If your student yearns to attend a specialized high school in New York City, consider reaching out to Varsity Tutors to ask about our SHSAT prep services. The Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) is a standardized exam eighth and ninth grade students take to be considered for enrollment in specialized high schools. Do you think your student can use some assistance from an SHSAT preparation option? Then contact us to learn more about our SHSAT test prep services.
In order to take the SHSAT exam, a student has to be in eighth or ninth grade and be a New York City resident. Pupils can take it in October or November, and even at the end of summer break, if they're new to New York City. The test contains two sections: English Language Arts and Mathematics. Students have 180 minutes to complete it. Each section has 57 questions, though only 47 questions per section receive a score. Ten of those questions are field test questions. Because your student won't know which questions get scores and which ones are field questions, it's imperative for them to treat all the questions alike. Below are the SHSAT sections in detail:
SHSAT Sections
- Revising/Editing
- Recognize and correct language errors and improve overall quality of writing
- Questions about sentences and written passages
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding, analyzing, and interpreting texts
- 6-10 Questions per reading passage
- Math
- Word problems and computational questions
- Grade 8 test forms come from material in the New York City curriculum through Grade 7
- Grade 9 test forms are based on material through Grade 8
Our SHSAT tutoring services grant your student one-on-one attention, which eliminates distractions from other pupils. Each session is guided by expert SHSAT tutors who know the necessary academic concepts like the back of their hands.
In an SHSAT prep program, your student can learn how to build effective study skills they would need upon entering high school and beyond. Does your student have difficulty taking good notes? An SHSAT course tutor can assist them by providing an outline for them to neatly fill in important facts. Our SHSAT classes even accommodate students who are prodigies. Is your student entering high school at a very young age? These SHSAT class instructors can cater to their gifted minds by exposing them to higher-level texts and math problems. An SHSAT test preparation program also allows your student to work on a subject that's troubling them. An SHSAT prep tutor can help them try to understand math or reading comprehension by breaking lessons down into smaller pieces and explaining things slowly.
Before test day begins, you should ensure that your student brings the necessary tools for the exam. Here's a list of them below:
What To Bring To The SHSAT
- SHSAT Test Ticket signed by parent/guardian with student's Specialized High School choices
- Sharpened Number 2 pencils
- An eraser
- Assistive Technology (if indicated on the IEP and Test Ticket)
SHSAT courses can help your student make sure they have what they need before the exam. An SHSAT test prep tutor can suggest that your student makes a list of things they need, then check them off as they put each item into their backpack before they leave home.
All of our SHSAT test prep programs possess a flexible schedule, so your student can meet up with a tutor at a time that works for them. They also take place in online environments, making it simple for pupils to engage in lessons at anywhere with a stable internet connection. Do you want more information about our SHSAT prep services? Then call or email a Varsity Tutors educational consultant, and they can help you sign up your student for an SHSAT test prep program.

Colin: Shawnee Mission SHSAT test prep instructor
As a tutor, I would like to foster not only mastery of individual subjects, but a strengthened approach to academia in general. Outside of tutoring, I enjoy playing and writing music on the guitar, watching movies, playing basketball with my friends, and hanging out with my animals.
Education & Certification
- University of Kansas - Current Undergrad Student, Behavioral Sciences
Subject Expertise
- SHSAT
- TACHS
- ISEE
- ACT
- +87 subjects

Brianna: Shawnee Mission SHSAT test prep instructor
...to create success. However, I also understand that our current school system is not tailored to help individual students. As such, I aim to give students the extra help they need but cannot get in the classroom. I am in school at Grand Canyon University and am working on obtaining a degree in Elementary Education. I currently work full-time as a literacy interventionist in a local elementary school. I'm very good at staying organized and...
Education & Certification
- Grand Canyon University - Bachelor of Education, Elementary School Teaching
Subject Expertise
- SHSAT
- REGENTS
- COMPASS
- CogAT
- +83 subjects

Ashley: Shawnee Mission SHSAT test prep instructor
...bit of an unconventional way. Throughout high school, I was involved in an organization called The Faraday Society (named in honor of scientist Michael Faraday). We performed awesome chemistry demonstrations for a variety of audiences, from elementary school kids to the general public. While we enjoyed using silly skits to engage with the audience, our primary goal was always to foster enthusiasm toward science. This gave me unexpected training in how to tailor an explanation...
Education & Certification
- University of Kansas - Bachelor of Science, Molecular Biology
Subject Expertise
- SHSAT
- TACHS
- ACT
- HSPT
- +71 subjects

William: Shawnee Mission SHSAT test prep instructor
I have been tutoring for close to 20 years. I enjoy helping students fill in the gaps when it comes to mathematics, preferably upper level subjects such as algebra, geometry and trigonometry. I also enjoy helping students improve their ACT scores with better test taking strategies.
Education & Certification
- William Jewell College - Non Degree Bachelors, Mathematics
Subject Expertise
- SHSAT
- GED
- ACT
- ISEE
- +19 subjects

Gabriela: Shawnee Mission SHSAT test prep instructor
I'm a rising junior at Harvard College. I study African American Studies with a secondary in Women's Studies and I am pursuing a language citation in Spanish. I aspire to one day go to business school. When I am not doing work, I can typically be found reading, writing, or dancing.
Education & Certification
- Harvard University - Current Undergrad, African American Studies
Subject Expertise
- SHSAT
- TACHS
- SAT
- PSAT
- +66 subjects

Rena: Shawnee Mission SHSAT test prep instructor
...all honors mathematic courses up through AP Calculus BC in high school and Calculus I in my first year of college. I also have in-depth experience with English. In high school, I took AP Literature and Composition and AP Language and Composition as well as honors English classes. Besides taking classes in these subjects, I tutored at my local library with a volunteer group called Homework Helpers for all four years of high school. I...
Education & Certification
- Rutgers University-New Brunswick - Current Undergrad, Urban Planning and Design
Subject Expertise
- SHSAT
- ISEE
- SAT
- SSAT
- +30 subjects

Saiful: Shawnee Mission SHSAT test prep instructor
I've been tutoring professionally in homes and in institutions (NYU) for over eight years now. I have a breadth of knowledge when it comes to the SHSAT and SAT and all levels of mathematics as I am an engineer by profession. I graduated from New York University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2014. Numbers are my thing :). I work at your pace where ever you may be. ... I believe anyone can learn anything if the problem at the core is addressed, and the teacher has the burden of identifying the issues at hand and delivering the solution.
Education & Certification
- New York University - Bachelors, Mechanical Engineering
Subject Expertise
- SHSAT
- SAT
- PSAT
- REGENTS
- +17 subjects

Reshad: Shawnee Mission SHSAT test prep instructor
...am a senior at Queens College majoring in Urban Studies. I am writing a thesis on South Asians living in New York City. I have spent the last two semesters mentoring kids from a local shelter every Saturday during the school year. My specialties are SAT prep, SHSAT Prep, English and Social Studies. As a tutor, I am persistent and creative in my teaching techniques. I will explore every option to teach students the material.
Education & Certification
- CUNY Queens College - Current Undergrad, Urban Studies
Subject Expertise
- SHSAT
- SAT Subject Tests
- ISEE
- TACHS
- +34 subjects

Judah: Shawnee Mission SHSAT test prep instructor
...Bachelors in business. Every year of my schooling I have been asked to tutor or otherwise assist my peers academically. I enjoy tutoring any subject as long as I am informed of the topic beforehand. But I most enjoy helping students prepare for and improve their scores on the ACT exam. My most recent students all improved their scores by 5 (composite) points or more! My primary goal is to help each student successfully obtain...
Education & Certification
- University of the People - Bachelor in Arts, Business, General
Subject Expertise
- SHSAT
- SAT
- HSPT
- ACT
- +39 subjects

Sarah: Shawnee Mission SHSAT test prep instructor
...I enjoy working with students to confront the challenges of a subject and then watching as the challenges begin to slip away and what was previously frustrating and incomprehensible to the students becomes a subject that they now enjoy learning about and studying. I believe I am a good tutor and teacher because I am patient, encouraging, and have good communication and classroom management skills. I do not get frustrated if my students do not...
Education & Certification
- Harvard University - Bachelors, Classics
- Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London - Masters, Advanced Theatre Practice
Subject Expertise
- SHSAT
- SAT
- PSAT
- SSAT
- +56 subjects

Allegra: Shawnee Mission SHSAT test prep instructor
...aced the SAT and took 9 AP classes; as a student at the University of Chicago, I developed exemplary writing and critical reading skills; and as a tutor, I learned how to convey those skills to students of all ages, from many different backgrounds, in both one-on-one and group settings. Need to raise those scores? Having trouble telling a participle from a predicate? Want to make your college essay the best it can be? I'm...
Education & Certification
- CUNY Bernard M Baruch College - Current Undergrad, Religious Studies
Subject Expertise
- SHSAT
- PSAT
- SAT
- SSAT
- +63 subjects

Thomas: Shawnee Mission SHSAT test prep instructor
...implement feedback was crucial to our team's success; my work with both programs has helped me commit to an atmosphere of persistent evaluation and improvement. My performance studies including the opportunities I've had to artistically direct the work of other actors have granted me tools to adapt my interpersonal strategies and create a rich, varied instructional style. As in the classroom, it is of utmost importance in the rehearsal space to unconditionally validate the contributions...
Education & Certification
- Duke University - Bachelors, Mathematics
Subject Expertise
- SHSAT
- SAT
- SSAT
- HSPT
- +53 subjects

Anna: Shawnee Mission SHSAT test prep instructor
...of teaching experience with students of diverse backgrounds. I have worked with students as young as third grade up to learners that already have college degrees. My background as a 9th grade English teacher has given me the opportunity to work with students from low-income backgrounds, students with learning disabilities, English Language Learners as well as students from a range of racial/ethnic identities. I strongly believe in every students' ability to learn new and challenging...
Education & Certification
- New York University - Bachelors, Politics
- Johns Hopkins University - Masters, Education Studies
Subject Expertise
- SHSAT
- CLEP
- GED
- PSAT
- +99 subjects

Robert: Shawnee Mission SHSAT test prep instructor
...for over two years, at a private company and with my own clients. My students have shown great improvements in a variety of subjects, from SAT, SHSAT and Regents prep to Calculus, Physics, and Geometry. I specialize in mathematics, however, my writing and reading comprehension skills are of an equally high level. Having achieved top scores on both the SAT and SHSAT, along with various regents tests, I know what it takes to understand subject...
Education & Certification
- Stevens Institute of Technology - Bachelors, Engineering
Subject Expertise
- SHSAT
- TACHS
- PSAT
- SAT
- +29 subjects

Benjamin: Shawnee Mission SHSAT test prep instructor
...in Madrid, Spain, during my semester abroad in the Spring of 2014. I love traveling as well and am extremely excited to be returning to Madrid in September on a Fulbright grant to be an English Teaching Assistant at the high school level! My approach to tutoring has always been about understanding each student's individual style as a learner to create lessons best-tailored to his or her specific needs. I try to foster an environment...
Education & Certification
- Tufts University - Bachelor of Science, Economics & Biopsychology
Subject Expertise
- SHSAT
- PSAT
- SAT
- High School Business
- +37 subjects
Education & Certification
- University of Michigan-Ann Arbor - Bachelor of Engineering, Chemical Engineering
Subject Expertise
- SHSAT
- ISEE
- ACT
- REGENTS
- +48 subjects

Karan: Shawnee Mission SHSAT test prep instructor
...graduate from Stuyvesant High School (a specialized high school in downtown Manhattan). I have much experience tutoring kids from ages 6 to 18 through the company Allen Mentoring in subjects such as physics, math, english, and history. I have scored a 34 on my ACT exam (out of 36). If you haven't found anyone already, I would be happy to be of assistance. Please let me know. I would be happy to answer any questions...
Education & Certification
- Cornell University - Current Undergrad, Applied Economics and Management
Subject Expertise
- SHSAT
- ACT
- SAT Subject Tests
- ISEE
- +60 subjects

Zach: Shawnee Mission SHSAT test prep instructor
...my experience, I have tutoring experience in both one-to-one settings, going as far back as high school, and group/classroom settings, especially from my 4 years of tutoring with Yale MATHCOUNTS. As a likely future graduate student myself, it is my general goal in life to continue the tradition of passing forth knowledge. Not surprisingly, I have always considered tutoring and education among the most noble of professions where both parties, student and teacher, benefit and...
Education & Certification
- Yale University - Bachelor of Science, Biology, General
Subject Expertise
- SHSAT
- ACT
- CogAT
- SSAT
- +54 subjects

Justin: Shawnee Mission SHSAT test prep instructor
...provide the student with a meaningful experience. That is to say, I aim to cultivate an appreciation for math, science, and/or the humanities that will last into college and their career. Unwilling to compromise my love for language or my affinity for math and problem solving, I am currently pursuing a Master's degree in Computational Linguistics, the interface between computer science and human language. Fluent in Spanish and German, I also study second language acquisition...
Education & Certification
- University of Florida - Bachelor of Science, Journalism, English Minor
- Graduate Center at CUNY - Master of Science, Computational Linguistics
Subject Expertise
- SHSAT
- REGENTS
- ISAT
- TACHS
- +93 subjects

Kevin: Shawnee Mission SHSAT test prep instructor
...percentile in both the Verbal and Math sections. In my academic and professional career, I've found that success is when the right mindset meets hard work and preparation.The beauty of this philosophy is that it does not discriminate against any student; everyone has a best that they should strive for. It's my focus to help each of my students reach that standard with a comprehensive preparation regimen tailored to each individual. Most of all, I...
Education & Certification
- Cornell University - Bachelors, Operations Research
Subject Expertise
- SHSAT
- REGENTS
- SAT
- Test Prep
- +4 subjects