The Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) is an examination administered to eighth and ninth grade students residing in New York City and used to determine admission to all but one of the city's Specialized High Schools. The test is given on the first weekend in October for eighth graders. New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... The Specialized High Schools of New York City are selective public high schools, established and run by the New York City Department of Education to serve the needs of academically and artistically gifted students. ...

Applicability

The SHSAT is used for admission to the following schools:^[1]

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

Admission to the remaining specialized high school, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, is determined by audition rather than by examination.^[2] The Bronx High School of Science, commonly called Bronx Science, Bronx Sci, or just Science, is a specialized New York City public high school located in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx, with no tuition charges and admission by exam (reportedly taken by more than 20,000 students). ... Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly called Brooklyn Tech, is a New York City public high school that specializes in engineering, math and science. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The High School for Math, Science and Engineering at City College (often abbreviated to HSMSE) is one of the eight specialized high schools in New York City. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Queens High School for the Sciences at York College (QHSSYC) is one of the nine specialized high schools in New York City that admit students based on their scores on the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test. ... Staten Island Technical High School (or Staten Island Tech or S.I.T.H.S.), is one of the nine specialized public high schools in New York City. ... Stuyvesant High School, commonly referred to as Stuy, is a New York City public high school that specializes in mathematics and science. ... Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts is located near the Juilliard School in the Lincoln Center district of Manhattan, on Amsterdam Avenue between 65th Street and 64th Street. ...

Admission

Students must choose which schools they wish to apply to (up to 8) and indicate them in order of preference on the day of the exam. The test is offered to all eighth and ninth grade students residing within the 5 boroughs of New York City^[3], however the majority of the applicants are eighth graders.

The results of the SHSAT are ordered from the highest score to the lowest score. The list is processed in order by score, with each students being placed in their most-preferred school that still has open seats, and continuing until there are no remaining open seats at any school.^[4]

Examination format

The SHSAT tests for logical thinking and high ability in both English and mathematics. Both sections consist of multiple-choice questions. There is a time limit of 2 hours 30 minutes for both sections, with no break in between. The exam is only offered once a year, and can be taken in both the eighth and ninth grades if the student wishes.

Verbal

45 Multiple Choice Questions

• 30 Reading Comprehension (5 Reading passages with 6 questions each)
• 10 Logical Reasoning questions
• 5 Scrambled Paragraph sets

Mathematics

50 Multiple Choice Questions

• Various mathematical topics tested

• Basic math
• Pre-Algebra
• Algebra

Factoring

Substitution

• Algebra II (9th grade)
• Geometry

Trigonometry (9th grade)

Basic

Coordinate Graphing

• Logic
• Word Problems (cover all topics)

Algebra is a branch of mathematics concerning the study of structure, relation and quantity. ... In math, see Factorization. ... Calabi-Yau manifold Geometry (Greek γεωμετρία; geo = earth, metria = measure) is a part of mathematics concerned with questions of size, shape, and relative position of figures and with properties of space. ... Wikibooks has a book on the topic of Trigonometry Trigonometry (from Greek trigōnon triangle + metron measure[1]) is a branch of mathematics that deals with triangles, particularly triangles in a plane where one angle of the triangle is 90 degrees (right angled triangles). ... Logic, from Classical Greek λόγος logos (meaning word, account, reason or principle), is the study of the principles and criteria of valid inference and demonstration. ...

Grading

There is no penalty for wrong answers or unanswered questions. The total number of correct answers (the raw score) is converted into a scaled score through a formula that the Department of Education does not release, and which varies from year to year. This scaled score, an integer between 200 and 800, is used to determine a student's standing. The scaled score is not proportional to the raw scores.^[5]

The cut-off scores for each school vary yearly, determined simply by the number of open places in each school and how the candidates score. Students are notified of their scores in February. For the fall 2006 exam, the lowest cut-off score was 478. The highest cut-off score was 558 for Stuyvesant, historically the most desired of the schools.^[6] The second highest cut-off score was 510 for Bronx Science.^{[citation needed]}

Test preparation

There are usually more than 26,000 students^[7] competing to get into the specialized high schools each year.^[5] Many take test preparation classes in hopes of obtaining a high score. These classes usually involve significant amounts of money and time. Test preparation textbooks are also available.

Department of Education programs

The New York Specialized High School Institute (SHSI) is a free program run by Stuyvesant High School for middle school students with high test scores on city-wide tests. The program's original intent was to expand the population of Black and Hispanic students by offering them test-taking tips and extra lessons, however anyone can apply. As of 2006, 3,781 students are enrolled at 17 locations. They spend 16 months, starting in the summer after sixth grade, preparing for the test.^[8]

Certain applicants who have scores just below the cut-off score and are recommended by their guidance counselor may qualify for the Summer Discovery Program. Successful completion of this program allows the students to gain admission to a specialized high school. The students must:^[9]

1. have scored close to the admission cut-off score on the SHSAT; and

2. be certified as disadvantaged by their middle school according to any one of the following criteria:

a. attend a Title 1 school and be from a family whose total income is documented as meeting federal income eligibility guidelines established for school food services by the NYS Department of Agriculture; or

b. be receiving assistance from the Human Resources Administration; or

c. be a member of a family whose income is documented as being equivalent to or below Department of Social Services standards; or

d. be a foster child or ward of the state; or

e. initially have entered the United States within the last four years and live in a home in which the language customarily spoken is not English; and

3. be recommended by their local school as having high potential for the special high school program.

Fairness

Questions have been raised about the fairness of the test. A November 2005 New York Times article found that a students scoring in the 90th percentile on both sections would not gain admittance to their first choice schools; meanwhile those scoring in the 99th percentile on one section and the 50th percentile on the other, would.^[7] This happens because the final grade and percentile represents the total score and the curve within sections. The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ...

More questions have been raised about the admissions process to the specialized high schools. Admission is based solely on how the student does on the SHSAT. It is argued that other factors should be added in order to increase the fairness of the test due to a racial imbalance in the Specialized High Schools. Debate over the racial composition and a test as the sole factor for admission has continued in New York for decades.^[8]

References

1. ^ 2005-2006 Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT). NYC Department of Education (2005-2006). Retrieved on 2006-10-02.
2. ^ NYC DoE Specialized High Schools Student Handbook. NYC Department of Education. Retrieved on 2006-10-02.
3. ^ Krane, Stephen (2001). New York City Specialized Science High Schools Admission Test. ARCO, 5. ISBN 0-7689-0711-X. 
4. ^ Specialized Admissions Round. NYC Department of Education (2006). Retrieved on 2006-11-09.
5. ^ ^{a b} Zummerman, L.; G. Kessler, A. Villeponteaux (2000). How to Prepare for the New York City SSHSAT. Barron's Educational Series, 1. ISBN 0-7641-1282-1. 
6. ^ Wheaton, Pamela (2007-02-13). Specialized HS results out; more schools, fewer applicants. Inside Schools. Retrieved on 2007-02-22.
7. ^ ^{a b} Herszenhorn, D. M.. "Admission Test's Scoring Quirk Throws Balance Into Question", New York Times, 2005-11-12. 
8. ^ ^{a b} "In Elite N.Y. Schools, a Dip in Blacks and Hispanics", New York Times, 2006-08-18. Retrieved on 2006-11-09. 
9. ^ Specialized Student Handbook. Retrieved on 2006-11-09.

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External links

• http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/StudentEnroll/HSAdmissions/default.htm
• http://www.princetonreview.com/college/testprep/testprep.asp?TPRPAGE=38&TYPE=SHSAT
• http://www.petersons.com/testprep/default.asp?id=882&path=hs.pft.shsat
• http://www.kaptest.com/repository/templates/Lev3InitDroplet.jhtml?_lev3Parent=/www/KapTest/docs/repository/content/High_School/SHSAT