How to Pass the Specialized High Schools Admissions (SHSAT)
The Specialized High Schools Admissions (SHSAT) exams are organized and administered by the New York Department of Public High School Education. The exam is used to determine meeting entry requirements of Specialized High Schools in New York
Exam Structure and Content
To pass the test, students should be able to solve each problem, usually story problems, and explain how the problems were solved. Third graders should be able to solve problems relating to fraction and decimals, weigh objects with scale in grams and kilograms and also be able to calculate dollar amounts. Sixth graders should be able to use rulers. Protractors and scales understand the perfect squares, powers and square roots as well as understand and use data, tables and graph, coordinating grids and plotting points.
Eligibility
• Students must reside in New York
• Candidates must be 8th or 9th graders who meet the personal requirements
Exam Registration
• Registration for the SHSAT exams is done through the candidate's school
• Candidates will receive an SHSAT Admission Ticket that will enable them to gain entry to the exam/audition venue
• Candidates will also have to fill and submit a New York City Public High School Admissions Application
• For more information see registration guidelines or the exam handbook
Exam Content
• The exam has 2 sections, the verbal and mathematics sections
• The mathematics section is made up of 50 multiple choice questions
• The verbal section of the exam is made up of 45 multiple choice questions comprised as follows:
30 questions in Reading Comprehension
10 Logical Reasoning questions
5 Scrambled Paragraph sets
Exam Structure
• The exam is made up of multiple choice questions
• The exam is timed for 2 hours 30 minutes
Other Information
• The scores are scaled between 200 and 800
• There are no penalties for wrong answers
• Results are released in February
• Minimum cut-off score varies from school to school
Specialized High Schools Admissions (SHSAT) Practice Test Questions
Practice Reading Comprehension Questions - (includes Main Idea and Making Inferences)
Practice Math Questions (General)
Basic Math (Very Basic - Long & Short Division, Multiplication, Decimals, Fractions, Percent etc.)
Basic Math II (Percentage, Fractions Decimals exponents, simple algebra, parentheses removal etc.)
Basic Algebra
Exponents (Adding, subtracting and multiplying exponents and exponent fractions)
Word Problems
Tutorials
Word Problems
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