The SHSAT consists of two sections: English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics. The total time allotted for the exam is 180 minutes. Each section contains 57 questions, of which 47 are scored and 10 are embedded field test questions that are not scored. 

Note: Please note that you will not be able to identify which questions are scored and which are field test questions. Therefore, it is important to answer all questions in each section. 

The English Language Arts (ELA):

Revising/Editing

• Part A: 

1. Selecting the best correction for an error

2. Identifying a sentence with an error

3. Improving the  writing by combining sentences or revising part of a sentence

• Part B:

1. Language misuse

2. Missing or unnecessary support details

3. Missing or inappropriate transitional words, phrases, or sentences

4. A missing or unclear introductory statement or concluding statement

5. Confusing or illogical organization

6. Other errors related to language and writing standards

Reading Comprehension:

There are five basic question types in the SHSAT Reading section: Global, Detail, Function, and Inference questions:

1. Global

Central idea or theme: To identify the central idea or theme, look for an idea that is repeated throughout the passage.  These questions require you to pay close attention to the big picture (summary of the passage) - the author's central idea and purpose - while reading SHSAT reading passages.

2. Detail

Detail questions ask you to track down a piece of information directly stated in the passage, so you will not have to make any inferences as you answer these. Remember that you will not (and should not!) remember every detail from your reading of the passage. Your Roadmap can help you find the location of the detail in question; then, you should research the passage text to answer Detail questions. 

3. Function

Function questions ask about the purpose of a particular part of the passage. They can ask about the purpose of a word, a sentence, a paragraph, a detail, a quote, or punctuation. To answer function questions successfully focus on the author’s reason for including the cited feature and take note of any transition words, and read around the cited text to get context and an understanding of the author’s reasoning.

4. Inference

An Inference question, like a Detail question, asks you to find relevant information in the passage. But once you’ve located the details, you’ve got to go one step further: to figure out the underlying point of a particular phrase or example. To answer Inference questions successfully, look for clues that show how the author connects relevant details within the passage and consider how the author’s point of view limits the range of what could be true

5. Infographic

These are the most straightforward quantitative questions. They ask about the information that you can see just by looking at the table, chart, or graph. Some questions will ask about specific values, while others will ask about bigger trends, like whether a variable is increasing or decreasing, or about its lowest point. These questions will often be based on the data in the graph/chart/table, which [variable] [does this thing]? or according to the data in the figure, what is [some value]?

One of the nice things about these questions is that you don’t need to look at the written parts of the passages to answer them: they are based purely on the charts, graphs, or tables that accompany the readings. This means you can answer them very quickly, and you can even skip to them without reading the passage if you’re running out of time.