Then came the writing section. “Some people believe that standardised tests like the AEAS are the only fair way to assess international students. Others argue they are culturally biased. Discuss.”
She exhaled. One down. Forty-four to go.
The test morphed. Graphs on rainfall in the Murray-Darling basin. A math problem about compound interest on a student loan. A listening clip of a university lecture on tectonic plates, where the professor’s Australian accent blurred “data” into “dah-tah.” She guessed on three questions in a row.
He sent a laughing emoji. Then: “The real test isn’t the sample, sis. It’s whether you get back up after question 17.” aeas test sample
She typed back: “I described the tone as reverent. Got it right.”
Her fingers flew across the keyboard. She wrote about her friend Kevin, who aced every practice test but froze during the real exam because a question mentioned “footy finals.” She wrote about her own confusion the first time she saw “colour” spelled without a ‘u.’ She wrote that fairness wasn’t a score—it was a chance.
She closed her laptop and walked to the window. Jakarta’s late afternoon rain was beginning, the sky a bruised purple. Her phone buzzed. A message from her brother: “How’d the sample go?” Then came the writing section
Elara read the paragraph three times. Astonished? Clinical? Reverent? She clicked “Reverent.” A green checkmark appeared. Correct.
Not excellent. Not failing. Proficient. The word felt like a lukewarm cup of tea.
She clicked “Start.”
Elara smiled. Question 17 had been the one about tectonic plates. She’d gotten it wrong. But she’d written down the professor’s pronunciation of “dah-tah” in her notebook for next time.
The sample question was deceptively simple: a paragraph about the migratory patterns of the Arctic tern, followed by a single sentence: “The author’s tone can best be described as…”
Elara stared at the screen. The words “AEAS Test Sample – Question 1 of 45” glowed in sterile blue light. She’d been preparing for months, but her hand still trembled over the mouse. Discuss
When she hit “Submit,” the screen didn’t cheer. It simply said: “Sample test complete. Your results: 74/90. Estimated AEAS level: Proficient.”