SHSAT
The Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) is an examination administered to eighth and ninth grade students residing in New York City and used to determine admission to all Specialized High Schools except for LaGuardia, which requires an audition or portfolio for admission.
Question?
- How can my child qualify to take the admissions test into a specialized high school?
A. The SHSAT is an examination administered to 8th and 9th grade students residing in any one of the five New York City boroughs. - What schools can my child attend by taking this test?
A. The test will provide admission to all but one of the 9 specialized high schools. - Stuyvesant High School
- Bronx High School of Science
- Brooklyn Technical High School
- Brooklyn Latin 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
- Fiorello H. LaGuardia Hs of Music & Art is determined by audition, rather than by taking an examination.
- What determines my child’s qualification into a specific school?
A. Each school has its own cut off score. The results are ordered from the highest to the lowest score. The list is processed in order by score, with each student being placed in their most-preferred school that still has open seats, and continuing until there are no remaining open seats at any school. - What are the benefits of attending a specialized high school?
A. Every one of the specialized high schools has its own unique advantages and impression, but most primarily concentrates on mathematics and science, the fundamental academic subjects for higher education. They each have their own array of advanced placement courses and electives. - What is the format of the test?
A. There are two sections on this test: English and Math.(2H 30M)
English –45 Multiple Choice Questions and 75 minutes to answer
10 Logical Reasoning questions
5 Scrambled Paragraph (worth 2 points each).
30 Reading Comprehension (5 reading passages with 6 questions each)
*AA TIP: Reading passages are mainly scientific passages based on fact finding and analyzing skills. Authors tone and implied meaning can be found as implied questions.
Math – There are 50 math questions and 75 minutes to answer.
*AA TIP: Unlike regents or statewide math questions, math skills required for this test are rather conceptual and require critical thinking. Fraction, ratio, percents, and algebra concepts are tested from easy, medium, to very difficult questions towards the end of the exam with small number of geometry concepts.
SHSAT 2010-2011 – Cut-off Scores
The cut-off scores for Specialized High Schools admission are not officially announced by the NYC Department of Education any time.
Based on the lowest scores of students who got admission into various schools, here are the possible cut-off scores for 2010-2011:
Stuyvesant — Around 562
Bronx Science — Around 520
Brooklyn Tech — Around 480
Specialized High School SHSAT Cutoff Scores for 2015
We’ve had wonderful parents in the past who started threads to gather the cutoff SHSAT scores / results for the last couple years, but we figured we’d do it this year. To help us compile the data, it would be helpful if you can share your SHSAT scores or what you know to be the lowest score to gain admission to one of the specialized high schools. We’ll update the list accordingly.
2014 (cutoff score / high score)
Stuyvesant 559 / 697
Bronx Science 517 / 678
Brooklyn Latin 480 / 541
Brooklyn Technical 486 / 628
HSMSE @ CCNY 512 / 610 (cutoff probably still too high)
HSAS @ Lehman 506 / 646
Queens Science @ York College TBD / 612
Staten Island Tech 506 / 638
2013
Stuyvesant 562
Bronx Science 513
Brooklyn Latin 471
Brooklyn Technical 483
HSMSE @ CCNY 498
HSAS @ Lehman 501
Queens Science @ York College 500
Staten Island Tech 503