Practice makes perfect, and there’s no such thing as too much time when it comes to preparing for the SHSAT. We encourage students to begin prepping for the test in 7th grade and continue in the summer before 8th grade. 

Balancing schoolwork, extracurriculars, high school applications and test prep can be difficult for students and parents alike. The 

 is only given once, at the end of October, and there is no opportunity to retake it. Starting in 8th grade, after school is in session, leaves only about seven weeks to prepare for a really important and challenging, 3-hour exam. For these reasons, we recommend that students begin preparing for the SHSAT during the summer months, if at all possible. 

Kids often struggle with boredom and too much downtime when school is out of session, and possible restrictions on group activities like summer camps and beach trips this summer will compound this. What better way to utilize this free time than by alleviating some of the pressure in the academic year ahead? When students begin SHSAT prep over the summer, they often find themselves better able to concentrate on the task at hand since they don’t have other assignments. This alleviates the pressure of such a big test, which many students find daunting.

Test prep is all about practice and consistency, and every student deserves enough time to properly hone her skills. Since the SHSAT is held at the end of October, starting over the summer gives students plenty of time to prepare without having the pressure of the test hanging over them for too long.

Before your child jumps into SHSAT prep, make sure the Specialized High School route is right for her. Discuss specific academic interests with your child, speak with school counselors about your options, and attend some virtual tours and open houses on school websites.

The ELA portion of the SHSAT tests reading skills and knowledge of the English language. Many students have trouble retaining pertinent information when reading prose passages on the test, or struggle to get through this section in time. The best way to work through these challenges in advance is by engaging in a regular reading regimen. Students who read on a regular basis have an easier time retaining information, acquire a more robust vocabulary, and often develop the ability to read passages more quickly. 

Read our in-depth article about vocabulary building!

3. Take a practice or diagnostic test at home.

The best thing to do when it comes to jumping into test prep is to take a diagnostic test. It can be empowering to understand what the gaps are and how much studying is needed to fill those gaps. This will also help parents, tutors and teachers get a sense of how to best support the student through his studies. Ivy Tutors Network now offers an at-home SHSAT mock test, so you can start test prep with confidence that you are targeting your most needed areas.

4. Pick up an SHSAT workbook and start practicing.

If a 7th grader does even just an hour a week of SHSAT practice, she will be in better shape than the vast majority of other students by the time they get to 8th grade. The NYC Department of Education releases a free SHSAT student handbook every year with practice questions, but you can also pick up a workbook online or at a bookstore.

The SHSAT asks students to utilize problem-solving skills in Arithmetic, Algebra, and Geometry. Whether starting to prepare for the SHSAT at the end of 7th grade, the summer between 7th and 8th grades or at the beginning of 8th grade (right before the exam), many students may not have yet learned some of the math topics they are expected to know for the SHSAT. This can make the test seem much harder. Encountering math that is foreign to the student can feel devastating and make the student lose confidence in her abilities.

Many students forget to consider time management when they prep for the SHSAT. Once the student has gotten familiar with the format and content of the test, make sure he gets in the habit of timing himself when practicing so he can gauge his progress.

Ivy’s tutors are experts at helping students learn smart studying and test taking strategies, understand key concepts and build confidence, skills that are vital for the SHSAT, SAT, ACT and more. Regular 

 can create necessary structure and reinforcement that students often need to practice consistently. We also offer 

, a small group online workshop where students take a diagnostic exam, review content and learn tricks and strategies for excelling on this challenging test.

The SHSAT can be an overwhelming challenge that can easily provoke anxiety and dread in the first months of eighth grade. It doesn’t have to be. The key is starting early, with regular reading and practice targeted to the skills and areas that the student needs most.

The students who get into the specialized schools aren’t geniuses; they weren’t born knowing how to take the SHSAT. In fact, what unites them is that they all wanted it really badly and studied hard to make it happen. That is the kind of work ethic that makes students thrive at the specialized schools and beyond.

What 7th Graders Can Do To Prep for the SHSAT This Summer

The SHSAT is open to all current eighth grade or first-time ninth grade students who live in New York City. This 3-hour test is the only criterion for gaining entry into one of the nine specialized public schools, which are known for their academic rigor, top teachers, great courses offerings, and exciting extra-curricular opportunities. SHSAT registration opens up in the Fall of each year. Here’s what you need to know to get the chance to attend one of these amazing public high schools!

Yes, the SHSAT is held every year for 8th and 9th graders in the Fall/Winter.

To register for the SHSAT, you need to log into your 

 account. If you do not already have an account, you can create one.

When you are logged into your account, you will be given the option to rank the specialized high schools in order of preference. Give some thought to this and make sure you are truly listing schools in the order you would want to go to them.

Approximately two weeks after the registration deadline, you will receive a personalized test ticket with information on when and where you will take the test.

You can also register for the SHSAT through your school counsellor.

The 2022 SHSAT has not yet been announced. 
We are monitoring the official announcements from the DOE and will update this post when the dates are released.

. Before registering for the SHSAT, you will want to do some research on the specialized high schools and give some thought as to how you are going to rank them. You can learn more about the specialized high schools 

 and by visiting each of their individual websites. We highly recommend attending any tours or information sessions that are available, either in-person or online.

. Needless to say, you’re going to want to familiarize yourself with what’s on the 

 and start creating a study plan. We recommend students start studying for the SHSAT in the second semester of 7th grade if they are taking it as an 8th grader, or the second semester of 8th grade if they are taking it as a 9th grader. The key to mastering the SHSAT lies in ample and consistent practice. The more students familiarize themselves with the material covered on the test and work on skills like time-management and concentration, the better their results will be.

 practice test to provide a better sense of the student’s strengths and weaknesses, and a valuable roadmap for topics to review and testing skills they’ll need to master. We can help administer this test and provide a comprehensive report to help organize the test prep process.

 after several months of study, and/or a month before the test date, to gauge the student’ progress, inform their long-term test prep plan, and build their confidence in test taking. Like the diagnostic test, these tests should be timed and proctored (by a parent or tutor), re-creating the actual test conditions so that the student can accurately assess their test taking skills.

 Practice is a good thing, but students who don’t first learn the content and strategies related to their test are just “practicing” or reinforcing their mistakes. Students should make sure they understand why they got the problem wrong (yes, all of them!) before moving on to more practice.

Ivy’s brilliant and caring tutors have helped thousands of students learn smart studying and test taking strategies, understand key concepts and build confidence, skills that are vital not just for SHSAT, but for the SAT, ACT and more. Regular 

 creates the necessary structure and reinforcement that students often need to practice consistently. 

We also offer SHSAT Strategies, a small group online workshop where students take a diagnostic exam, review content and learn tricks and strategies for excelling on this challenging test.

SHSAT Registration 2022

The SHSAT is offered just once a year for 8th or 9th graders in the Fall/Winter. Because you can only take the exam once, it’s absolutely essential to make sure everything runs smoothly. Based on the most common questions we receive from our students, here are the most important things you need to know going into SHSAT Test Day.

 bring these items to their testing session:

Your SHSAT test ticket signed by you and your parent/guardian

Sharpened Number 2 pencils (you cannot use a pen)

Assistive Technology (if indicated on your IEP and test ticket)

Although not required, we also recommend bringing the following items to the testing center:

Snack (you can have the snack before the beginning of the test, but they are not allowed during testing time) 

The testing center will supply you with the test booklet, answer sheet, and scrap paper. Remember, calculators are 

Although students are permitted to bring cell phones to the testing site, they are not allowed to have cell phones on their person when taking the SHSAT. The testing site with instruct you to turn off and store all cellphones and electronic devices according to its own regulations.

Any student who refuses to put away or turn in a prohibited device will not be allowed to take the test. Possession of these items at any time during the test administration, even if powered off, will result in the test being invalidated.

. Make sure to arrive at the test site at the time that is on your SHSAT test ticket. Please note that this is the arrival time, not the time that the test will start. The test will begin as soon as possible after the time on your ticket. In some cases, the test may begin an hour or more after the arrival time noted on the test ticket. Your testing site can provide you with estimated times when the test will end and students will be released.

If you do not feel well, you should inform the test proctor immediately; you should not begin the test or sign the statement. Once you break the security seal and begin the test, you may not be able to request a make-up test due to illness.

Before taking the test, you will fill out important information on Side 1 of your answer sheet. First, you will be asked to read and sign a statement on your answer sheet stating that you are well enough to take the test, a resident of New York City, and are taking the test for the correct grade level.

All students taking the SHSAT must stay in testing rooms for the entire standard test administration time (180 minutes), with the exception of using the bathroom.

Once the standard test administration time (180 minutes) is over, students with an accommodation of extended time may leave if they have finished working on the exam. Students who decide to leave after the first 180 minutes of the standard test administration time must sign out to indicate they understood they gave up their remaining available time on the SHSAT. Students with this accommodation will have a break at the conclusion of the 180 minutes, and then again after another 90 minutes have passed. 

Filling out the answer sheet properly is very important for any standardized test. Remember, the computer grading the test can’t read your mind. If you bubble in a wrong answer even though you MEANT a different answer, it will still be marked as wrong. Likewise, answers written in your test booklet or scrap paper will not be counted. 

Be careful not to make any stray marks on the answer sheet.

If you change an answer, completely erase your first answer.

There is only one correct answer to each question. If your answer sheet shows more than one mark in response to a question, that question will be scored as incorrect.

Once time is up, you are not allowed to go back and mark your answers on the answer sheet. We recommend bubbling in answers as you go along, rather than saving it for the end. 

Based on the numbers of questions answered correctly, students receive a raw score, which is then converted to a scaled score. 

There is no penalty for wrong answers, so make sure to answer every question on the test. All questions are worth the same number of points, so don't feel the need to spend more time on "harder" questions. Aim to get as many questions right as possible, regardless of difficulty level. 

Here is a list of things you are NOT allowed to do when taking the SHSAT. If you are caught breaking these rules, you run the risk of having your score invalidated. 

1) NO TALKING. You may not communicate with other students during the test. No talking, writing/passing notes, sharing answers or test booklets, or looking at other students' answers.

2) NO PHONES. Any student who refuses to put away or turn in a prohibited device will not be allowed to take the test. Possession of prohibited items at any time during the test administration, even if powered off, will result in the test being invalidated. Students will not be provided with an opportunity to make up the exam on a subsequent day.

3) RESPECT THE TIME LIMIT. At the end of the test, you will be told to stop and put your pencil down and will be given directions about your testing materials. When you are told to put your pencil down, you may not continue writing on any of your testing materials. This includes erasing answers, circling bubbles, and darkening bubbles. 

4) You are not allowed to share test questions and answers with anyone outside of the testing site. Students found to be engaging in any of these activities will have their tests invalidated.

If you take the SHSAT in 8th grade and are not happy with the results, you can still take it again in 9th grade. There are no more chances to take the SHSAT after 9th grade. However, if a student has to miss the test due to illness, or was feeling unwell before breaking the seal of the booklet, it is possible to take the SHSAT again on a make-up date.

Now that you know all about the logsitics, it's time to start studying! Ivy Tutors Network offers personalized and semi-private 

SHSAT Exam Policies - Important Things to Know About Testing Day

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