My son is sitting the HAST in Term 2 and I'm trying to figure out how early to start structured prep. He's 10, currently in Year 5, and we found out about the test about 14 weeks before the sitting date. From what I've read, it covers verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, abstract reasoning, and reading comprehension — is that still correct or has the format changed recently?
We tried a sample paper from the school and he got about 65% overall, with abstract reasoning being his weakest area at around 52%. The school said acceptance rates at the selective schools we're targeting are somewhere around 8–12%, which is honestly a bit intimidating. Does anyone have a sense of what percentile you need to be aiming for to be genuinely competitive?
At the moment we're doing 30 minutes a day, five days a week, mixing practice questions with general reading. I've seen posts suggesting 45–60 minutes is more effective in the final 4–5 weeks, but I don't want to burn him out before the test date either. He's motivated but he's also got sport and other commitments.
If anyone has been through this recently with a child who actually got into a selective school, I'd love to hear what worked rather than what the prep companies suggest.
The format you described is correct as of last year — four subtests, timed separately. Abstract reasoning is the one kids underestimate because you can't study content for it, you just build pattern recognition through repetition.
For competitive schools you're generally looking at top 10–15 percentile nationally, sometimes higher for the most sought-after schools. Don't chase a raw score target — focus on improvement relative to his starting point and let the percentile take care of itself.
14 weeks is a solid runway. My daughter started at 12 weeks and got into her first-choice school — we did 40 minutes four days a week and one longer session on weekends. Abstract reasoning improved the most, probably 15 percentage points over the prep period.
Burnout is a real risk if you push too hard early. We kept sessions short until week 10 then stepped up intensity for the final month. He was still fresh on test day and I think that made a genuine difference to his results.