At Classical, we believe that our scholars are able to not only compete but to excel in exceptionally rigorous environments. Every 8th Grade Student in the city of New York is eligible to take the Specialized High School Admissions Test, which is the sole requirement to gain admissions to eight of the nine Specialized High Schools in New York City. As a top performing New York Charter School with a rigorous curriculum, our goal is to get as many scholars as possible into great high schools. For Spring 2026 admission, we had 8 outright acceptances and 14 acceptances into the Discovery Program to schools such as Stuyvesant High School, Bronx High School of Science, High School of American Studies at Lehman College, the High School for Math, Science, and Engineering at City College, and Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Performing Arts.
What are the Specialized High Schools, and Why are They Unique?
The Specialized High Schools are nine schools (Bronx High School of Science, Brooklyn Technical School, Brooklyn Latin School, High School for Math, Science, and Engineering at City College, High School for American Studies at Lehman College, Queen High School for Sciences at York College, Staten Island Technical High School, and Stuyvesant High School) spread across the city that provide a world-class education to scholars in 9-12th Grade. They have prestigious and accomplished faculties and consistently send their alumni to the best colleges and universities in the country. They are also completely free. Because of the immense benefits and free tuition, Classical not only encourages but prepares scholars to take the SHSAT.
What is the SHSAT?
The SHSAT is a hundred-question test separated into two sections, ELA and Math. The ELA section contains revising and editing questions focused primarily on Grammar rules as well as multiple reading comprehension questions that test scholars’ understanding of Nonfiction, Fiction, and Poetry. These questions range in type from understanding the author’s purpose to summarizing the text to choosing best evidence to support a point to making inferences given a specific set of information. The Math Section is a mixed practice that incorporates concepts including but not limited to Geometry, Probability, Proportions and Ratios, Charts and Graphs, Statistics, Inequalities and Equations, and Math Fundamentals. The purpose of each of these sections is to assess the flexibility of scholars’ thinking as well as testing scholars’ ability to perform under pressure as scholars must have a rate of under two minutes per question to complete the assessment. As a top NYC Charter School with demonstrated success in ELA and Math, we believe our scholars are capable of going to the best schools and performing with the best in the city.
How do We Prepare for the SHSAT?
Beginning in August of their 8th Grade year, scholars take diagnostic tests that determine their starting point in their preparation for the SHSAT. After that, an intensive twelve-week program trains F100scholars on each of the core concepts of the SHSAT as well as timing and testing strategies. Throughout this course, scholars receive daily feedback on their work, have opportunities to ask questions about each core concept, and are provided with stopping points throughout the course. These stopping points consist of an entire ELA section, an entire Math section, half of one Practice Test, and finally a complete Practice Test. At each of these stopping points, the instructor communicates home with families and provides next steps so that scholars can monitor their own progress and prepare themselves well for the test. The class pulls its questioning from the prior six years of tests so that scholars are immersed in the type of questions that they will find on the test itself. Classical believes in this program because we believe that our scholars deserve to go to the best schools, and we will continue to prepare our scholars to thrive in the most challenging environments. If you want your scholars to have access to great programs like these, please apply to Classical Charter Schools.
