HSPT: the High School Placement Test, explained
The HSPT (High School Placement Test) is the placement test eighth graders take to enter ninth grade at many Catholic and other private high schools. Scholastic Testing Service (STS) publishes it, but families do not register with STS: the high school or diocese orders the test, sets the date and decides how scores are shared.
Who makes the HSPT and who takes it
The HSPT is published by Scholastic Testing Service. STS describes it as a placement test for eighth graders moving into ninth grade, and says that, offered since 1955, it was the first test battery built for selecting and placing students entering high school.
High schools use the scores for admission, scholarship selection and course placement, and each school weighs them in its own way. In some regions high schools test together, often under a Catholic diocese, and a student can send scores to several schools.
Sources: STS, HSPT parent page; Scholastic Testing Service, High School Placement Test (HSPT) overview; STS, how schools use HSPT scores; STS, HSPT FAQ: how are scores distributed?
What is on the test
The HSPT has two major areas: Cognitive Skills (Verbal Skills and Quantitative Skills) and Basic Skills (Reading, Language and Mathematics). Each subtest has its own time limit. Calculators are not allowed on the Mathematics subtest.
A school may add an optional test in science (25 minutes) or Catholic religion (20 minutes). It does not count toward the composite score.
| Subtest | Area | Items | What STS says it measures |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verbal Skills | Cognitive Skills | 60 | Understanding and reasoning with words |
| Quantitative Skills | Cognitive Skills | 52 | Understanding and reasoning with numbers |
| Reading | Basic Skills | 62 | Reading |
| Mathematics | Basic Skills | 64 | Elements of a high school curriculum |
| Language | Basic Skills | 60 | Punctuation, capitalization, spelling, grammar, usage and composition |
Sources: STS, HSPT score report: major test areas and scores; STS, Interpretive Manual for the Closed HSPT and Pre-HSPT (PDF); STS, preparing for the HSPT; Scholastic Testing Service, High School Placement Test (HSPT) overview
How the HSPT is scored
The score counts correct answers only, so a wrong answer costs nothing. Raw scores become standard scores from 200 to 800, where 500 is exactly average. National percentiles run from 1 to 99 and compare a student with students in the same grade in a national sample; STS calls 33 to 66 the average range.
Reports on the Closed HSPT also show cognitive skills quotients (CSQs), local percentiles and grade equivalents. The Closed HSPT is a secure test with a new edition each year, offered only to high schools.
Sources: STS, preparing for the HSPT; STS, HSPT score report: major test areas and scores; Scholastic Testing Service, High School Placement Test (HSPT) overview
How to sign up, dates and retakes
- Sign up with the school: the test is ordered and given by individual schools or dioceses, so contact the school where your child will test.
- Dates: there are no national test days. Each school or diocese picks its own.
- Scores: STS does not mail results to families. The school or diocese decides how scores are shared.
- Retakes: STS recommends taking the HSPT only once. A school may allow a retest in special cases.
- Accommodations: each school decides, not STS.
- Practice: STS’s own practice product is the Pre-HSPT, a seventh grade edition it sells to schools and says works as a practice test.
Sources: STS, HSPT FAQ: how do I sign up?; STS, HSPT FAQ: testing dates; STS, HSPT FAQ: how are scores distributed?; STS, HSPT FAQ: can I take the HSPT more than once?; STS, HSPT FAQ: testing accommodations; Scholastic Testing Service, High School Placement Test (HSPT) overview
Sources and dates
- Scholastic Testing Service, High School Placement Test (HSPT) overview, read October 8, 2026https://ststesting.com/hsp/
- STS, HSPT parent page, read October 8, 2026https://ststesting.com/hspt/par_main.html
- STS, HSPT FAQ: how do I sign up?, read October 8, 2026https://ststesting.com/hspt/pf1.html
- STS, HSPT FAQ: testing dates, read October 8, 2026https://ststesting.com/hspt/pf2.html
- STS, HSPT FAQ: how are scores distributed?, read October 8, 2026https://ststesting.com/hspt/pf3.html
- STS, HSPT FAQ: can I take the HSPT more than once?, read October 8, 2026https://ststesting.com/hspt/pf6.html
- STS, HSPT FAQ: testing accommodations, read October 8, 2026https://ststesting.com/hspt/pf9.html
- STS, HSPT score report: major test areas and scores, read October 8, 2026https://ststesting.com/hspt/es_2_major.html
- STS, how schools use HSPT scores, read October 8, 2026https://ststesting.com/hspt/par_schools.html
- STS, preparing for the HSPT, read October 8, 2026https://ststesting.com/hspt/par_prep.html
- STS, Interpretive Manual for the Closed HSPT and Pre-HSPT (PDF), read October 8, 2026https://www.ststesting.com/hp_int_sts.pdf
Common questions
What is a good HSPT score?
STS reports standard scores from 200 to 800, where 500 is exactly average, and national percentiles from 1 to 99, where 33 to 66 is the average range. Each high school sets its own bar, so ask the school how it uses the scores.
How long is the HSPT?
STS sets a time limit for each subtest but does not publish a single total on the pages we read. The optional science test adds 25 minutes and the optional Catholic religion test 20. Ask the testing school for its schedule.
Can I take the HSPT twice?
STS recommends taking it only once. A school may allow a retest in special cases, so ask the school.
Is the HSPT the same as the ISEE or SSAT?
No. The HSPT is published by Scholastic Testing Service and given by schools or dioceses on dates they choose. The ISEE and SSAT are run by E3n, and families register for them directly.