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Exam Overview
The SHSAT is administered by New York City Public Schools (NYCPS), the city's Department of Education. It is the sole admissions criterion for eight specialized high schools: offers are made in rank order of composite score, matched against each student's ranked list of schools. A ninth specialized school, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, admits students by audition or portfolio review instead of the SHSAT.
The Computer-Adaptive Format
The SHSAT is taken on a device supplied by NYCPS at a designated testing site. It is computer-adaptive: the first questions are of average difficulty, and after each response the test re-estimates your ability and selects the next question accordingly. A correct answer to a moderately challenging question leads to a harder one; a wrong answer leads to a slightly easier one. Every student answers the same number of questions in each section.
| Feature | What It Means for You |
|---|---|
| Math adapts question by question | Each math answer influences the next question, so accuracy on every item matters. |
| ELA adapts by passage set | Reading and Revising/Editing Part B questions come in sets tied to one passage; the next set is chosen after you submit the current one. |
| Limited navigation | You generally must answer a question before moving on and cannot return to earlier questions. Inside a passage set you may move among that set's questions until you submit it. |
| Scratch paper provided | Scrap paper is available for both sections; calculators are not permitted. |
| On-screen tools | Tools include highlighting, an answer eliminator, a line reader, zoom, a notepad, and bookmarks within passage sets. |
Sections and Question Types
| Section | Question Type | What It Tests |
|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts (50) | Revising/Editing Part A | Standalone sentences or short paragraphs: correct errors in grammar, usage, punctuation, and sentence structure. |
| Revising/Editing Part B | A multi-paragraph text with numbered sentences: improve organization, transitions, support, precision, and clarity. | |
| Reading Comprehension | Passage sets from literary prose, poetry, and informational texts (science, history, social studies, the arts, argument). | |
| Mathematics (50) | Multiple choice | Grade-level problems in number and operations, ratios and percent, expressions and equations, functions, geometry, statistics, and probability. |
| Technology-enhanced items | A small number of items ask you to type a numeric answer, use an equation editor, drag and drop, or select from a drop-down menu. |
Timing
Students have 180 minutes to complete both sections. Students with an IEP or Section 504 plan that provides testing accommodations, such as extended time, receive them on the SHSAT; a paper-based version is available for some students whose plans require it.
Scoring
- Each section produces a scaled score, and the ELA and math scaled scores are added to form a composite score used to rank all test-takers.
- Because the test is adaptive, your score reflects both how many questions you answer correctly and how difficult those questions were.
- There is no penalty for wrong answers, so answer every question.
- There is no fixed passing score. Each school's cutoff is the composite score of the last student offered a seat there, and it changes every year with the applicant pool and the number of seats.
- Scores are compared across different forms and years through equating, so no student is advantaged by seeing a particular set of questions.
Eligibility, Registration, and Test Day
| Topic | Details |
|---|---|
| Who may take it | New York City residents currently in grade 8, and first-time ninth graders, who want to attend a specialized high school. Students already enrolled at a specialized high school may not retest. |
| Cost | Free. |
| How to register | Through your MySchools account (or with your school counselor) during the fall registration window. You will receive a test ticket with your date and location. |
| When it is given | In the fall, on scheduled school days and some weekend dates at NYCPS-designated sites, on NYCPS equipment. |
| What to bring | Your test ticket and any items it lists. Scratch paper is provided; calculators, phones, and smart watches are not allowed in the testing room. |
| Results | Offers are released with high school admission results in the spring. |
The Specialized High Schools
| School | Borough |
|---|---|
| Bronx High School of Science | Bronx |
| Brooklyn Latin School | Brooklyn |
| Brooklyn Technical High School | Brooklyn |
| High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering at City College | Manhattan |
| High School of American Studies at Lehman College | Bronx |
| Queens High School for the Sciences at York College | Queens |
| Staten Island Technical High School | Staten Island |
| Stuyvesant High School | Manhattan |
Students rank the schools in order of preference when they register. Offers go to the highest scorers first; each student is offered a seat at the most preferred school that still has room at the time their score is reached. Through the Discovery program, some seats are offered to students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds who score just below a school's cutoff and complete a summer program.
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