Specialized
High School Admission Test (SHSAT) Course
The Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) is an extremely competitive examination that is administered to the 8th and 9th grade students in New York City every year to determine admission into New York City’s Specialized High Schools such as Stuyvesant High School, Staten Island Technical High School, Brooklyn Technical High School, etc.
The SHSAT is a timed multiple-choice examination with two sections, verbal and math, which must be completed in 2 hours and 30 minutes. Verbal section consists of 45 questions and math section consists of 50 questions. The verbal section measures students’ verbal reasoning and reading comprehension abilities by having them solve 5 scrambled paragraphs, answer 10 logical reasoning problems, and analyze five nonfiction passages. The math section measures students’ math skills by having them solve problems that involve arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and probability.
SchoolPlus offers comprehensive and rigorous SHSAT prep course that fully prepares students for the exam. The course lasts from September of the 7th grade until October of the 8th grade. Our SHSAT program includes
(a) SHSAT Math and SHSAT English classes once a week
(b) SHSAT Weekly Practice Test Sessions
During our SHSAT Math and English classes we cover the whole SHSAT curriculum and provide comprehensive and thorough review of all the topics included in the test. In addition to subject-specific classes (SHSAT Math and SHSAT English), SchoolPlus offers a unique opportunity to weekly practice entire SHSATs in the format true to the actual test. Practicing the full tests under test-like conditions is an extremely important component of the SHSAT prep. Such test-taking practice allows to find the gaps in knowledge and to develop the time-management skills. With tens of thousands of students applying to these schools annually, and only about 10% being offered seats, more and more students are looking to increase their chances of getting into these specialized high schools. SchoolPlus offers 40 unique different SHSAT Practice Tests.
HISTORY
SchoolPlus was one of the first
programs to offer SHSAT Practice Test sessions as a separate course almost a
decade ago. Since then, SchoolPlus students have
consistently achieved impressive results. Over the years, more than 85% of SchoolPlus students who also took SHSAT testing course have
successfully passed the SHSATs.
PROPRIETARY
MATERIALS and UNIQUE APPROACH
SchoolPlus offers proprietary
materials that are based on years of experience and feedback from parents,
students, and educators. We stay current with the latest testing changes and
demands, and ensure that they are incorporated into our tests. As experts in
the field, SchoolPlus goes above and beyond the test
requirements by making sure our students truly understand more advanced
material than the SHSAT requirements. As a result, the majority of our students
are confident during the tests and perform extremely well.
While
we run group classes, our step-by-step approach allows us to develop an
individualized test-taking plan based on each student's needs. Over the
duration of the course we get to know our students, understand their strong and
weak areas, and each student's learning style. Even though SchoolPlus
is unable to share its proprietary sample tests outside the classroom, we do
provide each child with a detailed report indicating their strengths and
weaknesses or any gaps on each topic. In addition to testing students'
subject-specific knowledge and readiness for the SHSAT, SchoolPlus
offers a very effective method of learning and mastering new concepts.
OUR
COURSE
Our
experience has shown that students, that are serious about entering elite
high schools and ready to commit to the studies, perform best if they begin
their SHSAT preparation early.
SchoolPlus SHSAT preparation course
consists of three parts. During the first part of the course, held in the
spring semester of their 7th grade, the students practice taking
half of the test. We choose specific topics for each 75 minute test, and the
remaining 75 minutes are dedicated to working through errors and developing
test-taking strategies. Once completed, the questions and answers are reviewed
immediately after each test.
Once
the students are familiar with the test format, the test-taking strategies,
their strengths and weaknesses, they are ready for the second part of the
course which runs in July and August. During the summer we meet two consecutive
days per week. On one day of each week our students take the full-length sample
test for 2½ hours. We grade the tests immediately after class. Next day we
devote the entire session to review all the test questions. The students are
provided the additional worksheets based on their gaps. Besides the Practice
Tests, the students are given weekly Homework assignments. Over the duration of
the course we track our students' progress.
In
the third part of the course, in the fall of their 8th grade, the
students begin taking the full tests twice per week. By that time they have
just a few weeks to brush up on their academic skill set and finalize their
test-taking strategy. The concentrated and focused prep during 7 weeks in September
and October allows students successfully passed the highly competitive exam.
REGISTRATION
Please
register online to ensure that your child gets a spot. The registration is free.
We always do our best to match parents' scheduling preferences.
Please
register online at http://school-plus.com/schoolplus/index.php?Reg_Form_Loc
Please
make sure to choose a location most convenient for you and then select “SHSAT
Practice Tests”.
Please
feel free to contact Irina Goldman at 718-524-4443 or email to
SchoolPlusNY@yahoo.com with any questions.
SchoolPlus would be honored and
delighted to become the stepping stone that will shape your child's high school
experience!