How to prepare for the SHSAT

TESTINGMOM – The Trusted Leader in Gifted Test Prep

• 1M+ families helped
• 15+ years supporting test prep families
• Created by Karen Quinn, The Testing Mom, the foremost expert on gifted tests

Testingmom.com Online Tutoring can prepare you for the SHSAT with comprehensive practice questions to help you master the ELA and math content, so you can take the test with confidence.

1. Understand the New SHSAT Format

Students should know what to expect before test day.

The current SHSAT includes:

• 50 ELA questions
• 50 Math questions
• 100 total questions
• 3 hours of standard testing time
• A computer-based testing environment
• Computer-adaptive question selection
• ELA Reading Comprehension questions
• ELA Revising and Editing questions
• Math questions covering grade-level concepts and problem solving

Students may choose whether to begin with the ELA or Math section.

2. Prepare for a Computer-Adaptive Test

One of the biggest changes to the SHSAT is the move to computer-adaptive testing.

The difficulty of the questions a student receives changes based on the student’s performance as the test progresses. The system continually updates its estimate of the student’s performance based on responses to previous questions.

Generally, students who answer questions correctly may receive more challenging questions, while incorrect responses may lead to lower-difficulty questions.

This makes accuracy especially important.

Students should practice questions across a range of difficulty levels rather than concentrating only on easy or moderate problems. Encountering a difficult question during the actual SHSAT does not necessarily mean a student is doing poorly—it may reflect the test’s adaptive nature.

3. Strengthen SHSAT ELA Skills

The ELA portion assesses Reading Comprehension and Revising and Editing.

Reading Comprehension

Students should practice how to:

• Determine central ideas
• Identify supporting details
• Make logical inferences
• Analyze an author’s purpose
• Interpret words and phrases in context
• Analyze relationships among ideas
• Find evidence supporting a conclusion
• Compare ideas within or across texts

Students should practice reading carefully and using evidence from the passage rather than relying on assumptions or outside knowledge.

Revising and Editing

Students should also review:

• Grammar
• Sentence structure
• Punctuation
• Word usage
• Organization
• Transitions
• Clarity
• Development of ideas
• Relationships among sentences and paragraphs

Students should understand not only which answer is correct but why the other choices are incorrect.

4. Strengthen SHSAT Math Skills

The Math section requires students to apply mathematical concepts and problem-solving skills.

Students should practice topics including:

• Ratios and proportional relationships
• The number system
• Expressions
• Equations
• Inequalities
• Statistics
• Probability
• Geometry
• Multistep word problems

Preparation should include a mixture of straightforward calculations and more challenging problems that require students to determine which mathematical concepts or operations to use.

5. Practice Digitally

Students preparing for the new SHSAT should not rely exclusively on paper worksheets.

Because the actual assessment is computer-based, students should become comfortable:

• Reading passages on a screen
• Moving between digital questions
• Entering answers electronically
• Working through longer Math problems while viewing them on a screen
• Maintaining concentration during an extended computer-based assessment
• Reviewing answers when the testing format permits it

NYC Public Schools provides official digital sample tests that students can use to become familiar with the testing experience.

6. Analyze Every Practice Question

Practice is most effective when students understand why an answer is correct or incorrect.

After completing SHSAT practice questions, students should review:

Questions answered incorrectly: What caused the mistake? Was it a missing skill, a misunderstanding of the question, a calculation error, a vocabulary issue, or a rushed response?

Questions answered correctly: Did the student understand the concept, or was the correct answer a lucky guess?

This process helps students identify patterns in their performance.

For example, a student may discover that most errors occur with inference questions, Revising and Editing questions, proportional relationships, or geometry. That information can guide future practice.

7. Identify Strengths and Weaknesses

Students shouldn’t devote equal preparation time to every SHSAT skill.

Practice results can help identify:

• Skills that are already strong
• Skills that need occasional review
• Skills that require significant additional practice

Once students identify weaker areas, they can devote more preparation time to those skills while continuing to review stronger areas.

8. Develop a Pacing Strategy

Students have three hours of standard testing time for the SHSAT.

They should practice working accurately while also monitoring their pace. Spending too much time on one challenging problem can reduce the time available for other questions.

Full-length practice is especially valuable because it helps students build the concentration and endurance needed for a three-hour assessment.

Students should gradually work toward completing realistic practice sessions under timed conditions rather than beginning preparation with constant time pressure.

9. Review Mistakes Before Taking Another Practice Test

Taking test after test without reviewing mistakes is not the most effective preparation strategy.

A stronger cycle is:

Practice → Review → Identify Weaknesses → Learn or Review the Skill → Practice Again

If a student repeatedly misses the same type of question, simply completing more questions may reinforce the same mistake. Stop and review the underlying skill before continuing.

10. Use Official SHSAT Materials

NYC Public Schools provides an official SHSAT Guide, sample questions, preparation information, and digital sample tests.

Students should use official materials to become familiar with the current format and combine them with additional skill-building practice when they need more work in a particular area.

SHSAT Revising and Editing Sample Question

Read the sentence.

I meant to talk to my mom, and dad, about that.

Which edit is needed to correct the sentence?

A. Remove the comma after mom.

B. Remove the comma after dad.

C. Remove the comma after mom and after dad.

D. Remove the comma after mom and change the comma after dad to a semicolon.

Answer: C

Explanation: The words mom and dad form a compound object of the preposition to. A comma should not separate the two parts of the compound, and a comma is not needed between dad and about that. The corrected sentence is:

I meant to talk to my mom and dad about that.

Which Schools Require the SHSAT?

The SHSAT is used for admission to eight New York City Specialized High Schools:

• Bronx High School of Science
• Brooklyn Latin School
• Brooklyn Technical High School
• High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering at City College
• High School of American Studies at Lehman College
• Queens High School for Sciences at York College
• Staten Island Technical High School
• Stuyvesant High School

Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts is also a Specialized High School, but it uses auditions rather than the SHSAT for admission.

Practice for the SHSAT

TestingMom offers SHSAT practice designed to help students build the ELA, Math, reasoning, and test-taking skills needed for the assessment.

Students preparing for the new SHSAT should work with questions at different difficulty levels, review explanations carefully, target weaker skills, and become comfortable solving problems in a digital environment.

The goal isn’t simply to complete more questions. It is to learn from each question and become a stronger, more accurate problem solver.

Want to try us out? Sign up for a free account today and get 100 practice questions.

See if TestingMom.com supports your child’s test by your school district. If you don't see your child's school district listed, check with us! We have practice for other tests as well.