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Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT)
Find the current format, timing, scoring, fees, eligibility, and testing options for SHSAT, with direct links to official sources.
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Questions100 items total: 50 in the ELA section and 50 in the Math section (all students answer the same number)
Testing time180 minutes (3 hours) of testing time, divided between sections at the student's choice; 360 minutes for eligible ELLs and students with an extended-time accommodation
ScoringNo passing score; ELA and Math raw scores are calibrated and normalized into scaled scores, which are summed into a composite score used to rank-order students; offers are made in descending composite-score order combined with each student's school preferences until seats fill
Exam feeNo separate exam fee — The assessment is delivered as part of the official program or process and has no separate exam charge.
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Exam overview
What to know before choosing your prep
- Who runs it
- NYC DOE
- Category
- School Admissions
- Current version
- Computer-adaptive test (CAT) format beginning with the fall 2026 administration (NYC Guide to the SHSAT for 2027 Admissions)
- Where it applies
- United States — local within US-NY
- Exam languages
- English
- Score scale
- Scaled score per section (maximum usually around 350) summed into a composite score (usually around 700 maximum); recalibrated each year with no fixed minimum or maximum
- Testing provider
- New York City Department of Education (exam taken on DOE-provided computers; Student Readiness Tool and practice tests run on the TestNav platform)
- Format
- Computer-based on DOE-provided computers (computer-adaptive beginning fall 2026); paper versions only for the extremely limited number of students with IEP/504 accommodations requiring paper
- Availability
- Administered once a year in the fall; School Day administration at NYCPS middle schools (November 18, 2026) or designated weekend testing sites; registration window October 6–30, 2026
- Results
- Scores released in early spring — Fall 2025 test results were available as of March 5; no waitlists
- Score validity
- Scores valid only for the same admissions cycle; scoring is recalibrated every year and scores cannot be compared between years
- Remote testing
- Not available
Exam structure
Two sections — ELA (Revising and Editing and Reading Comprehension) and Math (ratios and proportional relationships, number system and expressions, equations, inequalities, statistics and probability, geometry) — each 50 items; item types are multiple-choice, fill in the blank, and technology-enhanced items (TEI); computer-adaptive, students must respond to each question before advancing (return only within ELA passage sets)
Where rules vary
Applies to New York City residents only; the same exam is used citywide for the eight testing Specialized High Schools.
Eligibility
Current New York City residency and 8th grade or first-time 9th grade status (public, private, or parochial school students)