J.H.S. 157 Stephen A. Halsey: SHSAT testers and specialized high school offers, 2022-2025
District 28 · Queens · DBN 28Q157
- 8th graders, 2025
- 504
- Sat the SHSAT
- 210
- Took the test
- 42%
- Offers
- 62
In 2025 admissions, 504 eighth graders at J.H.S. 157 Stephen A. Halsey applied to high school and 210 of them sat the SHSAT, a participation rate of 42%. Across District 28 the rate was 33%, so this school sits 9 points above it. Citywide, among public middle schools that published both counts, 37% of eighth graders sat the test. It ranks 3rd of 13 in District 28 on that measure. With 504 eighth graders applying to high school, it has the largest eighth grade of the 13 schools listed in District 28.
62 students from the school received an offer to one of the eight testing specialized high schools, 30% of its testers. Across the city, 4,023 offers went to 25,933 testers that year, 15.5%. That is the 13th highest count in the city, inside the group of 20 middle schools that together received 1,400 of the 4,023 offers.
The number of testers has held steady: 230 in 2022 admissions, 210 in 2025. Offers went from 56 in 2022 to 62 in 2025, with a high of 69 in 2024.
Within District 28, no school received more offers in 2025 admissions; this one accounts for 55% of the 113 published for the district.
Year by year
| Admissions year | 8th graders | Sat the SHSAT | Took the test | Offers | Discovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 540 | 230 | 43% | 56 | 5 or fewer (not published) |
| 2023 | 483 | 212 | 44% | 63 | 5 or fewer (not published) |
| 2024 | 563 | 250 | 44% | 69 | 5 or fewer (not published) |
| 2025 | 504 | 210 | 42% | 62 | 5 or fewer (not published) |
| District 28, 2025 | 2,277 | 742 | 33% | at least 113 | |
| New York City, 2025 | 25,933 | 4,023 |
“2025 admissions” means students who sat the SHSAT as eighth graders in the 2024-25 school year and received offers for fall 2025, as in the DOE’s admissions outcomes report. “8th graders” counts the school’s eighth graders who applied to high school; “took the test” divides testers by that count when both are published. The district row adds the published counts of its schools, so its offers are a floor; the city row is the DOE’s own total. “Not listed” means the school is absent from that year’s file.
Schools in District 28 with a similar share of testers
The schools just above and below J.H.S. 157 Stephen A. Halsey when District 28’s schools are ordered by the share of eighth graders who sat the SHSAT in 2025 admissions.
- M.S. 35887% of 124 sat the test · offers: 5 or fewer (not published)
- Queens Gateway to Health Sciences Secondary School65% of 84 sat the test · 7 offers
- J.H.S. 190 Russell Sage36% of 362 sat the test · 44 offers
- J.H.S. 008 Richard S. Grossley26% of 97 sat the test · offers: 5 or fewer (not published)
- Queens Collegiate: a College Board School26% of 90 sat the test · offers: 5 or fewer (not published)
- The Emerson School25% of 97 sat the test · offers: 5 or fewer (not published)
What to do with these numbers
Your child is in 8th grade now
Registration closes October 30. Test day: November 18.
November 18 is the SHSAT School Day; the weekend sittings are November 14/15 and November 21. Whatever the count at J.H.S. 157 Stephen A. Halsey, the decision to sit the test is yours, and a scored official practice test tells you more about your own child than any school figure.
- How to register for the SHSAT, step by step
- Score an official SHSAT practice test, free
- Book an SHSAT session
Dates read on schools.nyc.gov on October 3, 2026.
Your child is in 5th grade
Middle school applications: October 14 to December 11.
The middle school you choose now is where the SHSAT years happen. These counts show how many eighth graders sit the test at each school and how many get an offer; they do not say why. Ask the schools on your list how many of their students sit the SHSAT and how they prepare them, and plan the preparation for 6th and 7th grade, not for the October of 8th.
Dates for fall 2027 entry read on schools.nyc.gov on October 3, 2026.
Figures from Specialized High Schools Admissions Tests Results (school counts) and Specialized High Schools Admissions Overall Summary (city totals), New York City Department of Education, as listed for DBN 28Q157. Rebuilt 2026-10-03. Method and caveats are set out on the index page. Back to all 721 middle schools.