SHSAT for 9th graders: the fall 2026 test for a 10th-grade seat

By Trieu Ly · Updated November 2, 2026

A student who lives in NYC and is in 9th grade for the first time can take the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) once, on Saturday, November 21, 2026. It is for a 10th-grade seat at the eight specialized high schools that admit by SHSAT score.

See all fall 2026 SHSAT dates and test sites.

Dates checked October 22, 2026 against NYC Public Schools (the NYC Department of Education) pages on Specialized High Schools, High School admissions, and the SHSAT. SHSAT Practice Test is an independent site, not affiliated with NYC (where our facts come from).

Before test day

• Watch for the test ticket in MySchools. It shows the test site. No ticket? Ask the school counselor or a Family Welcome Center.
• Offers go only to the specialized high schools on the list made at registration, in that order.
• If your child has an IEP, a 504 Plan, or ELL status, ask the counselor to confirm their testing accommodations. NYC bases them on the plans and status already on file.
• 9th grade is the last chance to take the SHSAT.

Can 9th graders take the SHSAT?

Yes. A student who lives in NYC and is in 9th grade for the first time can take the SHSAT, at any public, charter, private, parochial or home school.

NYC describes its summer Discovery program for rising 9th graders, who test in 8th grade.

How is the 9th grade SHSAT different?

Same format, math one grade further, far fewer seats.

Sources: the NYC Guide to the SHSAT for 2027 Admissions (PDF), page 20; NYC’s item type samples (PDF). Seat numbers come from MySchools school pages, read October 9, 2026. MySchools shows the same 10 tenth-grade seats at all eight schools, so that number may be a default, not an exact count. NYC does not publish seat counts on its own pages.

What score does a 9th grader need?

For 2026 admissions, the lowest qualifying score for 10th-grade entry ran from 530 at Staten Island Tech to 562 at Stuyvesant, and NYC printed 652 for Bronx Science and Brooklyn Latin.

The cutoff is NYC’s “lowest qualifying SHSAT score.” These are for 2026 admissions (the fall 2025 test), from NYC’s live page, checked October 22, 2026.

* NYC prints 652 for Bronx Science and Brooklyn Latin with no explanation. That is far above every other school. Tenth-grade seats are few (MySchools lists 10 per school), so treat these two numbers as unreliable.

Our calculation: 10th-grade entry took a higher score at all eight schools. At the six unstarred ones, it took 1 to 37 points more. Fall 2026 is the first adaptive SHSAT. NYC has not said whether scores will use the same scale, so treat these numbers as a guide.

For Bronx Science and Brooklyn Latin, the starred number does not tell you what score a 10th grader will need in 2027. NYC considers only the schools on your child’s list, so a school left off the list cannot make an offer.

To compare a practice score, choose “9th grade” in the SHSAT score calculator. It gives our estimate, not an official score. In our October 2026 audit, we checked all 40 cutoff values for 2022 to 2026 against NYC’s own page (archived copies for earlier years). See 9th-grade entry cutoffs for every year.

What if my child gets no offer?

The SHSAT has no pass or fail: NYC ranks students by score, and a child without a specialized high school offer can still use the general High School Application, which closes Fri, Dec 4.

NYC makes up to one offer to the eight testing schools, and only to schools on your child’s list. The Specialized High Schools have no waitlists. For a 9th grader, this test is also the last try.

Your child still has other options in the same admissions round:

• The High School Application. Some high schools set aside seats for students starting 10th grade, and first-time 9th graders can apply. The application closes Fri, Dec 4. In MySchools, use “More Filters” to find schools with 10th-grade seats.
• LaGuardia High School, which admits by audition. Its application closes the same day.
• The current school. In our reading, a student without a new offer keeps their current seat.

For questions about results, NYC points families to the school counselor or a Family Welcome Center. Source: NYC’s High School admissions page, checked October 22, 2026.

How to practice for the 9th grade SHSAT

The NYC SHSAT Portal has two grade 9 mini forms, aligned to standards through grade 8. NYC says to use them together with a full grade 8 practice form. When we checked the portal on October 22, 2026, each mini form had a 1.2 MB PDF that NYC titles “Explanations and Printable Online Practice Test”: its 13 math questions, each followed by the explanation. To print it as a practice test, cover the explanation pages.

The four full forms, A to D, are written for 8th graders. We opened all four on October 14, 2026. Each is a fixed list of 100 questions that does not change with your child’s answers. Formulas are not given on the real test, so your child should memorize those for perimeter, area, volume, and surface area.

See where to find each official practice test and our week-by-week SHSAT prep plan.

For a step-by-step order using the mini forms and the grade 8 forms, see our SHSAT practice test guide for 9th graders.

Common questions