High School Placement Test
The HSPT, in plain answers
Taken by students applying to Catholic high schools that use it, including those in the Archdiocese of Newark and the Diocese of Paterson. Here's what matters for the 2026–27 admissions season, with a link to the official source for every fact.
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Questions parents ask
HSPT prep: what to practice and a 2026 timelineScholastic Testing Service, which publishes the HSPT, tells families to avoid expensive prep materials and says a well-rounded education is the…HSPT scores explained: standard scores, percentiles and compositesEach HSPT subtest and composite gets a standard score from 200 to 800, where 500 is average, plus national and local percentiles from 1 to 99. The…Is the HSPT hard? Pace, rules and what counts as hardThe HSPT asks 298 multiple-choice questions in roughly 2 hours 20 minutes of testing — about 28 seconds a question, with no calculator — so that…Is there an HSPT practice test PDF? What STS actually offersThe official materials listed here do not provide families with a downloadable HSPT practice test PDF: STS restricts its Preview Sample to…NJ COOP HSPT 2026: dates, fee and how to registerThe NJ COOP HSPT for Newark and Paterson Catholic high schools is on Friday, November 6, 2026, with a make-up on November 14. Register at…What is the HSPT exam? Who takes it and what's on itThe HSPT, or High School Placement Test, is a 298-question multiple-choice test from Scholastic Testing Service with five sections: Verbal Skills,…What's on the HSPT? Sections, question counts and optional testsThe HSPT has five multiple-choice subtests with 298 questions in all: Verbal Skills (60), Quantitative Skills (52), Reading (62), Mathematics (64)…Which admissions tests penalize wrong answers?The Middle and Upper Level SSAT take off a quarter point for each wrong answer. The TACHS, HSPT, ISEE and Elementary SSAT have no penalty, and the…
Key facts
| Newark/Paterson test date | The Newark/Paterson HSPT is on Friday, November 6, 2026 (8:00-11:45 a.m.), with a make-up on Saturday, November 14, 2026.1 |
|---|---|
| Newark/Paterson fee | The NJ COOP/HSPT fee is $70 and is non-refundable.2 |
| Sections | The HSPT has five multiple-choice subtests: Verbal Skills (60 questions), Quantitative Skills (52), Reading (62), Mathematics (64), and Language (60), for 298 questions in total.3 |
| Scores | Each HSPT subtest and composite gets a standard score from 200 to 800 (average 500), plus national and local percentiles from 1 to 99.3 |
| Guessing | The HSPT scores only correct answers with no penalty for wrong answers, so students should answer every question.4 |
| Calculators | Calculators are not allowed on the HSPT.5 |
| Who uses it nearby | Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of Newark (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Union, and Rockland County NY) and the Diocese of Paterson (Morris, Passaic, Sussex) use the HSPT through the NJ COOP program.6 |
Sources
- Archdiocese of Newark/Diocese of Paterson 2026-2027 Cooperative Admissions HSPT Testing Program - Important Dates (PDF)
- COOP/HSPT Student Handbook 2026-2027 (PDF, revised 9/6/26)
- HSPT Interpretive Manual for Closed HSPT and Pre-HSPT (STS, 2021, PDF)
- HSPT Parent's Page - How Are Tests Scored? (STS)
- HSPT Parent's Page - Preparing for the HSPT (STS)
- Cooperative Admissions Examination Program (COOP) (NJ)