Research all NYC schools
Research Now
SHSAT Score Calculator and 2020 Cutoff Scores
There is a unique group of advanced public schools in NYC called specialized public schools that each have a different focus. There are nine specialized high schools but only eight of them require eighth-graders to take the Specialized High School Admissions Test or SHSAT for short.
The following are the eight schools students can rank on this test:
-
Brooklyn Technical High School
High School for Math, Science and Engineering at City College
- High School for American Studies at Lehman College
- Queens High School for Sciences at York College
- Staten Island Technical High School
- Stuyvesant High School
DISCLAIMER: The following calculator provides an ESTIMATE for your SHSAT scaled score and may NOT be completely accurate.
Each school has a different cutoff score, which is the lowest score that a student who was admitted into a school received. These cutoff scores are not publicly available, but some online forums such as theschoolboards contain posts with estimates of these scores.
According to the most recent post on theschoolboards (which can be found here), these were the cutoff scores for each of the specialized public schools:
The test is 180 minutes (for students with regular time) and broken up into two sections: one English Language Arts (ELA) and one Math. There are 57 questions on the exam but only 47 are scored because there are 10 field or experimental questions. The raw scores on the ELA section and the Math section are used by the Department of Education to determine your scaled score.
NYC Mentors.org Inc. is a registered 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization that connects middle school students with older peers to guide, support, and mentor them and their families with the NYC high school application process.
Join to NYCMentors.org
Join today and have a high school mentor guide your child through their middle school years
Join NowOther articles
-
Tips on Researching High Schools
- December 05, 2022
- Sereia Sarumida
As high school applications are wrapping up for this year, it’s a good idea for 7th graders to start preparing for their high school admissions next year. But with so many high school programs in New York City, researching high schools can seem like a daunting task. Here are some tips that can make the process slightly easier:
-
A Guide to Various Public High School Admissions Processes
- November 19, 2022
- Sereia Sarumida
8th graders across the city will be applying to some of the city’s 700+ public high school programs by the December 1st application deadline this year. But with all the different types of high schools using various admissions methods, it can be overwhelming to keep track of all the requirements and deadlines. Here’s an overview of the different application processes for public high schools this year:
-
What to do 24 Hours Before a High School Admissions Test
- November 12, 2022
- Paris William Polatidis
High school admissions tests are often considered the most stressful part of the application process. One’s grades and extracurriculars throughout high school can all be rendered worthless if an admissions test is failed. This is particularly true for the specialized public high schools in New York City who only consider the SHSAT test for consideration at their schools. With such stress inducing tests it is completely normal to feel anxious or nervous the night before an exam. Hopefully, this guide will allow you to go into your test center in a positive and motivated mindset.
-
How to Start Preparing for the High School Admissions Process as a 7th Grader
- October 30, 2022
- Halina de Jong-Lambert
7th grade is a formative year as a student, but also as an applicant to high schools. This is the most important year for your grades, as high schools will only see part of your 8th grade transcript and they are more lenient in judging your 6th grade transcript. But it is also a time for you to start exploring what you want out of a high school, so that you go into 8th grade with a good idea of the types of schools you want to apply to and with time to prepare for any admissions exams.