The SHSAT- in the high school admission process, it could be your best friend or your worst enemy (although (unsurprisingly) I’ve never actually heard anyone refer to the standardized test as their “best friend”).
The SHSAT, which stands for the Specialized High School Admissions Test, is the only entry point into eight out of the nine specialized high schools in New York City. Specialized high schools offer more AP classes and a more advanced curriculum. For this reason, an average of 30,000 eighth graders take the SHSAT every year. Only about 21 percent of these students are accepted into specialized high schools, which means that test takers are under enormous pressure to get a good score.
The SHSAT has two sections- math and english. Each section has 57 questions, with 114 in total. The test is three hours long, which means an hour and a half for each section or about a minute and a half for each question. English is divided into grammar (which is usually about four questions long) and reading comprehension. The math section has five grid-in questions and 52 multiple choice questions.
On the Monday after the test, I asked a few test takers to score their hatred towards the SHSAT on a scale from one (enjoyment) to ten (pure malevolence). Many eighth graders graded theirs a ten, with a four being the lowest. The average rating fell at a 7.5.
If you’re a seventh grader who is planning to take the SHSAT next year or a sixth grader who gets their chance in 2024, I encourage you to do research on the test and prepare yourself for it. There are multiple ways to do this, but the most popular is to join an after school SHSAT prep program. They offer courses that improve your math and english skills, practice tests, and professional guidance. Another option is to self-study and borrow SHSAT books from the library or download practice tests online. The only option I would not recommend is to not study or research at all, which would leave you unprepared on the day of the test.
Whichever option you choose, good luck.
PICTURES-
A week before the SHSAT, I decided to create a graph representing my predictions on the progression of my anxiety levels. My math teacher would be proud.
I revised my graph after a friend argued that their anxiety levels would probably plummet down to zero after the SHSAT.
One day after the SHSAT, I was still in emotional shock. On my final graph, I decided that the line doesn’t come back down- it just disappears.
We won’t know our results till March and until then life will go on. And before you know it we’ll have to do the Regents (which could be its own article so we won’t cover it here.) But to all eighth graders reading this I hope you get into the school that's right for you and good luck to all sixth and seventh graders when you eventually take the test.