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Junipero Serra High School requires the HSPT for 9th-grade admission — and the Serra Scholars benchmark sits at the 90th percentile. This guide gives Bay Area 8th graders a concrete, section-by-section prep plan to hit that target before the one-shot December 6, 2025 test date.
The IHP Placement Assessment at Walter Reed Middle School is one of the most demanding middle school entrance exams in Los Angeles — and LAUSD releases zero official practice materials. This guide breaks down all four tested domains, the 2026–27 admissions timeline, and exactly how to prepare your child before the January exam.
Jesuit High School Tampa requires four brief essays on the same morning as the HSPT — a requirement no other Tampa Bay Catholic high school matches. This post explains exactly what the Jesuit Tampa supplemental writing portion evaluates, how your son can practice timed short-form writing, and how to build a preparation plan that covers both the essays and the HSPT's demanding quantitative sections.
The Hunter College High School entrance exam changed significantly in January 2026, adding ISEE-licensed Quantitative Reasoning and Mathematics Achievement sections. This guide covers what changed, who qualifies, how the two-stage scoring works, and how to build a 16-week STEM critical thinking and essay prep plan for your 6th grader.
The Mark Twain IHP Interdisciplinary Assessment tests four specific critical thinking and problem-solving skills — and no published practice tests exist for it. This post breaks down each skill with student-facing examples and gives you a concrete prep plan tied to the actual IHP eligibility criteria LAUSD evaluators use.
The 2025 HSAS-Lehman cutoff was approximately 504 — but with only 104 seats and a computer-adaptive SHSAT format anticipated for 2026, your child needs a sharper target and a smarter prep plan. This guide gives you exact score benchmarks, registration deadlines, and a STEM critical thinking practice strategy built specifically for High School of American Studies admissions.
Highland School of Technology selects just 145 freshmen by lottery — but first, your child must hit NC EOG Level III or higher on both Math and Reading. This guide explains exactly what that means, who qualifies, and how to prepare starting in 7th grade.
Getting into the High School for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at City College means beating a 526+ SHSAT cutoff for roughly 140 seats. This guide covers the 2026 adaptive SHSAT format, HSMSE-specific score targets, and how STEM critical thinking practice raises your composite. If your child is in 7th or 8th grade, the prep decisions you make right now are the ones that matter.
Getting into George Washington Carver High School of Engineering and Science starts with one number: your child's PSSA percentile. This guide covers every Carver admissions requirement — test scores, grades, attendance, lottery mechanics, and accepted alternatives for private and homeschool students — in one place.
The Carver Center IT/IMP admissions assessment has more moving parts than most Baltimore County families expect — a pre-made brochure, an on-site math test, a practical drawing, and a 70-question centralized test with a 30-question Critical Thinking section. This guide covers every component with a concrete prep plan for the January 2026 dates.