Raw score

Definition

A raw score is the number of questions you got right on a section of the SHSAT, counting only scored questions (not field questions). For each SHSAT section (ELA and Math), there are 47 scored questions out of 57 total. Raw scores range from 0 to 47 per section.

What raw scores look like in practice

Example raw scores and what they roughly mean:

• Raw 47 (perfect): Maps to scaled 400 (the maximum). Rare.
• Raw 42: Maps to scaled ~290–300, depending on the year’s equating.
• Raw 38: Maps to scaled ~265–275.
• Raw 32: Maps to scaled ~230–245.
• Raw 24 (about half): Maps to scaled ~190–205.
• Raw 12 (about a quarter): Maps to scaled ~145–160.

The exact conversion varies year to year because of equating, which adjusts the raw-to-scaled relationship to account for test-form difficulty differences.

No penalty for wrong answers

The SHSAT does not deduct points for wrong answers. Your raw score equals the count of correct answers; wrong answers and skipped questions both contribute zero. This is a critical strategic point:

• Always answer every question. If you don’t know an answer, guess. A random guess on a 4-choice multiple-choice question has a 25% chance of being right. A blank is guaranteed 0% chance.
• Don’t leave anything blank. Even if you’re running out of time on the last few questions, fill in any answer rather than skipping.
• Eliminate before guessing when possible. If you can eliminate one or two choices, your guess probability rises from 25% to 33% or 50%.

This is different from some older standardized tests (the pre-2016 SAT, for example) that did deduct points for wrong answers. Strategic guessing on the SHSAT is unambiguously the right approach.

Why raw scores aren’t used for admissions

Specialized high school admission uses composite scaled scores, not raw scores. The reasons:

• Fairness across test forms: Without scaling, a raw 42 on an easier form would be treated the same as a raw 42 on a harder form, penalizing students who happened to take the harder form. Equating fixes this.
• Comparability across years: Raw 42 means slightly different things in different test administrations. Scaled 295 means roughly the same thing.
• Continuous scale across both sections: Raw scores on ELA and Math aren’t directly comparable because the questions differ. Scaled scores put them on a unified 100–400 scale where adding them produces a meaningful composite.

How to estimate scaled from raw

If you have raw scores from a practice test and want to estimate scaled scores, use our SHSAT score calculator. The calculator applies an estimated conversion based on publicly available data. The actual NYC DOE conversion may differ by a few scaled points either way, but the calculator estimate is usually within 5–10 points of the official value.

Common misconceptions

“Raw 47 means perfect scaled score.” Yes, raw 47 maps to scaled 400. Just confirming this works as expected.

“Raw 32 of 47 is about 68%, so my percentile should be around 68%.” No. Raw percentage and percentile are unrelated. Raw 32 might correspond to roughly the 50th percentile depending on the cohort; raw percentage doesn’t map directly to percentile rank.

“If I leave questions blank, my percentage right goes up.” No. Your raw score is the count of correct answers, not a percentage of attempted questions. Leaving questions blank doesn’t increase your raw score relative to guessing.