New York City specialized high schools
The SHSAT, and how the computer test works
The Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) decides who is offered a seat at eight of New York City's specialized high schools. It is now taken on a computer that adapts to each answer, so much of the older practice material, written for the paper test, no longer matches it.
Who sits it
New York City residents in Grade 8, or in Grade 9 for the first time, from any kind of school, including home schooling. Students register through MySchools or their school counselor, and rank the schools they want. The SHSAT is the only thing these eight schools look at:
- Bronx High School of Science
- Brooklyn Latin School
- Brooklyn Technical High School
- High School for Math, Science and Engineering at City College
- High School of American Studies at Lehman College
- Queens High School for the Sciences at York College
- Staten Island Technical High School
- Stuyvesant High School
The ninth specialized high school, LaGuardia, admits by audition instead.
How the test works
- Two subjects, one clock
- 50 English (ELA) questions and 50 math questions, with 180 minutes for both. Your child chooses which subject to start with and splits the time as they like. Once a subject is submitted, it is closed.
- It adapts to each answer
- The test starts with a question of middle difficulty. A right answer can bring a harder question next, and a miss an easier one. Every student still answers 50 questions in each subject, on the same standards.
- Answer before you move on
- There is no skipping. In math, and in English questions that stand alone, an answer is final once your child moves on. Inside a reading passage, they can move between that passage's questions and change answers until they leave it.
- No calculator
- There is no calculator and no formula sheet. Scrap paper is given out at the test, and the screen has a notepad, a highlighter and a way to cross out choices.
What is on it
- English (ELA)
- Mostly reading comprehension: sets of questions on stories, poems and informational texts, answered from the text alone. The rest is revising and editing: improving a short text, and fixing grammar, usage and punctuation in sentences.
- Math
- Ratios and percents, the number system, expressions and equations, inequalities, statistics and probability, and geometry, often several skills in one word problem. Grade 8 students are tested on standards through Grade 7, and Grade 9 students on standards through Grade 8.
- Kinds of question
- Most are multiple choice with four choices. Some math questions ask your child to type the answer, and a few questions ask them to drag, select or match on screen.
How offers are made
The English and math scores are scaled and added together. Offers then go down the list from the top score: each student is offered the highest school on their list that still has a seat. Each school's lowest qualifying score changes every year, and New York City Public Schools publishes each year's figures on its specialized high schools page.
Free official practice
New York City Public Schools offers full-length practice tests in the computer format, with 50 questions in each subject, timed or untimed, and an explanation for every question. Start there: they show the real screens and tools. A short tutorial on the same site walks through each kind of question.
Looking for practice for the tests your child sits in school? See our US practice tests.
The SHSAT is given by New York City Public Schools. Scholar Tests is not affiliated with or endorsed by New York City Public Schools or any of the specialized high schools.