Research · Entrance exams · October 2026

The HSPT: 298 questions, five subtests, about 2.5 hours; 31 tracked schools require or accept it

As of October 2026: The HSPT (High School Placement Test) is a 298-question multiple-choice test that Catholic and other private high schools give to eighth graders applying for ninth grade. It has five subtests, runs about 2.5 hours, takes nothing off for a wrong answer, and is on the entrance-exam list at 31 of the 154 private and Catholic high schools we track in 14 metros: 29 require it outright and 2 accept it among other exams, and 24 of the 31 are in California.

The tables hold what is on the test, as the publisher describes it, and every tracked school that names the HSPT, with the exams each school lists and the test dates and deadlines it states. It is not a census of every school that uses the HSPT.

Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com), October 2026. Figures and the table may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.

What is on the HSPT?

The five subtests of the HSPT, with the number of questions in each and what the publisher says it measures.

Item counts and descriptions are from Scholastic Testing Service's HSPT Interpretive Manual (2021), the publisher's own document, for the HSPT given to eighth graders. STS does not publish a time limit for each subtest; it says each subtest is timed and that the whole sitting runs about 2.5 hours, so no per-subtest time is shown. A school may add one optional test at the end, Science (25 minutes) or Catholic Religion (20 minutes), 40 questions each; the optional score is not part of the Composite and is not shown here.

Which schools require or accept the HSPT, and when do they give it?

Every tracked school whose entrance-exam list includes the HSPT, grouped by metro, with the exams the school names and the test dates and application deadline as each school states them. Where a school's own words say Class of 2031, it means eighth graders in the 2026-27 school year, who start high school in fall 2027; Class of 2030 means the students who started high school in fall 2026.

This is every one of the 31 schools, among the 154 private and Catholic high schools we track across 14 metros in California, the Dallas area, the New York area and North Jersey, whose entrance-exam list includes the HSPT as of October 2026: 29 require it outright, and 2 (Campbell Hall and Academy of the Holy Angels) accept it as one of two or three exams; the Exams column shows each school's own list. Dates, times, fees and deadlines are printed as each school states them on its own admissions page. Where a school's page still shows last cycle's dates, the cell says so and the 2026-27 date is not in our set. A school name links to its Reach page where one exists. Fees are set by each school and vary. This is not a census of every school that uses the HSPT.

What the HSPT is, who takes it, and what is on it

The HSPT is a placement test for eighth graders applying to ninth grade: eighth graders in the 2026-27 school year, who start high school in fall 2027, take it this fall and winter. Scholastic Testing Service (STS) has published it since 1955. Schools use it for admissions, scholarship selection and course placement, and every question is multiple choice.

The five subtests are Verbal Skills (60 questions), Quantitative Skills (52), Reading (62), Mathematics (64) and Language (60), for 298 questions in all. Each subtest has its own time limit. STS says the whole sitting runs about 2.5 hours but does not publish the minutes for each subtest.

Calculators are not allowed on the Mathematics subtest. Points are not taken off for wrong answers. A school may add one optional test at the end, Science or Catholic Religion, 40 questions each, outside the Composite.

How the HSPT is scored, and what a good score is

There are no good or bad scores. There are only scores that will help you reach your goals. The score report shows a standard score from 200 to 800 for each subtest and for the Composite, with 500 as the middle, and a national percentile from 1 to 99, where 50 is average. Some reports also show a local percentile.

The national percentile compares the student with STS's norm group, entering high school students who went on to graduate. The local percentile compares the student with the others who tested with that school or diocese. Test Prep Gurus makes a related point about the ISEE on its ISEE page: the students who take that test are a self-selecting and generally strong group, so a percentile often reads lower than a family expects.

STS says the Composite is the best single predictor of later grades and recommends it for admission and scholarship decisions. Scores reach families through the school; STS does not send results home.

When and where it is given, and how to register

Each school or diocese gives the HSPT itself; there is no test center and no national date. A student registers through the school where they want to test and pays that school's fee. STS publishes no family fee. Accommodations such as extended time are granted by the school, not STS, and often have an earlier deadline.

In our table the California schools mostly test in January, and deadlines for those tests cluster in early to mid December; five Bay Area schools close on Friday, December 11, 2026. Four of the six North Jersey schools name November 6, 2026, with an October 23, 2026 COOP registration deadline.

How to prepare

Give it six to twelve weeks of steady work, one or two sessions a week with practice in between. Prepare for the whole test every time, never one section; the Composite covers all five subtests, so a weak Language or Quantitative section pulls it down.

Take timed practice tests under real conditions. Each subtest has its own clock, and a student who has felt the pace of 62 Reading questions is not surprised on test day. Learn the directions for each section before test day, so no test time goes to reading them.

Answer every question: STS takes nothing off for a wrong answer and tells students to take their best guess. Practice arithmetic by hand, because calculators are not allowed on the Mathematics subtest. Plan backward from the one date the school names and from its registration deadline.

We can move these scores

Test Prep Gurus is the company behind Reach. In its own words: "At Test Prep Gurus we teach students how to raise their grades and scores on the ACT, SAT, ISEE, HSPT, APs so they can reach their goals for college and beyond." We can move HSPT scores. For the HSPT we offer a free mock HSPT exam, an online HSPT course and 1-on-1 HSPT lessons. The mock exam is the place to start. Call 949-229-5359 or see the HSPT page at Test Prep Gurus.

What a family should do this month

Find each school you are considering in the table and write down its test date and deadline as the school states it. Pick the test date that leaves six to twelve weeks of prep. Register on time with the school, and file any extended-time request by the school's own date.

Take the free mock HSPT now. If a school on your list is not in the table, our entrance-exam tool shows the test each of the 154 tracked schools requires.

Related: Which entrance exam does each school require? · Twenty-five California high schools give their entrance exam on the same Saturday · The ISEE guide · HSPT, ISEE or SSAT: which Orange County private high schools require which exam