A couple things every NYC student and their parents should know about the new SHSAT format – but probably do not.

The new SHSAT ELA exam sections should require substantially less test prep time and lead to better raw scores. What does this mean for you as you begin to prepare for the SHSAT?

1. Ask your test prep provider if they are reducing the cost of their course this year! There are substantially less topics to teach for the new SHSAT; no ifs, ands, or buts. We suspect no test prep firm will advertise the reduced amount of content to study. However, if they are still charging the same amount for the same hours of prep this year compared to previous years then chances are you’re getting hoodwinked.

2. Raw ELA scores based on the sample questions and exams put forth by the DOE should be higher this year…maybe by as much as 4 points which is a huge change. Granted it is still early and the actual exam could be more challenging, but it looks like you will have to get more questions correct to meet a cut-off this year and that also means the scaled score conversion most test prep firms are showing you is significantly incorrect. You are probably not doing as well as they are telling you.

Further Details:
Many of you already know scrambled paragraphs and logical reasoning have been replaced by revising/editing questions on the SHSAT ELA exam for this fall. In the past, these two eliminated sections represented 2 out of 3 parts of the verbal exam comprising an important 20 raw points on the SHSAT. Average historical SHSAT raw verbal scores have weighed in at slightly over 25 out of 50 points or just over 50%, but the 2 eliminated sections were more difficult than reading: a typical student scored below 10 raw points out 20 for both logic and scrambled paras. Students often spent more than an equal share of verbal prep time on scrambled paras and logic versus reading not simply because they were difficult sections, but better scores on scrambled paras and logic could help differentiate a student from the pack. The new revising/editing questions, which also account for about 20 raw points on the new exam, are much less diverse topics that students have already seen in the classroom. As a result, less test prep time should be required – a change by design that the city indicated was one of the factors motivating the SHSAT alterations.  The majority of the new revising/editing questions refer to a passage and draw from the writing common core skills while remaining new questions are stand alone edits drawn from the language common core – grammar. With the possible exception of grammar, the number of topics required to learn for these new sections is substantially less than the scrambled paras and logical reasoning sections they replace. Even in the case of grammar, the official examples put forth to date suggest the grammar questions remain limited in scope; students could learn just a handful of key grammar topics and do well, whereas grammar topics could easily expand to include dozens or hundreds of nuanced topics. In all, the old exam sections accounted for the majority of prep time for the verbal section. The new sections can be mastered with little effort by comparison reducing the overall prep time by as much as 1/4 or 1/3 for the new SHSAT. Our early results confirm this assessment. With minimal effort on the new ELA sections, we find students are scoring on average closer to 70%. That equates to a gain of up to 4-5 raw points on the SHSAT versus the old ELA sections with significantly less time invested. Unless other sections get harder, raw scores will likely rise and so will the required number of correct answers required to get into an SHS. It should be noted, the scaled scores and cut-off levels may or may not change because they are by definition scaled or adjusted. It also isn’t clear how or even if this will change the profile of admitted students. It does, however, seem likely the number of correct answers to get the same scaled score will likely rise this year. Granted, these are early results and the actual exam could be harder than the current sample questions, but we don’t see a compelling reason the revising/editing samples provided will not accurately reflect the actual new exam format questions.  In conclusion, be wary of any reported scaled scores and cut-off levels this season as they likely overstate student performance. Instead, you may want to ask your provider why the test prep hours and prices you are paying don’t go down alongside the reduced number of topics covered in the new exam formats.

How can you test the above assertions yourself?

Click “Get Started” below, take timed & graded practice exams in the new ELA format, and see for yourself how you perform on the new Revising/Editing sections. It’s completely free. No credit cards required – just sign up and go. However, we do caution that you may find yourself compelled to subscribe to a premium plan to learn tips to quickly score well on the new ELA sections. TestPrepSHSAT is the most extensive SHSAT prep alternative and the one source for SHSAT test prep you cannot afford to be without.