Composite score
The sum of your two scaled scores. Ranges 200–800. This is the admissions number.
Definition
Your SHSAT composite score is the simple sum of your ELA scaled score and your Math scaled score. Each section ranges from 100 to 400, so the composite ranges from 200 (worst case) to 800 (perfect on both sections).
Why this is the only score that matters for admissions
Specialized high school admission decisions use the composite, not the section scores. Each school sets a cutoff, and your composite determines whether you clear it. A student with 268 ELA + 268 Math = 536 composite is treated the same as a student with 200 ELA + 336 Math = 536 composite, even though their section profiles are very different.
This has practical implications. A student strong in one section can compensate for being weaker in the other, as long as the composite reaches the target. But going lopsided is risky — most schools’ cutoffs are reached more reliably by balanced section performance than by extreme strength in one section.
Composite ranges and what they mean
For 2025–2026 admissions, the eight specialized high school cutoffs ranged from 493 (Brooklyn Latin, lowest) to 556 (Stuyvesant, highest). Some intuition for the bands:
- 200–350: Below the cutoff for any specialized high school
- 350–490: Strong general performance, below all specialized cutoffs
- 490–520: Qualifies for the lower-cutoff specialized schools
- 520–555: Qualifies for most schools except Stuyvesant
- 555+: Stuyvesant in reach
A concrete example
Suppose a student gets 42 of 47 scored questions correct on ELA (raw 42) and 39 of 47 on Math (raw 39). The conversion to scaled scores is approximately:
- ELA raw 42 → scaled ~287
- Math raw 39 → scaled ~272
- Composite: 287 + 272 = 559
That composite reaches every specialized high school cutoff including Stuyvesant. If the same student had a more lopsided profile — say 47 ELA + 32 Math — the raw scores would be higher and lower, but the composite could end up lower because the curve at the very top of one section gives diminishing returns. Balance matters.
Common misconceptions
“Composite is just averaged.” No. It’s summed, not averaged. The average of your two scaled scores is your composite divided by two — useful for some intuitions but not the actual admissions number.
“ELA and Math are weighted differently.” No. Both sections contribute equally to the composite. There’s no school where Math counts double or ELA is discounted — the composite math is the same for every specialized high school.
“The composite is on a 200–800 scale like the SAT.” The range is the same, but the meaning is different. SAT 800 means perfect on one section; SHSAT 800 means perfect on both sections combined. They’re not comparable numbers.
How to calculate your composite
If you have raw scores from a practice test, use our SHSAT score calculator — it converts raw to scaled and sums to composite automatically, with school qualification chips showing which specialized high schools your composite reaches.