Exams › SHSAT
The exam changes in fall 2026

SHSAT practice exams,
built for the test as it is now.

This fall the SHSAT becomes computer-adaptive and drops from 114 questions to 100. Our four exams are built to that specification — 50 ELA, 50 Math, three hours, with difficulty adjusting question by question.

Who sits it
Grade 8 and grade 9 applicants
Leads to
NYC specialized high schools
Format
100 questions · 180 minutes
Exams
Four full-length forms
Fall 2026

What changed, and why older material no longer fits.

The SHSAT went digital in 2025 and becomes computer-adaptive this fall. Practice books and online tests built for the previous exam are now the wrong length and the wrong shape.

Based on the New York City Department of Education's published guidance for the 2026 SHSAT.
 Previous examFall 2026 exam
Questions114 — 57 ELA, 57 Math100 — 50 ELA, 50 Math
DifficultyIdentical for every studentAdapts to each student's answers
Math navigationReturn to any questionForward only — no going back
ELA navigationReturn to any questionWithin a passage set, until it is submitted
Question typesMultiple choice and grid-inPlus select-all, drag-to-order, dropdowns, click-the-sentence
Total time180 minutes180 minutes
How adaptive works

Watch the test find your child’s level.

Answer as if you were sitting it. Get one right and the next is harder; get one wrong and it steps back. After a dozen questions it settles where the score is most accurate.

Current difficulty On level

What's included

Four complete exams. 886 original questions.

An Evaluation exam to establish a baseline, then three full practice tests. Every question and passage was written for this product.

Genuinely adaptive

Difficulty moves item by item, settling where your child is answering roughly two-thirds correctly — the same principle the real exam applies.

All six question types

Multiple choice, select-all, grid-in, drag-to-order, inline dropdown and click-the-sentence, matching the digital exam's tech-enhanced items.

Correct navigation rules

Passage sets allow movement within the set and no return once submitted. Math runs forward only, exactly as the real test does.

Every wrong answer explained

Each incorrect choice carries its own explanation of the particular mistake that leads there — so a missed question becomes a lesson.

Comparable across forms

The four exams are calibrated against one another, so the third sitting can be honestly compared with the first.

The real test's tools

An answer eliminator for crossing out choices, and adjustable text size — both present on the real digital exam.

886
Questions
36
Reading passages
4
Complete exams
3
Difficulty tiers per section
The report

What you receive when your child finishes.

Your child sees a neutral finishing screen — no score, no answer key. The report comes to you.

  • Scaled scores for each section, and a composite where one can honestly be given
  • An estimated percentile band, with its basis and its limits stated plainly
  • Performance at each of the three difficulty tiers, including whether the hardest tier was ever reached
  • Every question reviewed — what was answered, what was correct, and why each wrong choice is wrong
  • The exact conditions the exam was taken under, including any extra time
  • Progress across sittings once more than one exam has been completed
A student sitting a full-length practice exam at home
Try one

Get it wrong. That’s the useful part.

These are real questions from the bank. Pick any answer — including a wrong one — and see the explanation your child would get.

Every wrong choice has its own explanation — not just the right one.
Start here

Try a full section, at no cost.

One complete scored section — ELA or Math — with real timing and the real format. No card required. It is the same product you would be paying for, not a sample of easy questions.

Begin a free section

Enter a parent email. The results report is sent to this address.

A single section takes about 90 minutes. It can be paused.

Four exams, from $24.75 each.

Pay per exam with no subscription and nothing to cancel. Buy one or all four — the more your child sits, the less each one costs.

See full pricing
Straight answers

What we don't claim.

We do not predict an SHSAT score

The Department of Education does not publish the table converting raw answers into the official scaled score. Our scale is derived from a published legacy conversion chart and is clearly labelled as an estimate.

Our percentile is constructed

No official score distribution exists. Ours is built from published test-taker and offer figures, and is always reported as a range rather than a single number.

A single section gets no composite

School cutoffs are composite scores. A one-section sitting receives no composite and no cutoff comparison, because implying one would mislead you.

We do not promise a seat

No practice exam can. What it can do is make certain that test day is not the first time your child sees this format.

Questions

Questions parents ask.

Is this the same as the real SHSAT?

It is built to the same published specification — 50 ELA and 50 Math questions in three hours, computer-adaptive, with the same question types and navigation rules. It is not produced by the Department of Education, and no practice test is.

Who writes the questions?

Every question and reading passage is original, written for this product and checked against the scope published in the Specialized High Schools Student Handbook. Nothing is copied or adapted from another company's materials.

Does my child see the score?

No. Your child sees a neutral finishing screen and the report comes to you. That is deliberate: a score with no context, read alone by a thirteen-year-old, does more harm than good.

My child gets extra time on tests. Can that be set?

Yes. Extra time can be configured before the exam begins to match an IEP, 504 or ELL accommodation. Whatever was used is printed on the report, so results are never silently compared across different conditions.

What if the exam is interrupted?

It can be paused and resumed. Saved exams store the time remaining rather than a fixed deadline, so nothing is lost if your child has to stop and finish the following day.

Can my child take only one section?

Yes. A single section is scored normally, but receives no composite score and no cutoff comparison, since cutoffs are composite figures.

What equipment is needed?

A computer with a keyboard and a current browser. No calculator — the real SHSAT does not permit one, so our exams are written to be done without.

Prefer to sit it under real conditions?

A proctored exam in a quiet room, with staff on hand, is closer to test day than any kitchen table. We recommend Huntington Learning Center of Bay Ridge, 514 86th St, Brooklyn, NY 11209.

Call 718-491-0900