THE SHSAT
Format
The test is broken into two sections, Verbal and Math. The Verbal Section contains 5 Scrambled Paragraphs, 10 Logical Reasoning
questions, and 5 Reading Passages accompanied by 30 questions. The Math Section contains 50 questions covering arithmetic,
algebra, and geometry. All questions except for Scrambled Paragraphs are multiple choice. Scrambled Paragraphs require test
takers to arrange five sentences to form a coherent paragraph.
Timing
Test takers have 150 minutes (2 1/2 hours) for the entire test. The recommended time for each section is 75 minutes. However, test
takers can break up the time however they choose.
Scoring
Although the Verbal Section contains five fewer questions than the Math Section, both sections contribute equally to the final score.
(Scrambled Paragraphs are weighted a little more heavily than the other question types, worth 2 points each, while all other
questions are worth 1 point.) The test taker’s raw score out of 100 is converted to a scaled score on an 800-point scale. Please see
the NYC DOE Handbook for SHSAT for more information on scoring.
Admission
Admission is determined exclusively by test takers’ scores on this 800-point scale. Essentially, roughly the top 5,500 scorers are
admitted to the eight specialized high schools requiring the SHSAT. It is impossible to know what the “cutoff” scores will be for
each school, since this depends on the number of test takers and their overall performance.