How to calculate SHSAT Score is the information that often students look for when preparing for the SHSAT. The Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) will help the students get admission to New York City’s best high schools. However, there is no known formula for the calculation of SHSAT scores. This post will help you understand the scoring process which can help students to measure their performance. Continue reading the following.
Key Takeaways
- There’s no penalty for wrong answers in ELA (57 questions) and Math (57 questions).
- The raw score is how many questions you got right.
- A scaled score is a raw score converted to a difficulty-based scale (200-400 per section).
- The score is a combination of ELA and Math scaled scores (400-800).
- Each year, the cutoff score varies since top schools need higher scores (~600+).
- You can estimate your score by taking the SHSAT Practice Test, counting the correct answers, and comparing it to past scores.
- Try to balance both sections, ns, and practice under timed conditions to make sure you answer everything.
Understanding the SHSAT Structure
When trying to comprehend how to calculate SHSAT score, then learn about the SHSAT structure.
SHSAT has two sections:
- English Language Arts (ELA) – 57 questions
- Mathematics – 57 questions
Both of these sections have equal final scores. The test doesn’t have any penalty for the incorrect answers. This means the students should attempt every question.
Calculating SHSAT Score
You can use the SHSAT Score Calculator to calculate your score. However, the following table will help you manually calculate your SHSAT score as well.
Here are the details about how to calculate your score for SHSAT.
Step 1: Raw Score Calculation
The raw score is the total number of correct answers in each section. There are 57 questions per section so the highest possible raw score for each section would be 57.
For example, if you have answered:
- 45 ELA questions correctly
- 50 Math questions correctly
Your raw scores would be:
- ELA raw score: 45
- Math raw score: 50
Step 2: Scaled Score Conversion
Now you will need to cover your raw score into a scaled score. This step will adjust the question difficulty which will assure you that different versions of the test will be similar.
- Scaled scores for each section usually range from 200 to 400.
- The exact conversion depends on the test version and difficulty.
Keep in mind that no official conversion table is available. However, the estimate can be calculated through the past trends suggested:
- A raw score of 50+ in a section may convert to around 370-400.
- A raw score of 30 might translate to around 280-300.
This implies that two students who got identical raw scores in different versions of the test may get somewhat varied scaled scores.
Step 3: Calculating the Final SHSAT Score
Now the final SHSAT score is the total sum of the scaled ELA and math scores.
For example:
- ELA scaled score: 350
- Math scaled score: 380
- Total SHSAT score: 730
The total score is between 400 and 800.
Step 4: Understanding SHSAT Cutoff Scores
Each specialized high school has a SHSAT cutoff score which is a must for admission. Each year the score is different. The change is based on:
- The number of test-takers
- Overall performance
- Available seats at each school
Some general trends from past years:
- Stuyvesant High School: High 600s to low 700s
- Bronx Science & Brooklyn Tech: Mid-to-high 600s
- Other specialized high schools: Lower 500s to mid-600s
It’s best to aim for the highest score possible since cutoff scores fluctuate.
How to Estimate Your SHSAT Score
Though no official score table or SHSAT score calculator is available for students, the SHSAT practice test can help them estimate their scores.
Steps to estimate your score:
- Take a full-length practice test with the same time limit.
- Count the number of correct answers in each section for the total raw score.
- Compare with past conversion estimates (if available).
- Add both scaled scores to get an approximate total.
This method is not exact but it will provide a better expectation of performance.
What is a good score for SHSAT?
There isn’t any formal or standardized method of converting raw scores to scaled ones for the SHSAT. The New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) does not provide a fixed formula for transforming raw scores to scaled ones. However, based on past trends:
- Raw Score:
The total number of correct answers (max 57 per section).
- Scaled Score:
Each raw score is converted into a scaled score (200-400 per section) based on test difficulty.
- Total SHSAT Score:
The sum of the ELA + Math scaled scores (typically 400-800).
Due to the variable conversion, two students with a similar raw score may receive different scaled scores. Therefore, specialized high school cutoff scores change every year.
Bottom Line
When you are ready to apply for New York’s top high schools, it is important to know how to calculate SHSAT score can help you a lot. This will help you set the right goals. Be sure to contact the college board or check the official website of the high school where you want to enroll for score requirements. Check their required SHSAT cutoff score and prepare. Make sure to stay confident and do your best. For further guidance, you can contact Ivy Test Prep for individual SHSAT prep programs for the best experience and preparations.
