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SHSAT dates & registration for fall 2026

Updated October 12, 2026 · By Christopher Lara, Stuyvesant ’00 — the DOE has now said which students test on which date, and posted the weekend testing sites

The fall 2026 SHSAT school-day test is Wednesday, November 18, 2026; the weekend test dates are Saturday and Sunday, November 14 and 15, plus a final weekend date of Saturday, November 21; and registration runs Tuesday, October 6 through Friday, October 30, 2026. All of those are official, from the DOE, and so is who sits on which date. November 18 is for 8th graders at public middle schools that end in 8th grade, who test at their own school. November 14 or 15 is for every other 8th grader — at 6–12 or K–12 schools, charter, private, parochial or independent schools, or home-schooled — at a central NYCPS testing site. November 21 is for all 9th graders, also at a central site. Below is the official calendar, the eight weekend testing sites, and everything about registration you can do ahead of time.

The fall 2026 timeline

Last cycle's actual dates (fall 2025 test, for fall 2026 admission) shown as reference, from the DOE's testing calendar. Bold dates are officially confirmed by the DOE for this cycle; everything else is the pattern from recent cycles, not a promise.

Milestone	Last cycle	This cycle (fall 2026)
Registration opens (MySchools)	Tuesday, Oct 7, 2025	Tuesday, Oct 6, 2026
Registration closes	Friday, Oct 31, 2025	Friday, Oct 30, 2026
Test tickets in MySchools	Monday, Nov 10, 2025	Not announced (~1–2 wks after close)
8th graders — school day testing	Wednesday, Nov 12, 2025	Wednesday, Nov 18, 2026
8th graders — weekend testing (6–12, K–12, charter, private, parochial, independent, home-schooled)	Sat–Sun, Nov 15–16, 2025	Saturday, Nov 14 or Sunday, Nov 15, 2026
9th graders — weekend testing	Sat–Sun, Nov 22–23, 2025	Saturday, Nov 21, 2026 (alternate date for those who cannot test Saturday)
Weekend testing sites	Assigned on the test ticket	Eight central NYCPS sites, by school district (below)
HS & LaGuardia applications close	Early December	Friday, Dec 4, 2026
Results & offers	Spring, with HS offers	Wednesday, Mar 3, 2027 (after 3pm)

Where these come from. The DOE’s Specialized High Schools page now sets out who tests when: registered 8th graders at a public NYCPS middle school that ends in 8th grade “will test at their current school during the school day on Wednesday, November 18”; registered 8th graders at 6–12, K–12, charter, private, parochial or independent schools, or who are home-schooled, test at a central NYCPS location on Saturday, November 14 or Sunday, November 15; and all registered 9th graders test at a central NYCPS location on Saturday, November 21, with an alternate date for students who cannot test on a Saturday. The DOE’s Fall 2027 High School Admissions Timeline lists the same dates. Which of the two weekend days an 8th grader gets, and the exact site, is on the test ticket in MySchools, available after registration closes. The DOE notes its dates are subject to change and that changes are communicated directly to families.

Weekend testing sites

Students testing on a weekend date are assigned a site by the district their school is in. This is the DOE’s published list; your child’s test ticket is the final word.

Site	Address	For students who attend school in
Stuyvesant High School (02M475)	345 Chambers St, New York, NY 10280	Districts 1, 2, 3 and 4
Mirabal Campus (06M324)	21 Jumel Place, Manhattan, 10032	Districts 5 and 6
The Bronx High School of Science (10X445)	75 W 205th St, Bronx, NY 10468	Districts 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12
Brooklyn Technical High School (13K430)	29 Fort Greene Pl, Brooklyn, NY 11217	Districts 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 23 and 32
James Madison High School (22K425)	3787 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11229	Districts 17, 18, 20, 21 and 22
Long Island City High School (30Q450)	14-30 Broadway, Queens, NY 11106	Districts 24 and 30
Hillcrest High School (28Q505)	160-05 Highland Ave, Queens, NY 11432	Districts 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29
Staten Island Technical High School (31R605)	485 Clawson St, Staten Island, NY 10306	Staten Island (District 31)

How registration works

Set up MySchools now. Registration happens through myschools.nyc. If your family doesn't have an account yet, your school counselor can help create one — don't wait for October to discover a login problem.
Register between Oct 6 and Oct 30, 2026. That's the full window — it opens Tuesday, October 6 and closes Friday, October 30. Public school students can also register through their counselor. Don't leave it to the last week: a MySchools login problem discovered on October 29 is a genuine emergency.
Get the test ticket. After registration closes, a ticket with your child's assigned test date and site appears in MySchools. Print it or save it — it's the admission document for test day.
Rank schools thoughtfully. Your child lists the specialized high schools in preference order. Order matters: offers go to the highest-listed school with seats left when their score comes up. A school you don't list can't make an offer, no matter the score — our cutoff guide explains the mechanics.

Don't confuse the two deadlines. SHSAT registration closes Friday, October 30, 2026. The regular high school application — the one where your child ranks non-specialized programs — stays open until Friday, December 4, 2026. They open the same day, October 6, and families who register for the SHSAT sometimes assume they're done. The SHSAT is not a substitute for the high school application, and almost every student should submit both.

Who's eligible

Any NYC resident 8th grader — public, charter, private, or home school — can test for 9th-grade admission the following September. Current 9th graders can test for the small number of 10th-grade seats. The test is free, and it's offered once per year per student: there are no retakes within a cycle, which is a big part of why families prepare seriously.

One more date that matters: the format

Fall 2026 is the first year the SHSAT is computer-adaptive — question difficulty adjusts to your child as they answer. If your rising 8th grader has been practicing on paper, the single most valuable scheduling decision you can make this month is building in time for on-screen, timed practice before test day.

Counting down to test day? SHSAT Prep: Practice Tests asks two questions — which test, and when — and builds a day-by-day plan to your test date. A 30-minute diagnostic finds the gaps; 1,386 human-reviewed questions with worked explanations close them, and a full-length Adaptive Practice Test rehearses the format itself. No accounts, no ads, nothing leaves the device.

Frequently asked questions

When is the SHSAT this year?

Wednesday, November 18, 2026 for 8th graders at NYC public middle schools that end in 8th grade, who test at their own school during the school day. Every other 8th grader tests on Saturday, November 14 or Sunday, November 15, 2026, and all 9th graders test on Saturday, November 21, 2026 — both at central NYCPS testing sites. All of those dates are official from the DOE, and your child’s exact date and site are on the test ticket in MySchools after registration closes.

When do private, charter and home-schooled students take the SHSAT?

On a weekend, at a central NYCPS testing site rather than at their own school. 8th graders at charter, private, parochial and independent schools, at public 6–12 and K–12 schools, and home-schooled 8th graders test on Saturday, November 14 or Sunday, November 15, 2026. The site depends on the district the student’s school is in — the DOE lists eight, from Stuyvesant for Districts 1–4 to Staten Island Tech for District 31 — and your child’s assigned date and site appear on the test ticket in MySchools after registration closes.

Is there a separate 9th grade SHSAT date?

Yes. All registered 9th graders test on Saturday, November 21, 2026, at a central NYCPS testing site. The DOE says students who cannot test on a Saturday will be given an alternate test date. The test ticket in MySchools shows your child’s date and site.

When does SHSAT registration close?

Friday, October 30, 2026. That is a hard deadline, and it comes more than a month before the December 4 high school application deadline.

Does the SHSAT cost anything?

No. Registration and the test are free.

What if we miss the registration window?

Talk to your school counselor immediately. Late registration options have historically been very limited, and missing the window generally means waiting a full year.

When do results come out?

Wednesday, March 3, 2027, after 3pm, in MySchools — the same moment high school offers are released.

Can my child take it more than once?

Once per year. An 8th grader who doesn't get an offer can test again in 9th grade for the much smaller pool of 10th-grade seats.