SHSAT & SHS Prep:
Every Question, Answered

The SHSAT (Specialized High Schools Admissions Test) is the single entrance exam used by the New York City Department of Education to determine admission to eight of NYC's nine specialized public high schools, including Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, and Brooklyn Tech. It is the only criterion: scores alone determine acceptance, with no consideration of grades, recommendations, or interviews.

Yes. Beginning with the 2025 administration, the SHSAT is delivered digitally on the TestNav platform that NYC also uses for state assessments. Students take the test on a school-issued device with split-pane reading passages, drag-and-drop questions, hot text selection, inline dropdowns, and other interactive question types that did not exist in the paper version. Practicing on screens that mirror the real interface is now essential.

The NYC Department of Education typically administers the SHSAT for 8th graders during the last week of October and the first week of November, with 9th-grade testing in early November. Registration opens in early September through each student's school counselor. Exact 2026-2027 dates are published by the DOE in the spring of 2026.

The SHSAT has 114 total questions across two sections: 57 ELA (Revising/Editing plus Reading Comprehension) and 57 math (multiple choice plus 5 grid-in questions). Raw scores in each section are converted to a scaled composite score from 200 to 800. Each specialized high school sets its own cutoff score each year, with Stuyvesant requiring the highest, followed by Bronx Science, then Brooklyn Tech.

Eight NYC specialized high schools require the SHSAT: Stuyvesant High School, Bronx High School of Science, Brooklyn Technical High School, Brooklyn Latin School, High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering at City College, High School of American Studies at Lehman College, Queens High School for the Sciences at York College, and Staten Island Technical High School. Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School (the ninth specialized school) requires an audition or portfolio instead of the SHSAT.

114 questions total in 180 minutes. The ELA section contains 5 standalone Revising/Editing questions, 6 passage-based Revising/Editing questions, and 46 Reading Comprehension questions across 5 to 6 passages. The math section contains 52 multiple choice questions and 5 grid-in (free response) questions covering algebra, geometry, number sense, ratios and proportions, statistics and probability, and word problems.

There are 11 interactive question types on the digital SHSAT that do not appear in any printed textbook: matrix sort, drag-to-table, inline insertion, single target drag, inline dropdown, multi select, drag-to-expression, interactive graph, interactive number line, radio button matrix, and hot text. Practicing them only with paper resources leaves students unprepared for roughly one quarter of the questions on test day.

SHS Prep is the first SHSAT platform built from the ground up for the digital test. Most prep options are either expensive in-person tutoring centers ($3,000 to $12,000) or generic online practice that does not replicate the TestNav interface. SHS Prep mirrors the actual digital test format, includes all 11 interactive question types, and runs entirely in a browser so students can practice anywhere with a laptop. It costs $30 per month or $150 per year.

Yes. The platform's question renderer reproduces the TestNav split-pane layout, the interactive question types, and the digital test conventions students see on exam day. There is also a dedicated Digital-Only Question Practice section where students can drill the 11 new interactive formats in isolation until they become reflexive.

SHS Prep is $30 per month or $150 per year, billed through Stripe. The annual plan saves $210 per year compared to monthly. There is no free tier, but students can preview the platform during signup before paying. All subscriptions expire on December 31 because the SHSAT cycle ends in November and most families do not need the platform after their student tests.

SHS Prep does not currently offer a free recurring trial, but new accounts can preview the platform during onboarding before checkout. Free SHSAT practice resources are also available on the SHS Prep blog, including a score calculator, study plans, vocabulary guides, and detailed walkthroughs of every question type.

SHS Prep is built for 7th and 8th graders preparing for the standard 8th-grade SHSAT, which determines admission to 9th grade at the specialized high schools. The platform also supports 8th graders preparing to take the 9th-grade SHSAT, which determines admission to 10th grade. Younger students (6th graders) can use the platform to start early, but the question difficulty assumes pre-algebra and middle school ELA fluency.

SHS Prep contains 3,100 plus practice questions across all 42 active SHSAT subtopics, evenly split between math and ELA. Every subtopic has dedicated question sets, so nothing is skipped and nothing is over-represented. Questions are tagged by category, difficulty, and question type so students can drill the exact area they need.

There are 10 full-length mock exams (Forms A through J), totaling 1,140 questions. Each mock exam follows the official SHSAT blueprint, runs under timed conditions, and is auto-scored on submission. After each test students get a Skills Snapshot and a detailed analytics breakdown showing per-category accuracy, question-type performance, and recommended focus areas.

Most successful candidates study consistently for 6 to 12 months before the test. A typical study plan is 5 to 10 hours per week starting in the spring of 7th grade or the summer before 8th grade, ramping up to 10 to 15 hours per week in September and October. Cramming in the final weeks rarely produces meaningful score gains because the test rewards deep familiarity with question patterns and timing strategy.

The most effective workflow is: (1) take a full mock exam to establish a baseline, (2) review the analytics to find your weakest subtopics, (3) drill those subtopics in Targeted Practice with the lessons and question sets, (4) take a second mock exam two to four weeks later, (5) repeat the cycle. The Digital-Only Question Practice section should be folded in early so the interactive formats become routine before test day.

No. No legitimate SHSAT prep program can guarantee a score because outcomes depend on the student's starting point, time invested, study consistency, and test-day execution. SHS Prep provides the questions, mock exams, lessons, and analytics needed to prepare effectively, but the work is the student's. Families who use the platform consistently and engage with the analytics tend to see substantial improvement between mock exams.

For self-motivated students, yes. SHS Prep gives students more practice questions, more mock exams, and more detailed analytics than most in-person tutoring centers, at a fraction of the price. For students who need accountability, motivation, or one-on-one feedback to stay on track, an in-person tutor or hybrid approach may work better. Many families use SHS Prep alongside a tutor as the practice and analytics layer.