Number & Algebra
The largest section of the Vic Police EST numeracy test. Fractions and percentages alone account for roughly a third of all questions. Master these first.
Integers and Place Value
ACSF: Identifies and uses whole numbers, including negative integers, in a range of everyday contexts
Reading, writing and ordering whole numbers. Place value to thousands and beyond. Negative numbers in operational contexts — temperature differences, time variances, balance changes.
Key skills
Common mistake: Rounding 5 always goes up. Negatives: −3 is greater than −7, not the other way around.
Fractions
ACSF: Calculates with fractions, including mixed numbers, in a range of everyday and work contexts
Adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions. Converting between mixed numbers and improper fractions. Comparing fractions with different denominators — appearing as proportions in operational reports (e.g. 3/4 of a roster, 2/5 of incidents resolved).
Key skills
Common mistake: Adding fractions by adding numerators AND denominators (e.g. 1/2 + 1/3 ≠ 2/5). Always find a common denominator first.
Decimals
ACSF: Performs calculations with decimals, including in money and measurement contexts
Operations with decimals. Ordering decimals — common in time logs, distances, equipment readings. Converting between fractions and decimals. Rounding to a given number of decimal places.
Key skills
Common mistake: Ordering decimals: 0.9 > 0.85 > 0.8 > 0.75. More digits doesn't mean a bigger number.
Percentages
ACSF: Calculates percentages and uses them to solve problems in everyday and work contexts, including percentage increase and decrease
Finding a percentage of an amount. Percentage increase and decrease. Expressing one quantity as a percentage of another. Surcharges, levies, GST (10%), conversion rates between two quantities — common in budget and reporting contexts.
Key skills
Common mistake: Removing GST: dividing by 1.1 is NOT the same as subtracting 10%. A $110 item has $10 GST in it, not $11.
Rates and Ratios
ACSF: Uses rates and ratios to solve problems in everyday contexts, including unit rates, scale and proportion
Unit rates (cost per item, speed, pay rates, response time per kilometre). Simplifying and using ratios to share quantities — crew allocations, time splits, resource distribution. Scale factors on maps and plans.
Key skills
Common mistake: Sharing in ratio 3:5 — find total parts (8) first. The shares are 3/8 and 5/8 of the total, not 3 and 5 of anything.
Order of Operations (BODMAS)
ACSF: Applies order of operations to evaluate numerical expressions in context
Evaluating expressions with multiple operations. Brackets, division, multiplication, addition, subtraction — in that order. The on-screen calculator follows BODMAS; trust it but use brackets when the order matters.
Key skills
Common mistake: On the on-screen calculator: 17.50 + 19.75 × 3 = 76.75, NOT 111.75. The calculator does the multiplication first. Use brackets: (17.50 + 19.75) × 3 = 111.75.
Squares and Square Roots
ACSF: Recognises and uses squares and square roots in measurement and everyday contexts
Squares of whole numbers. Square roots of perfect squares. Estimating square roots of non-perfect squares — useful for area-to-side and distance calculations on plans and maps.
Key skills
Common mistake: √9 = 3, not ±3. In the context of EST questions (lengths, areas), the answer is always the positive root.
Basic Algebra
ACSF: Substitutes values into formulae and solves simple equations in everyday and work contexts
Substituting values into formulae. Solving simple one-step and two-step equations. Reading and using algebraic expressions in context — call-out cost = base + rate × time, total = quantity × unit price, and so on.
Key skills
Common mistake: EST algebra is about substitution and simple solving — not factorising or quadratics. Keep it straightforward.
Ready to test yourself?
Take the free 13-question diagnostic — see exactly where you stand across the EST numeracy strands. Or sit a full practice paper free, no sign-up needed.