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Past SHSAT Handbooks

2024 Handbook

Specialized Student Handbook 2024 Links & Graded Exam Answer Sheet

2022-2023 Handbook

Specialized Student Handbook 2022/2023 Links & Graded Exam Answer Sheet

2021-2022 Handbook

Specialized Student Handbook 2021/2022 Links & Graded Exam Answer Sheet

2020-2021 Handbook

Specialized Student Handbook 2020/2021 Links & Graded Exam Answer Sheet

2019-2020 Handbook

Specialized Student Handbook 2019/2020 Links & Graded Exam Answer Sheet

2018-2019 Handbook

Specialized Student Handbook 2018/2019 Links & Graded Exam Answer Sheet

**NEW ELA FORMAT**
The SHSAT exam changed content and format again this year. The editing/revising questions introduced in 2017 were reduced from 20 questions to 8-10: ~3 stand alone and ~6 passage related editing/revising questions. Reading now includes fiction (poetry, literary excerpts, charts&figures) and passages can be twice the length with up to 10 questions each. Each exam has 57 questions and takes 90 minutes.

2017-2018 Handbook

Specialized Student Handbook 2017/2018 Links & Graded Exam Answer Sheet

**OLD ELA FORMAT**
The SHSAT exam changed format this year. The verbal exam was renamed ELA and the scrambled paragraphs and logical reasoning sections were replaced with ~6 stand alone and ~14 passage related editing/revising questions. Each exam has 57 questions and takes 90 minutes.

2016-2017 Handbook

Specialized Student Handbook 2016/2017 Links & Graded Exam Answer Sheet (Old Format)

There are only 2 new passages and 1 new math question out of 190 questions in the 2016/2017 exams that are not covered in previous handbook exams. The new problems only will appear at the links on the right. Please refer to the other exams to cover the same practice problems in full-length exams.

2015-2016 Handbook

Specialized Student Handbook 2015/2016 Links & Graded Exam Answer Sheet (Old Format)

There are no new questions in the 2015/2016 exam that are not covered in previous handbook exams.

2014-2015 Handbook

Specialized Student Handbook 2014/2015 Links & Graded Exam Answer Sheet

2013-2014 Handbook

Specialized Student Handbook 2013/2014 Links & Graded Exam Answer Sheet

The sample handbook exam questions are the same as 2014/2015.

2012-2013 Handbook

Specialized Student Handbook 2012/2013 Links & Graded Exam Answer Sheet.

2011-2012 Handbook

Specialized Student Handbook 2011/2012 Links & Graded Exam Answer Sheet.

The sample handbook exam questions are the same as 2012/2013.

2010-2011 Handbook

Specialized Student Handbook 2010/2011 Links & Graded Exam Answer Sheet.

2009-2010 Handbook

Specialized Student Handbook 2009/2010 Links & Graded Exam Answer Sheet.

The sample handbook exam questions are the same as 2010/2011.

2008-2009 Handbook

Specialized Student Handbook 2008/2009 Links & Graded Exam Answer Sheet.

The sample handbook exam questions are the same as 2009/2010.

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SHSAT Scoring & Cut-Offs

EASY SHS CUT-OFF RULE OF THUMB

All SHS Excpept Stuy: 70%+

Stuyvesant: 84%

Many students and parents frequently ask, “Is this score good enough to make it to ‘such and such’ SHS?” Between the many SHSs and the scaled scoring, the answer seems confusing. It really isn’t. Most SHS scaled cut-off scores fall into the same small range of raw scores: ≈70%+ correct. Stuyvesant separates itself materially from the pack. A raw score of 83-84%’s is generally required.

While these % raw cut-off numbers have increased slightly under the new exam format, they vary only a small amount year to year and provide a good, simple benchmark for your training. How close are you to a 70% raw score?

The dysfunctional SHSAT prep process:

These cut-off scores also lead to SHSAT prep strategy implications that no tutor or workbook will tell you. Most parents behave as if the goal of SHSAT prep is a perfect score, and they will spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of their child’s time to achieve that score. However, there is no reward for a perfect score like there is for the SAT (college admission exam). Why behave as if there is? Would you pay the price of a Ferrari to get the same Honda as everyone else? In most cases, there are better strategies for your child and your pocketbook.

Let's have some fun

In case we didn’t make it clear already, most parents and students spend too much time and money prepping for the SHSAT at one extreme (cheap workbooks from Amazon) or the other extreme (high-cost tutors). We offer an option in between to help you prepare effectively. With that extra time & money to spare, you can play a SHSAT game below. Have fun, study well, and remember to enjoy your childhood!

SHSAT Score Conversion

The above table is an estimated conversion scale from raw 50 point SHSAT exam scores to scaled 400 point* SHSAT exam scores as reported by the NYC DOE.

1. Raw scores are based on a maximum 50 points per exam. As of 2017-2018 the raw score will include only 47 points.

(REVISED 2017-2018 & beyond) 57 ELA exam questions, 57 math questions and 47 questions in each included in student score.
(OLD) 50 math exam questions (1 point per question) up to a maximum 50 point score.
(OLD) 45 verbal exam questions (5 Scrambled Paragraph worth 2 points each, 10 Logical Reasoning worth 1 point each, 30 Reading worth 1 point each) up to a maximum 50 point score.

2. Scaled scores are the actual reported scores on a 400* point scale based on a proprietary methodology that weights the difficulty of problems and other factors.

The above table is therefore an estimate only, but we believe it provides a good estimate in general.
The maximum theoretical score for math is 400 and verbal is 400 for a combined maximum score of 800* – in practice the top scores do not reach 800 historically.

* While it is generally reported that the SHSAT scaled score is based on a 400-point maximum for each section or 800 in total, those scores have never been achieved. In past years, 100% scores correspond to scaled scores closer to 700-720 combined, so the scaled score maximum should be treated as such in the absence of additional information.