Free SHSAT Practice Tests 2026 (Digital + PDF)

Sam M. March 18, 2025 · Updated September 13, 2026

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Practice tests are the single most useful tool for SHSAT preparation — and as of the fall 2026 administration, the test is computer-adaptive, so which practice tests you use now matters more than it used to. Below is every official SHSAT practice test we know of: the NYC DOE’s current digital tests first, then the complete archive of older forms going back to 2018.

Official SHSAT practice tests for 2026

The NYC Department of Education hosts its official practice materials on the SHSAT practice portal. These are the only practice tests that reproduce the current digital interface, item types, and navigation rules, so start here.

Digital practice tests, Forms A–D — four full-length forms, each available timed or untimed, starting with either ELA or Math, with directions translated into twelve languages (the test items themselves are English-only). Two Grade 9 mini-forms are also available for students testing into 10th grade.
Printable PDF versions — for when a computer isn’t available: Form A · Form B · Form C · Form D
Answer explanations — item-by-item, one appendix per form: Form A explanations
Student Readiness Tool — a short tutorial covering the digital testing tools and navigation. Worth twenty minutes before the first full practice test; it is a tour of the interface, not a content preview.
NYC Guide to the SHSAT for 2027 Admissions — the DOE’s official handbook, including a sample test with explanations.

The complete SHSAT practice test archive (2018–2025)

These are the official DOE forms from the paper era. They remain genuinely useful for content practice — the underlying ELA and Math standards haven’t changed — but they are 57-question paper tests with grid-in items and free navigation, so they don’t reflect the current format. Use them to drill skills, not to rehearse test day.

Note that the DOE reuses questions across forms, so if some look familiar, that’s normal. It’s still worth treating each test as its own standalone assessment.

Which SHSAT practice test should I use?

Source	Format	Items per section	Navigation	Answer explanations
DOE digital Forms A–D	Digital, linear	50	No skipping, no return	Yes, per form
DOE printable PDFs (A–D)	Paper printout of the digital forms	50	N/A	Yes, per form
Student Readiness Tool	Digital tutorial	N/A — interface only	Demonstrates the real rules	N/A
2018–2025 archive	Paper PDF	57 (incl. 5 grid-in)	Free navigation	Yes, most forms
The live 2026 exam	Digital, adaptive	50	No skipping, no return	N/A

How to use them together: take a DOE digital form first to get used to the interface and the no-skip rule, then use the archive forms for volume and content drilling, then return to a second DOE form closer to test day.

When you take a full-length test, do it in one three-hour sitting without distractions, ideally in the morning — and for the archive PDFs, print them rather than reading on screen, since they were designed for paper.

What’s changing in 2026: the computer-adaptive SHSAT

Beginning with the fall 2026 administration, the SHSAT is a computer-adaptive test (CAT). The exam selects questions based on how a student is performing as they go: answer a moderately challenging question correctly and the next question is harder; miss it and the next one is easier. Every student answers the same number of questions, drawn from the New York State learning standards for their grade level.

The most important practical change is navigation. Per the NYC Guide to the SHSAT for 2027 Admissions, students must answer each question before moving to the next, and cannot return to it afterward. Within an ELA passage set you can move among that passage’s questions, but once you move to the next passage, those questions are closed.

That single rule retires the most widely taught SHSAT strategy: skip the hard ones, bank the easy points, circle back at the end. It is no longer available. Instead, students need to budget time question by question and get comfortable committing to a best guess and moving on.

It’s worth being precise about what practice is currently possible here. The DOE’s official practice tests are fixed, linear forms — they faithfully reproduce the digital interface, the item types, and the navigation rules, but they are not themselves adaptive. No official adaptive practice test exists yet. So the honest way to use them is to rehearse the format and the pacing discipline, and to treat any score they produce as a content check rather than a prediction.

For a fuller breakdown of the digital transition, see our guide to the digital SHSAT.

How is the SHSAT structured?

The SHSAT has two sections: English Language Arts (ELA) and Math. Each section contains 50 items, and students have three hours of total testing time. The ELA section covers reading comprehension and revising/editing; the Math section mixes multiple-choice questions with fill-in-the-blank items, which students answer using an on-screen equation editor.

This is a change worth noting if you’re working from older materials. The paper SHSAT had 57 questions per section, and its Math section included five “grid-in” questions answered on a paper grid. Today’s count is 50, and write-in answers are entered digitally — the practice tests in our archive below still reflect the older structure.

Calculators are not permitted on the Math section, and students may not bring a watch unless it is silent.

How should I study for the SHSAT?

For every student who is studying for the SHSAT (Specialized High School Admissions Test), it is essential to take regular practice tests to track one’s progress. At Honors Prep, we typically recommend that every student begin their journey by taking a full-length practice test to gauge where they currently stand on both the ELA (English Language Arts) and Math sections. This first test serves as an important diagnostic.

Once a student determines the areas where they have their greatest room for improvement, it is our recommendation that they take additional practice test every 4-5 weeks thereon out. This gives each student valuable experience simulating what it will be like to take the actual test as well as in-depth information to track their progress and determine how they should structure subsequent preparation.

Pacing and time-management are critical on the SHSAT and there’s no better way to sharpen those skills than by taking full-length practice tests!

We typically recommend that students begin preparing for the SHSAT in 7th grade. For an in-depth look into how to best create a study plan for the SHSAT, please refer to our blog post.

How do I score my practice tests?

Every student who takes the SHSAT receives a raw score for each section, which is converted into a scaled score. To find your raw score on a practice test, add up the number of correct answers in each section.

Predicting a scaled score from a practice test has always been difficult, because the DOE doesn’t publish how raw scores convert to scaled scores, and because the older paper exams included unscored experimental questions. The move to adaptive testing makes it harder still: on a computer-adaptive test, which questions you answered correctly matters as much as how many, so a raw count from a fixed practice test doesn’t map cleanly onto a real scaled score.

A practical way to use these tests: treat the raw score as a progress tracker rather than a score prediction. On the older 57-question forms in our archive, averaging around 48 correct per section has historically been a reasonable target for a student aiming at a Specialized High School. That benchmark is specific to those forms — it does not transfer to the 50-item digital practice tests, and it does not translate to an adaptive score at all.

What matters more than any single number is the trend across several tests, and which question types keep coming up wrong.

What is the SHSAT?

The SHSAT (Specialized High School Admissions Test) is a test administered by the New York City Department of Education. It is the sole criteria for entrance to the city’s eight Specialized High Schools:

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

The test is primarily taken by eighth graders for admissions to 9th grade, however, there is a smaller subset of 9th graders who will take it for entry to 10th grade.

Should I hire an SHSAT tutor?

In our completely unbiased opinion, yes! While taking consistent practice tests in the lead-up to the SHSAT is an excellent way to familiarize yourself with the format and the material on the test, our dedicated private tutors will show you test-taking strategies, tips and tricks that will not simply reveal themselves through practice. Trust us, the SHSAT is a highly competitive test and you deserve every advantage you can offer yourself when taking it. Furthermore, our tutors will help craft a custom study plan for you and hold you accountable to it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I find official SHSAT practice tests?

The NYC DOE publishes its official practice tests on the SHSAT practice portal at nycshsat.myassessmentsupport.com. There are four digital practice tests (Forms A through D), each available with and without a timer and with directions translated into twelve languages, plus printable PDF versions and full answer explanations for each form. We also host the complete archive of older official paper tests from 2018 through 2025.

Is the SHSAT computer-adaptive in 2026?

Yes. Per the NYC Guide to the SHSAT for 2027 Admissions, the SHSAT becomes a computer-adaptive test beginning with the fall 2026 administration. The questions a student sees are selected based on their ongoing performance: answer a moderately challenging question correctly and the next one is harder; miss it and the next one is easier. Every student answers the same number of questions.

How many questions are on the SHSAT?

There are 50 items in the ELA section and 50 items in the Math section, with three hours of total testing time. This is a change from the older paper exam, which had 57 questions per section including five grid-in Math questions.

Can you skip questions on the digital SHSAT?

No. On the computer-adaptive SHSAT you must answer each question before moving on, and you cannot return to a question once you have advanced past it. For ELA passage sets you can move among the questions attached to a single passage, but not after you leave that passage. This means the familiar strategy of skipping hard questions and circling back at the end no longer works.

Are calculators allowed on the SHSAT?

No. Calculators remain prohibited on the Math section, as does any watch that is not silent. This has not changed with the move to digital testing.

Are the older SHSAT practice tests still useful?

Yes, for content practice. The 2018 through 2025 forms cover the same underlying ELA and Math standards, so they remain excellent for building skills. They do not simulate the current format, though: they are 57-question paper tests with grid-in items and free navigation. Use the DOE's digital practice tests to rehearse the format and the older forms to drill the content.