Specialized High Schools Admissions Test
| Acronym | SHSAT |
|---|---|
| Type | Paper-based standardized admissions test |
| Administrator | New York City Department of Education (Administrator), Pearson Assessments (Developer/Grader) |
| Skills tested | ELA, Mathematics |
| Purpose | Admission into Specialized high schools in New York City |
| Duration | 3 hours |
| Offered | Once a year |
| Restrictions on attempts | One time each in grade 8 and 9 |
| Regions | New York City, United States |
| Languages | English |
| Annual number of test takers | 25,678 in 2024 |
| Used by | Specialized high schools in New York City |
| Qualification rate | 15.9% in 2024 |
| Website | www |
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 eight of the city's nine Specialized High Schools (SHS). As of 2024, there were 25,678 students who took the test and 4,072 (15.9%) who received qualifying scores. Approximately 800 students each year are offered admission through the Discovery program, which fills approximately twenty percent of every matriculated class of each SHS with students from lower-income (qualified for reduced-price lunch) backgrounds who can qualify through a summer study program instead of reaching the cutoff score.
The test is administered each year in October and November, and students are informed of their results the following March. Those who receive offers decide by the middle of March whether to attend the school the following September. The test is independently produced and graded by American Guidance Service, a subsidiary of Pearson Education, under contract to the New York City Department of Education.