HSPT Test

The HSPT (High School Placement Test) is an academic test used by private and public high schools (which includes Catholic and religious institutions) with limited admissions. Like other standardized exams, it gives admissions officers a baseline to judge a candidate against his or her peers. It is also used to determine the distribution of academic scholarships and to set up curricular goals for those students already admitted. It is administered almost universally to eighth graders entering the freshman year in high school, although there are exceptions in some states. Scores on the exam are the same nationwide, so it is a useful tool for administrators who receive candidates from other school districts or states. The scoring process gives a variety of information, from raw scores to state and national percentiles, making comparisons amongst candidates clear and simple.

The test itself has a time limit of two and a half hours. The content is based on standard middle school curriculum content. The test has questions on reading comprehension, verbal and quantitative reasoning, math, and language. Verbal reasoning consists of questions about vocabulary, primarily synonyms and antonyms. Quantitative reasoning involves working with sets of numbers and some quantitative logic, whereas the math section deals with solving equations, both arithmetic and geometrical. The language portion has questions about grammar and usage and features some sentence correction, while the reading comprehension is a straightforward set of passages with comprehension questions in a multiple-choice format.

The raw score, or number of questions answered correctly, is modified into a final scaled score between 200 and 800. Individual high schools determine what an acceptable score is and how to use the HSPT information with other academic requirements, like GPA (grade point average). There is also a preliminary version of the test available for seventh graders to give them an idea of what to expect and to help parents and teachers predict future performance and areas of weakness and strength.

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