loud each time, until your child can say "rotation plus counting" before they look at the options.

How should a child pace 30 questions in 30 minutes?

One minute each, with no exceptions and no heroics. Abstract reasoning has the cleanest pacing arithmetic of any section, which makes it the easiest place to teach discipline.

ACER's own test-taking guidance applies directly: do not rush, do not spend a long time on a difficult question, leave it out but make sure your next answer goes in the right oval, and remember that every question is of equal value. No marks are deducted for wrong answers.

Practical routine: scan, name the rule, check it against every frame, answer. If the rule has not appeared within about twenty seconds, mark the best-looking option, note the question number and move. Two or three flagged questions revisited at the end will earn more than one question solved beautifully in four minutes.

Which tests include abstract reasoning?

HAST does, as one of up to four components, and whether your child sits it depends on the package the school selects. Edutest does not have a section by that name, but its Numerical Reasoning section covers matrices and series, which is closely related work.

Worth checking before you spend money:

running a three-test package may swap it out for written expression.

does not use it at Year 5.

and number series that use the same pattern-finding instinct.

  • HAST Secondary: abstract reasoning is one of the four components. A school
  • HAST-P: abstract reasoning is the optional fourth component. Brisbane State High
  • Edutest: no abstract reasoning section, but Numerical Reasoning includes matrices

If your child is sitting a HAST school, email and ask which package it uses. It is a one-line question and it determines whether this entire section is relevant.

Does practice help on an ability test?

Yes, for the format. Less so for the underlying reasoning, and it is worth being honest about the difference.

ACER's position is that the skills HAST measures are learned over a lifetime and that short-term training is unlikely to improve performance. That is a fair description of the reasoning itself. But a child meeting "arrange five frames into the simplest logical sequence and name the middle one" for the first time in an exam room will lose marks to the instruction, not to their ability.

Familiarity with the three formats, the seven-ish rule families and the one-minute pace is not coaching a child past their ability. It is removing everything that stands between their ability and the answer sheet.

Where to next

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FAQ block for schema

What is an abstract reasoning test? A non-verbal test that measures reasoning through picture sequences and patterns rather than words or numbers.

How many abstract reasoning questions are in the HAST? Thirty questions in thirty minutes.

What types of abstract reasoning questions are there? Three in ACER's tests: next in sequence, middle of sequence, and complete the pattern.

Does the Edutest have abstract reasoning? Not by that name. Edutest's Numerical Reasoning section covers matrices and series, which use similar pattern-finding skills.

Do wrong answers cost marks? No. In the HAST no marks are deducted for incorrect answers, so a guess always beats a blank.

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Written by the teaching team at Practice Tests and Exams. We have taught Year 3 to 12 English and Year 3 to 6 maths in small group classes to our own syllabus since 2008, and prepare Queensland students for selective entry and scholarship exams.

Question formats, counts and worked examples verified against ACER's HAST Student Information Bulletins, Primary and Secondary, on 10 September 2026.

Abstract Reasoning Test: The Three Question Types Explained