AskesisBeginning with the fall 2026 administration, the SHSAT is computer adaptive. It still contains English Language Arts and Mathematics, but navigation and scoring differ from older paper-test descriptions. Students should practice with the current NYC Public Schools digital tools.
Two sections in one 180-minute session
ELA contains 50 questions covering Revising and Editing and Reading Comprehension. Mathematics contains 50 word problems and computational questions spanning proportional reasoning, number systems, expressions, equations, inequalities, statistics, probability, and geometry.
Students may choose which subject to begin with. The standard test provides 180 minutes, and NYC Public Schools states that students may divide time between ELA and Math as they choose.
Computer-adaptive item selection
The test begins with an item or passage set of average difficulty. After responses, the system updates its estimate and selects later items accordingly. All students answer the same number of questions and are assessed on the same grade-level standards and content areas.
Do not interpret a difficult item as proof that you are doing well or an easier item as proof that you are doing poorly. Make the best supported response to the current question. Rapid guessing near the end is not automatically better than careful work.
Navigation is more restricted
Students must answer a question before moving forward. Within an ELA passage set, they may return to related questions until the set is submitted. After submitting the set, they cannot return. In Math and on stand-alone ELA items, they cannot return after advancing.
This makes decision discipline essential. Practice committing to an answer after a defined process: identify the task, eliminate unsupported choices, check the requested quantity, and then move forward.
Item types and preparation
Both sections may include multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and technology-enhanced items. Current practice should include the Student Readiness Tool and NYCPS digital practice tests so the interface does not consume test-day attention.
Review should separate content gaps from interface errors, passage-navigation mistakes, and time-allocation problems. Those categories require different fixes.
Askesis Exam Prep is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the organizations responsible for official SHSAT information. Confirm current policies, dates, and requirements with the official sources and, where relevant, your school or program.