High School Placement Test

HSPT practice tests

The HSPT (High School Placement Test) is the entrance test most US Catholic high schools set for Grade 8 students applying to Grade 9. It has five timed parts in a fixed order, Verbal Skills, Quantitative Skills, Reading, Mathematics and Language, about two and a half hours in all, and each school or diocese sets its own test day, usually between December and February.

Our HSPT-style practice follows the published test: the five parts in order, each at its real length and time, with the mix of question types the setter's own score report shows. That includes the HSPT's own shapes: logic questions answered true, false or uncertain, number series, comparing figures and quantities, and finding the sentence with a mistake. Each test is new when your child starts it, and the score shows straight away.

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A look at the test

Questions in the HSPT style

Written by us in the style of the published HSPT question types.

  • Verbal Skills: logic

    Wes lives farther from school than Fiona. Fiona lives farther from school than Nadia.
    Nadia lives closer to school than Wes.

    If the first two statements are true, the third statement (in bold) is

    1. Atrue
    2. Bfalse
    3. Cuncertain
    Show the answer and why
    AnswerAtrue

    1. Take the first two statements as facts, even if they sound unusual.

    2. Wes lives farther from school than Fiona, and Fiona lives farther from school than Nadia, so Wes lives farther from school than Nadia.

    3. The facts make the third statement true.

    4. Final answer

      true.

    Remember

    Treat the first two statements as facts, even if they sound odd.

  • Quantitative Skills: comparing figures

    Look at the three figures. Each is cut into equal parts.

    Which statement is true?

    1. A(a) is more shaded than (b).
    2. B(b) and (c) are equally shaded.
    3. C(a) and (c) are equally shaded.
    4. D(a) and (b) are equally shaded, and both are less shaded than (c).
    Show the answer and why
    AnswerB(b) and (c) are equally shaded.

    1. Count the parts of each square and how many are shaded.

    2. (a) has 5 of 9 parts shaded, which is 5/9.

    3. (b) has 2 of 3 parts shaded, which is 2/3.

    4. (c) has 6 of 9 parts shaded, which is 2/3.

    5. Compare the fractions, then check each statement against them.

    6. Final answer

      (b) and (c) are equally shaded.

    Remember

    For each figure, count the equal parts and the shaded parts, and write the shaded fraction.

  • Quantitative Skills: comparing quantities

    (a) 145 ÷ 5
    (b) 63 ÷ 3
    (c) half of 58

    Look at (a), (b) and (c). Which statement is true?

    1. A(c) is greater than (b).
    2. B(a) = (b), and both are greater than (c).
    3. C(a) is greater than (c).
    4. D(a) is equal to (b).
    Show the answer and why
    AnswerA(c) is greater than (b).

    1. (a)

      145 ÷ 5 = 29.

    2. (b)

      63 ÷ 3 = 21.

    3. (c)

      Half of 58 is 29.

    4. Check each statement against the three values.

    5. Final answer

      (c) is greater than (b).

    Remember

    Work out (a), (b) and (c) one at a time and write each value down.

  • Language: find the mistake

    Which sentence has a mistake in capitalization, punctuation or usage?

    If none of them has a mistake, choose "No mistakes."

    1. APresident Lincoln gave a famous speech at Gettysburg.
    2. BGrandma sent me a card for Valentine's Day.
    3. CMateo and me, after weeks of practice in the music room, finally performed our song for the class.
    4. DNo mistakes
    Show the answer and why
    AnswerCMateo and me, after weeks of practice in the music room, finally performed our song for the class.

    1. Read each sentence for capital letters, then commas, then verb and pronoun forms.

    2. The pronoun is part of the subject, together with Mateo, even though its verb comes many words later, so it should be "I", not "me".

    3. The other two sentences are correct.

    4. Final answer

      Mateo and me, after weeks of practice in the music room, finally performed our song for the class.

    Remember

    Find the subject of each verb and check they match: one thing takes "is" or "was", more than one take "are" or "were".

The test

Five parts, and the optional test

PartGradesQuestionsTimeWhat is on it
Verbal SkillsGrade 86016 minutesSynonyms 13, antonyms 9, analogies 10, logic 11, which word does not belong 17.
Quantitative SkillsGrade 85230 minutesNumber series 15, worded calculations 15, comparing figures 10, comparing quantities 12.
ReadingGrade 86225 minutesReading passages 40 (informational and literary), vocabulary 22.
MathematicsGrade 86445 minutesNumbers and word problems 29, measurement 7, geometry 12, algebra 7, data and probability 9.
LanguageGrade 86025 minutesPunctuation, capitals and usage 30, spelling 10, composition 20.
Science (optional test)Grade 84025 minutesOptional, at some schools only, and not in the main scores: life, physical, and earth and space science.

The parts, their order and their lengths are the setter's published figures, and the minutes are those a diocese that runs the test publishes. The optional test's length and time are the setter's too. The mix of question types inside each part follows the setter's own score report; the questions are ours.

By grade

Free practice for each grade

Pricing

Three free practice tests. Unlimited tests and answers are US$69.

A free account includes 3 practice tests. A plan opens unlimited tests and shows your child what they got right, the right answers and how to reach them, on every ISEE, SSAT, HSPT, TACHS and Hunter test. Practicing for more than one kind of test? The US bundle covers them all for US$99.

Private school packLaunch price

US$69

for 6 months

  • Which questions your child got right, after every practice test
  • The right answer to every question
  • A worked solution for every question, step by step
  • ISEE Primary 2 to 4, Lower, Middle and Upper Level, every section
  • SSAT Elementary, Middle and Upper Level, all three sections
  • HSPT and TACHS for Catholic high school entry, every part
  • Hunter-style reading and math for Hunter College High School, with the writing marked

Every US testLaunch price

US$99

for 6 months

  • Everything in every US pack, in one payment
  • CogAT, NNAT, OLSAT and NGAT, for gifted and talented programs
  • SCAT-style practice for the CTY talent search, Grades 2 to 9
  • InView-style practice for gifted screening, Grades 2 to 12
  • Matrices-style and spatial reasoning practice
  • ISEE and SSAT, for private school entry
  • HSPT and TACHS, for Catholic high school entry
  • Hunter-style practice, for Hunter College High School
  • Math contest practice, Grades 1 to 8
  • MAP Growth practice, by grade and subject
  • i-Ready-style Math and Reading, Kindergarten to Grade 8
  • Early reading practice, Kindergarten to Grade 3
  • SHSAT practice for Grades 8 and 9, English and math
  • Iowa practice for Grades 3 to 8, all five Core tests
  • TerraNova, Stanford 10 and CTP-style practice for Grades 3 to 8
  • ACT-style English, Math, Reading and Science for Grades 10 to 12
  • SAT-style and PSAT-style practice, Grades 8 to 12, Reading and Writing and Math
  • State test practice: STAAR-style and CAASPP-style math and reading, Grades 3 to 8

One payment in US dollars for 6 months of access. No auto-renewal: when the 6 months end, access stops unless you buy again.

Questions

What parents ask

Are these real HSPT questions?
No. HSPT questions are secure, and the setter does not sell its tests to families. We write our own questions in the style of each HSPT question type, at the same length and time, with four choices (three on the logic questions).
When is the HSPT?
There is no national date. Each Catholic high school or diocese sets its own, usually between December and February of Grade 8. Your child's school or the high school will tell you the day.
Can my child use a calculator?
No. Calculators are not allowed on the HSPT, so practice Quantitative Skills and Mathematics by hand, with scrap paper.
Is there a penalty for guessing?
No. The HSPT counts right answers only, so your child should answer every question, even with seconds left.
What about the optional test?
Some schools add one more 40-question test at the end, Science or Catholic Religion. It does not count toward the main scores. Our practice covers the five main parts and the optional Science test (40 questions in 25 minutes); we do not offer a Religion test.
Is the HSPT the same as the TACHS?
No. The TACHS is the Catholic high school test in New York City and on Long Island; most other dioceses use the HSPT. The guide below compares the two, and our TACHS-style practice is on its own page.
Is it free?
A free account includes 3 practice tests. A plan opens unlimited HSPT tests and shows which questions were right, the right answers and a worked solution for each. The private school pack (US$69 for six months) covers ISEE, SSAT, HSPT, TACHS and Hunter. The US bundle (US$99) covers every US test we offer.
Does a practice score predict my child's HSPT score?
No. The HSPT reports standard scores and percentiles against other Grade 8 students, which only the real test can do. Our score is the number of practice questions answered correctly.

Read our guide: HSPT vs TACHS: how the two tests compare

The HSPT (High School Placement Test) is published by Scholastic Testing Service, Inc. Scholar Tests is not affiliated with or endorsed by Scholastic Testing Service, any diocese or any school. Our HSPT-style practice questions are written by us in the style of the published HSPT question types; they are not real HSPT questions, and a practice score is not an HSPT score.