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Maintained and Updated as of 2025
136 free practice test questions for the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) given by the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE)
There are two SHSAT sections: English Language Arts (ELA) and Math. Students are allocated three hours (180 minutes) to complete the exam. The highest possible score is 700. Note that we've focused on the ELA section here, as it better matches the PracticeQuiz.com study and test engine setup.
Eight of the nine Specialized High Schools in New York City require SHSAT scores for admission. Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School is the onlyl school that does ot require the SHSAT (it requires an audition instead).
The SHSAT is offered in late October for 8th graders and mid-November for 9th graders. The ninth-grade SHSAT is for first-time test takers and students who want a second chance to apply to a Specialized High School. We do not recommend waiting until 9th grade to take the test as these high schools have a very limited number of 10th-grade seats available.
Students earn a “raw score” based on the number of questions they get right. This raw score is converted into a “scaled score” for each section of the test and a “composite score” for the entire test. The highest possible composite score is a 700.
All SHSAT test takers are ranked from highest composite score to lowest composite score. In order, students are assigned to their first-choice Specialized High School until all available seats are filled.
A secret treasure trove of preparation for the ELA section of the SHSAT is our Miller Analogies Test content. We feel the content is very effective for learning and understanding vocabulary and the relationship between words, as well as deductive test taking.
There are about 109 questions on the SHSAT exam across two main categories: English Language Arts (57 questions) and Math (52 questions).
The SHSAT exam is three hours long.
A good passing score for the SHSAT exam is 498 or higher.
A competitive SHSAT exam score can help with admission into certain New York City high schools. Different scores are required for different high schools.
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