SHSAT Cutoff Scores 2026 for All 8 Specialized High Schools

SHSAT cutoff scores for 2026 admissions, all 8 schools

These are the lowest qualifying SHSAT scores published by NYC Public Schools for students entering 9th grade in fall 2026, sorted from highest to lowest. They are the scores from the test given in fall 2025. They are not targets for the fall 2026 test: the cutoffs for fall 2027 entry will be set by next year's scores and seats, and they have not been published. The SHSAT is the only admissions criterion for these eight schools. LaGuardia, the ninth specialized high school, admits by audition and is separate.

What a cutoff score actually is

A cutoff is the score of the last student who received an offer to that school. NYC Public Schools takes every tester's composite score (the ELA and Math scaled scores combined), lines students up from highest to lowest, and works down the list. Each student is offered the school they ranked highest that still has a seat. When a school's seats are full, the score of the last student placed there becomes that year's cutoff. So Stuyvesant at 561 does not mean 561 is a passing grade for Stuyvesant. It means that in that year, with that many seats and that many students ranking it first, the seats ran out at 561. There are no waitlists, so a student just below a cutoff is not next in line if a seat opens.

Curious how the composite itself is built? Read how the SHSAT is scored, and for this year's format change see what the computer-adaptive SHSAT means for 2026.

Why cutoffs move from year to year

Because a cutoff depends on who tested and how many seats were open, it shifts every cycle. If a school has fewer seats one year, or more high scorers rank it first, its cutoff rises. If seats grow or demand moves to another school, it can fall. The scaling also matters: section scores are converted to scaled scores before being combined, so a raw count of right answers does not map to the same composite every year. And fall 2026 brings a bigger change: starting this year the SHSAT is computer-adaptive, meaning questions adjust to each student's answers. NYC Public Schools has not said how that will affect score ranges, so nobody can honestly tell you what the fall 2027 cutoffs will be. Treat last year's numbers as a rough map of how competitive each school is, not a promise.

Why your ranked school list matters as much as the score

Students list the specialized high schools they want, in order of preference, when they register in MySchools. That order decides which offer arrives. A student who scores 520 and ranks Brooklyn Tech first gets Brooklyn Tech, even though that score was above the cutoff at Staten Island Tech and HSAS too. A student who scores 520 but only lists Stuyvesant and Bronx Science gets no specialized offer at all. A few practical points: rank schools in your true order of preference, since ranking a school first never hurts your chances at another; include every school your child would actually attend, especially if their practice scores land near the middle of the table; and think about the commute, because a seat at a school two hours away is a daily cost for four years. Registration for the fall 2026 SHSAT closes October 30, 2026, so check the list in MySchools before then.

Test dates and registration steps are in our SHSAT 2026 test dates and registration guide.

How to use these numbers in prep (and where MiloMint Learn fits)

The healthiest way to use a cutoff table is as context, not a scoreboard. The gap between Stuyvesant and Brooklyn Latin last year was 66 points, so the realistic question for most families is not “will my child hit 561?” but “which schools on this list fit my child, and are they solid in both sections?” Because the composite combines ELA and Math, a weak section drags the whole score down, and on the new adaptive format students cannot go back to questions they have moved past. That makes steady, untimed-then-timed practice more useful than cramming. MiloMint Learn, part of Milo+ ($3.99 a month or $29.99 a year), has an SHSAT Math bank of 300 questions (44 of them grid-ins, where you type the number) and an SHSAT ELA bank of 300 questions with reading passages. Kids can do topic practice or a timed full test, “Read first” makes them read each passage before the answer choices appear, and parents see progress and the missed questions to go over together. To be clear, our practice tests are not computer-adaptive and do not predict an official score.