HCHS Test Changes

[Anonymous]

So Hunter just announced they're changing the format of their high school entrance exam so that the math part is now basically just the ISEE Middle (licensed from ISEE):

https://www.hunterschools.org/high-school/admissions/entrance-exam-2026

Prep-wise this seems like a pretty big change - historically Hunter math questions were more in the Math Olympiad / MATHCOUNTS vein, now it's just standard ISEE stuff. (but I feel bad for everyone who's spent the past year studying for a Hunter exam that no longer exists)

[Anonymous]

Anyone who has spent a year studying for the Hunter test is an idiot. It is a one day test to get one of very few seats for one school. Not a good allocation of time or resources.

This is actually better as time spent studying for Hunter is also time spent studying for ISEE so is a better use of time as it is more of a transferable skill in the highly likely case your kid doesn't get into Hunter. So if you are considering private it is great. My kid took ISEE and SHSAT and they are different but there is a fair amount of overlap so it is also somewhat helpful for that.

All that being said, if your kid requires a year of study to do well on the Hunter test, they likely aren't that naturally gifted and are going to struggle once they get there. Don't make your child's life miserable. Let them be kids. Don't make them hate you when they grow up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is actually better as time spent studying for Hunter is also time spent studying for ISEE so is a better use of time as it is more of a transferable skill in the highly likely case your kid doesn't get into Hunter. So if you are considering private it is great. My kid took ISEE and SHSAT and they are different but there is a fair amount of overlap so it is also somewhat helpful for that.

This is true, but while the tests are similar, Hunter is taken in January of 6th grade while the SHSAT and (high school intake year) ISEE are fall of 8th grade, so I don't know how much prep they'll remember 2 years later - if anything it feels more like an argument for making a big test prep push for private school in 5th grade because that's a lot closer (and of course if they screw up their spring standardized tests in 5th grade they won't even get to take the Hunter test).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is actually better as time spent studying for Hunter is also time spent studying for ISEE so is a better use of time as it is more of a transferable skill in the highly likely case your kid doesn't get into Hunter. So if you are considering private it is great. My kid took ISEE and SHSAT and they are different but there is a fair amount of overlap so it is also somewhat helpful for that.

This is true, but while the tests are similar, Hunter is taken in January of 6th grade while the SHSAT and (high school intake year) ISEE are fall of 8th grade, so I don't know how much prep they'll remember 2 years later - if anything it feels more like an argument for making a big test prep push for private school in 5th grade because that's a lot closer (and of course if they screw up their spring standardized tests in 5th grade they won't even get to take the Hunter test).

Good point.

When my kid took the Hunter test the amount of stress I felt in the air while waiting in the line was off the charts. We weren't particularly interested so had him do a few hours of basic review to familiarize himself with the test but that was it. Other families had clearly devoted countless hours and resources to it and were acting like it was the be all and end all. It was very sad and depressing. Of the kids I know who got in there for HS, most were just naturally very bright kids who did a bit of prep but not much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is actually better as time spent studying for Hunter is also time spent studying for ISEE so is a better use of time as it is more of a transferable skill in the highly likely case your kid doesn't get into Hunter. So if you are considering private it is great. My kid took ISEE and SHSAT and they are different but there is a fair amount of overlap so it is also somewhat helpful for that.

This is true, but while the tests are similar, Hunter is taken in January of 6th grade while the SHSAT and (high school intake year) ISEE are fall of 8th grade, so I don't know how much prep they'll remember 2 years later - if anything it feels more like an argument for making a big test prep push for private school in 5th grade because that's a lot closer (and of course if they screw up their spring standardized tests in 5th grade they won't even get to take the Hunter test).

Good point.

When my kid took the Hunter test the amount of stress I felt in the air while waiting in the line was off the charts. We weren't particularly interested so had him do a few hours of basic review to familiarize himself with the test but that was it. Other families had clearly devoted countless hours and resources to it and were acting like it was the be all and end all. It was very sad and depressing. Of the kids I know who got in there for HS, most were just naturally very bright kids who did a bit of prep but not much.

My kid got into Hunter HS with almost no prep. We downloaded the sample test from the website and went over the answers, and I gave him a few very general writing tips (mostly to have fun with the essay!). But I wouldn't say he did a lot better there than some of his uber-prepped friends. (He was a very good student and went to Cornell, but wasn't a superstar at the Harvard level). I do think a lot of parents see Hunter test prep as a gateway to SHSAT prep later on (some kids prep for 18 months for the SHSAT).

I'm not sure why they're changing the test. Seems like a change for the worse TBH. I will say it is classic Hunter to make a big administrative change suddenly, with little thought for the consequences. Of all the public schools my kid attended in NYC, Hunter was not the best run (not the worst, but for all the hoopla, not the best).

[Anonymous]

My older daughter took the test in Jan 2024 and we prepped diligently for the exam, particularly math. At that point, big part of hunter's math portion of the test was not based on regular math program. Because of the prep, she felt that the exam was much easier than what she anticipated.

This year, my younger daughter took the new version of the exam. She is naturally gifted in math, and the new ISEE test is based practically entirely on the school program. She did very well in practice tests at home. With ISEE, the main challenge is time management, not really mathematical thinking like it used to be. Also, now Hunter exam has allocated specific time foe ELA and math, whereas before the kids could spend their time however they wanted.

After the exam this year, my daughter said that the time pressure on math was very hard. Many of her friends did not finish the math portion of the exam and were really upset.

Curious to hear what other parents thought about the change.

[Anonymous]

My older child took the test in January 2025 and also felt OK about time on math, actually with her the bigger problem was the ELA section where the text on one passage was too small/blurry and gave her a headache and she had to rush through some other parts of the test to have time for the essay + math. (and did not end up receiving an offer)

In general I think they really ought to find a way to make the test computerized, though I imagine Hunter would be hard-pressed to get their hands on 3000 Chromebooks for test day.

[Anonymous]

No comparisons, but my daughter took it this year and said most of the kids couldn't finish the math and that someone cried in her classroom over it. She also had to guess for some of the questions when the time began to run out.

[Anonymous]

That's what I've heard from many others as well. It was rough on the kids. More so than on the previous exam, I think. Working under extreme time pressure is very stressful.

But in the end, it will come down to how the group performed collectively. If the majority couldn't finish the test, then it will create an even ground. And an essay will probably play a determining role.

[Anonymous]

I coached my then-6th grader for the ISEE Middle last year - trying to transfer schools - and it's definitely possible to get faster with practice, but it takes a lot of effort over several months; there are new strategies and new material to cover that even a very bright kid is unlikely to have encountered at that age unless they actively sought it out.

[Anonymous]

Yes, agree on that. All the graphs in the test are not from the regular school program. I had to educate myself on slope intercept problems and then teach them and practice with my daughter, all on an extremely limited timeline after they announced the change. She said there were six questions on slope intercept on the test. Definitely hard to be the first class doing a new version of the test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No comparisons, but my daughter took it this year and said most of the kids couldn't finish the math and that someone cried in her classroom over it. She also had to guess for some of the questions when the time began to run out.

My kid took it years ago (and got in). Kids cry every year. Same with the SHSAT.

[Anonymous]

The essay was also confusing this year. The kids had to write a letter similar to Abraham Lincoln's letters from their reading section. His letters didn't have paragraphs. I wonder how many kids thought they had to write without paragraphs to be precise.

[Anonymous]

Yes, very confusing essay! The prompt said to write a letter but to worry about the letter form. Wonder if other kids got confused by the instructions as well.