Special Music School: SHSAT testers and specialized high school offers, 2022-2026
District 3 · Manhattan · DBN 03M859
- 8th graders, 2026
- 16
- Sat the SHSAT
- 11
- Took the test
- 69%
- Offers
- 5 or fewer (not published)
SHSAT 2026: registration October 6–30; the test is November 14–15 (School Day November 18, 9th grade November 21).
For families choosing a middle school
Getting in (Fall 2026 admissions)
In Fall 2026 middle school admissions, Special Music School admitted sixth graders through one program (Audition).
It had 45 general education applicants for 11 seats, 4 applicants per seat in the DOE's count; only 33 of the city's 659 programs with a published figure had a higher one.
| Program | Admissions method | General education seats | Students with disabilities | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seats | Applicants | Per seat | All filled | Seats | Applicants | Per seat | ||
| Special Music SchoolOpen to New York City residents | Audition | 11 | 45 | 4 | Yes | 3 | 8 | 3 |
Where its students go next. The DOE lists Special Music School and Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts as the high schools its students most often attend.
Fall 2026 admissions: families applied in fall 2025 for sixth grade in September 2026. Seats, applicants and applicants per seat are the DOE’s, from its Fall 2026 Middle School Data file on InfoHub (saved by the DOE 2026-09-18), the same figures MySchools shows as last year’s demand. The DOE counts applicants this way: “MySchools shows the true number of applicants who were considered for a seat in a program, meaning this number excludes applicants who matched to a more preferred choice from their application.” (schools.nyc.gov, read October 4, 2026). Applicants per seat is the DOE’s own figure, rounded to a whole number, so 0 means fewer than one applicant for every two seats. “All filled” is the DOE’s flag for whether every seat in that group was filled; “n/a” means the file gives no figure. Seats and demand change every year; this page does not turn them into a chance of admission.
In 2026 admissions, 11 of the 16 eighth graders at Special Music School who applied to high school sat the SHSAT: 69%, more than half the grade. Across District 3 the rate was 49%, so this school sits 19 points above it. Citywide, among public middle schools that published both counts, 39% of eighth graders sat the test. It ranks 4th of 14 in District 3 on that measure. Its eighth grade is smaller than most in District 3: 15th of 17, against a median of 53.
The number of its students who received an offer to a specialized high school was 5 or fewer. The DOE does not publish counts that small, so it could be any number from zero to five; this page does not guess. That is the case at 12 of the 17 schools listed in District 3 for 2026.
The number of testers has held steady: 8 in 2024 admissions, 11 in 2026. The eighth grade itself grew from 12 to 16 over the same years, so part of that movement is the size of the class, not the share sitting the test. In 2022 and 2023 and 2025 and 2026, the offer count was 5 or fewer and was not published; 2024 is the only year it cleared that line, at 6.
In District 3, the most offers in 2026 admissions went to students from J.H.S. 054 Booker T. Washington (86), out of 178 published for the district as a whole.
Year by year
| Admissions year | 8th graders | Sat the SHSAT | Took the test | Offers | Discovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 12 | 5 or fewer (not published) | n/a | 5 or fewer (not published) | 5 or fewer (not published) |
| 2023 | 13 | 5 or fewer (not published) | n/a | 5 or fewer (not published) | 5 or fewer (not published) |
| 2024 | 13 | 8 | 62% | 6 | 5 or fewer (not published) |
| 2025 | 16 | 8 | 50% | 5 or fewer (not published) | 5 or fewer (not published) |
| 2026 | 16 | 11 | 69% | 5 or fewer (not published) | 5 or fewer (not published) |
| District 3, 2026 | 1,122 | 527 | 49% | at least 178 | |
| New York City, 2026 | 26,123 | 4,023 |
“2026 admissions” means students who sat the SHSAT as eighth graders in the 2025-26 school year and received offers for fall 2026, as in the DOE’s Fall 2026 SHSAT and Discovery Summary. “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 3 with a similar share of testers
The schools just above and below Special Music School when District 3’s schools are ordered by the share of eighth graders who sat the SHSAT in 2026 admissions.
- The Anderson School97% of 64 sat the test · 46 offers
- J.H.S. 054 Booker T. Washington87% of 224 sat the test · 86 offers
- M.S. 243 Center School83% of 58 sat the test · 14 offers
- M.S. 245 The Computer School58% of 121 sat the test · 23 offers
- P.S. 149 Sojourner Truth47% of 36 sat the test · offers: 5 or fewer (not published)
- Lafayette Academy40% of 58 sat the test · offers: 5 or fewer (not published)
See how this school ranks
Special Music School is not ranked for 2026 admissions: 11 students sat the SHSAT, under the 30 we require for a stable rate.
Best middle schools in Manhattan for the SHSAT
Compare with…
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 Special Music School, 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 19, 2026.
Your child is in 6th or 7th grade
A 7th grader sits the SHSAT in fall 2027; a 6th grader, in fall 2028.
The test comes in the fall of 8th grade, so there is no deadline yet, and that is the point: starting now leaves time to work on reading and math at a steady pace instead of in the last weeks. The counts above show what happened at Special Music School, not where your child stands. We start with a scored official practice test, which does.
Your child is in 5th grade
Middle school applications are open until December 11.
Start with how many families applied for each seat last year: the DOE publishes it program by program. The middle school you choose is also where the SHSAT years happen, so ask the schools on your list how many of their students sit the test and how they prepare them.
Dates for fall 2027 entry read on schools.nyc.gov on October 3, 2026.
Special Music School is a school figure. Your child needs a score.
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 03M859; 2026 figures from the DOE’s Fall 2026 SHSAT and Discovery Summary on InfoHub, not yet on NYC Open Data. Rebuilt 2026-10-04. Method and caveats are set out on the index page. Back to all 735 middle schools.