In late October 2007, approximately 25,000 eighth graders, and a substantially smaller number of ninth graders will take the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT). Their goal is to gain admittance into one of the eight NYC Specialized High Schools, which include Stuyvesant, Bronx Science and Brooklyn Tech.
The 150-minute test consists of two parts, a Verbal and a Math section, each allocated 75 minutes. For those students who are planning to take this test, I have compiled the following outline:
CONTENT
Verbal Section:
5 scrambled paragraphs worth 2 points each for a total of 10 pts.
10 Logical Reasoning questions worth one point each for a total of 10 pts.
30 Reading Comprehension questions - Five passages with 6 questions each- 30 pts.
Note: Reading Comprehension is 60 percent of the Verbal and 30 percent of the exam
Math Section:
50 Math problems - geometry, algebra, word problems and arithmetic
STRATEGY
With the exception of scrambled paragraphs, every question is worth the same amount. Do not spend a lot of time on the hard ones. Do the easy ones first. You can always come back to the hard ones at any time, for either section. There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so you should always guess, never leave an unanswered question in your answer grid.
Buy a review book or download some practice tests online. Read and memorize the instructions. This saves precious time. The instructions are always the same. No need to reread them on test day.
Figure out your strengths and weaknesses and spend 2/3 of your preparation time on those weaknesses. Then as you get closer to the test, go back and spend the bulk of your prep time on your strengths.
No calculators are allowed. No scratch paper is allowed. You must write everything in your test booklet. You do not have to be a walking dictionary. Vocabulary is not tested. Tough words will be defined.
Math diagrams are not drawn to scale; only focus on the information given.
This is a multiple-choice test. Do not fear the format. For reading comprehension questions, the answer is in the test; you just have to find it.
HOW TO BUBBLE: Circle your answers in the test booklet; enter your answers five at a time. At the end go back and recheck your bubbles with the circles in the test booklet.
TIMING
Pace yourself as you attempt practice questions. The following is a recommended guideline. If you are able to do certain questions faster than the recommended time, you will have “borrowed” this time and you can use the extra time to do the more difficult questions or use the extra time to check your work.
The entire test is 2 hours. In my experience most students after substantial practice, finish the test with 15 to 30 minutes to spare. This time is valuable; it can get you extra points.
RECOMMENDED TIMING
Math - Allocate 1 minute per question the first time around, even though the test makers allocate 90 seconds.
Spend the 75 minutes on the Verbal Section as follows:
Verbal- Scrambled Paragraphs - 3 minutes per paragraph - 15 minutes total.
Logical Reasoning - 1 minute 30 seconds per question - 15 minutes total.
5 Reading Passages - 3 minutes per passage - 15 minutes total.
30 Reading Questions- 1 minute each - 30 minutes total.
CUTOFF SCORES
The NYC Department of Education does not make public the formula used to convert the raw score (0-100) to a scaled score (0-800). Cutoff scores vary each year so it is impossible to determine what scaled score will get a student into a particular school.
The only thing in the student’s control is his or her mastery of the material covered by the exam.
Steven N. Weisman is an author and private SAT Tutor. Many valuable test strategies and information can be found on his blog and website https://www.testniques.com
