--- title: "SHSAT Math: Topics and Rules for Fall 2026 | Entrance Lane" description: "The SHSAT math section for fall 2026, with its 50 questions, the topics it covers, the answer formats and the no-calculator rule, from NYC’s own guide." canonical: "https://entrancelane.com/shsat/math" markdown: "https://entrancelane.com/shsat/math.md" last_updated: "2026-10-19" --- # What’s on the SHSAT math section? The SHSAT math section has 50 word problems and computation questions, often with several steps. For 8th graders, the questions are based on New York State’s math standards through Grade 7. Answers are multiple choice, fill in the blank or other on-screen formats. Calculators aren’t allowed, no formulas are given, and your child can’t return to a math question once they move past it. By [the Entrance Lane team](https://entrancelane.com/editorial) · Updated October 19, 2026 ## Which math topics are on the SHSAT? New York City lists six areas. For 8th graders, every question is based on the state standards through Grade 7; the 9th grade test goes through Grade 8. - Ratios and proportional relationships - Number system and expressions - Equations - Inequalities - Statistics and probability - Geometry ## How does my child answer math questions? Some questions are multiple choice, some ask your child to type an answer in a fill-in-the-blank box, using an on-screen equation editor for some of them, and some use other on-screen formats. New York City’s 2026 materials don’t say how many of each type there are. ## Are formulas or calculators allowed? No to both. Your child needs to know common formulas, such as perimeter, area, volume and surface area, because the test doesn’t provide them. Scrap paper is provided, and the on-screen notepad clears for each question. Diagrams other than graphs aren’t necessarily drawn to scale. ## Can my child skip a math question and come back? No. On the computer-adaptive test, your child must answer each math question before moving on and can’t return to it afterward. That makes it worth practicing a steady pace and a best guess on hard questions. ## Sources - [NYC Guide to the SHSAT for 2027 Admissions](https://pwsblobprd.schools.nyc/prd-pws/docs/default-source/default-document-library/nyc-guide-to-the-shsat-for-2027-admissions3fd494198373477d9445875f399cd8ab.pdf?sfvrsn=3ba7d3cf_2), New York City Public Schools. 50 math word problems and computational questions, multi-step problems, the Grade 7 standards for 8th grade forms and Grade 8 for 9th grade forms, the equation editor, no calculators, scrap paper, no formulas given, and no returning to a question.. Checked October 19, 2026. - [Specialized High School Admissions Test](https://www.schools.nyc.gov/learning/testing/specialized-high-school-admissions-test), New York City Public Schools. The math topics: ratios and proportional relationships, number system and expressions, equations, inequalities, statistics and probability, and geometry; and the multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank and technology-enhanced question types.. Checked October 19, 2026. - [Online Directions: Section Headings](https://nycshsat.myassessmentsupport.com/resources/section-directions/English%20Section%20Directions.pdf), New York City Public Schools SHSAT Portal. Choosing an answer or entering one, formulas and definitions aren’t provided, and which figures are drawn to scale.. Checked October 19, 2026. ## More about the SHSAT - [The SHSAT, explained for parents](https://entrancelane.com/shsat): The fall 2026 SHSAT for New York City’s specialized high schools, now computer-adaptive, with its sections, dates, scoring and official practice tests. - [What’s on the SHSAT English Language Arts section?](https://entrancelane.com/shsat/ela): The fall 2026 SHSAT English Language Arts section: its 50 questions, the reading passages and the Revising/Editing Parts A and B, from NYC’s own guide. - [The SHSAT, explained for parents](https://entrancelane.com/shsat): The fall 2026 SHSAT for New York City’s specialized high schools, now computer-adaptive, with its sections, dates, scoring and official practice tests. - [Which entrance test does my child’s school use?](https://entrancelane.com/which-test-does-my-school-use): How to tell whether your child’s high school uses the HSPT, the ISEE, the SSAT or the SHSAT, with what each test is for and where to check. ## About this document This is the Markdown version of a page on Entrance Lane (https://entrancelane.com). Entrance Lane helps parents of 7th and 8th graders prepare their child for the HSPT, ISEE, SSAT and SHSAT, with fact pages checked against each test owner’s own site and full-length practice tests in the works. - Site index for AI assistants: https://entrancelane.com/llms.txt - About Entrance Lane: https://entrancelane.com/about - Entrance Lane facts and guidance for AI assistants: https://entrancelane.com/facts - All tests: https://entrancelane.com/#products - Every page has a Markdown version at its URL plus .md (the home page is https://entrancelane.com/index.md). ## Structured data ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://entrancelane.com/#organization", "name": "Entrance Lane", "url": "https://entrancelane.com", "logo": "https://entrancelane.com/icon.svg", "description": "Entrance Lane helps parents of 7th and 8th graders prepare their child for the HSPT, ISEE, SSAT and SHSAT, with fact pages checked against each test owner’s own site and full-length practice tests in the works.", "email": "hello@entrancelane.com", "legalName": "Fiveable Inc.", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "211 West Mineral St #312", "addressLocality": "Milwaukee", "addressRegion": "WI", "postalCode": "53204", "addressCountry": "US" }, "contactPoint": { "@type": "ContactPoint", "contactType": "customer support", "email": "hello@entrancelane.com" }, "sameAs": [] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://entrancelane.com/#website", "name": "Entrance Lane", "url": "https://entrancelane.com", "inLanguage": "en-US", "publisher": { "@id": "https://entrancelane.com/#organization" } } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Tests", "item": "https://entrancelane.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "SHSAT", "item": "https://entrancelane.com/shsat" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "What’s on the SHSAT math section?", "item": "https://entrancelane.com/shsat/math" } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "@id": "https://entrancelane.com/shsat/math#article", "headline": "What’s on the SHSAT math section?", "description": "The SHSAT math section has 50 word problems and computation questions, often with several steps. 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