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Test for Admission into Catholic High Schools

TACHS 2026: register by October 28, test on November 6 or 7

Every date and rule on this page was checked against the official TACHS site and its 2026 Student Handbook on .

Registration closes on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at 11:00 PM ET — 20 days from today.

$78, online or by phone, for eighth graders applying to Catholic high schools for September 2027. The test is taken online at home: Friday, November 6, 2026 for the Archdiocese of New York (Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island), and Saturday, November 7, 2026 for Brooklyn and Queens.

Register on the official TACHS siteFree TACHS practice questions

The 2026–2027 calendar

Every TACHS date, in order

From the official Parent/Student Calendar of Events. Dates already past are greyed out.

  1. Registration opened

    Online or by phone.

  2. Extended-time requests closed

    Sent to your diocese, not to the TACHS office.

  3. Registration closes, 11:00 PM ET

    Refund requests close the same day at 5:00 PM ET. No exceptions.

  4. Test session email, after 1:00 PM ET

    Your date, time and session code. Times are assigned at random: 8:30 AM or 10:00 AM.

  5. TACHS: Archdiocese of New York

    Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island, Westchester and the upper counties.

  6. TACHS: Diocese of Brooklyn/Queens

    Same day for the Diocese of Rockville Centre (Long Island).

  7. Last day to enter your three high school choices

    Without them, no school receives the scores.

  8. Make-up session details posted

    For students who were ill or could not test.

  9. Scores reach your three high schools (on or before)

  10. Applicant Record due at the high schools

    For public and private school students, the school mails a copy to each high school. Catholic elementary schools complete it online, by the day before.

  11. Earliest admission notices: Brooklyn/Queens and Rockville Centre

  12. Earliest admission notices: Archdiocese of New York

  13. Home Report online, after 3:00 PM ET

    Local and national percentile ranks.

The official documents give three different times for the high school choice deadline: 11:59 PM ET on November 7 (the TACHS home page and most of the Student Handbook), 11:00 PM ET on November 7 (the official calendar), and, in one line of the Handbook’s own calendar, November 8 at 11:00 PM. Go by the earliest, 11:00 PM ET on November 7, and enter your choices well before it.

Registration

Who takes the TACHS, and how to register

The TACHS is for students in eighth grade in 2026–2027 who are applying for September 2027 to a Catholic high school in the Archdiocese of New York, the Diocese of Brooklyn/Queens or the Diocese of Rockville Centre. It is for ninth-grade entry only, and a student may take it only once. Students applying for another grade apply directly to the high school.

  1. Step 1

    Pick one method, and register once

    Online (the method the TACHS office prefers) or by phone at 1-866-61TACHS (1-866-618-2247), Monday–Friday 8 AM–7 PM and Saturday–Sunday 10 AM–2 PM ET, with interpreters available. A duplicate registration can be charged a processing fee, so agree in the family on who registers.

  2. Step 2

    Pay the $78 fee by card

    Credit, debit or prepaid card. It covers the test, score reports to three high schools and the online Home Report. On a card statement it can appear as “TACHS” or as a charge from Illinois.

  3. Step 3

    Keep the 7-digit TACHS ID

    It appears on screen when payment goes through and in the confirmation email (check spam). Use the student’s name for registration but a parent’s email and phone: every later message goes there.

  4. Step 4

    Enter three high school choices by November 7

    On tachsinfo.com, with the TACHS ID and the registration email. You can change them until the deadline. A student with no choices entered has scores sent to no school.

Wrong name or date of birth? Do not register again: call 1-866-61TACHS (1-866-618-2247) to correct the original record. The only accommodation offered is extended time (time and a half); requests went to each diocese and closed on October 2.

What’s on the test

Four parts, six timed sub-tests, about two hours

Regular testing time is about 2 hours 10 minutes, plus optional 5-minute breaks after each of the first three sub-tests and 1-minute pauses after the fourth and fifth. With approved extended time it is about 3 hours 15 minutes. Here is how the TACHS office describes each part:

Reading

“In the Reading test, students will be presented with a variety of materials, both informational and literary. The questions will measure students’ ability to answer questions in factual, interpretative, and evaluative comprehension. They may have to answer questions about main ideas, author’s purpose, the meaning of a word in context, and other types of comprehension questions.”

Written Expression

“This is a test about writing in Standard English. Some of the questions focus on the most appropriate way to express the ideas in a piece of writing. Questions may address organization, sentence structure, clarity, and effectiveness or appropriateness of expression. Other questions ask students to identify the line of text that contains an error.”

Mathematics

“Questions on the Mathematics test are drawn from the areas of number sense and operations, algebraic patterns and connections, data analysis/probability/statistics, geometry, and measurement.”

Ability

“This test measures students’ learned reasoning abilities. … The questions assess students’ abilities to reason with somewhat more novel questions that use spatial and figural content. The questions show how well students use their reasoning skills to solve problems they may or may not have been taught directly.”

The Handbook’s sample questions show three kinds: Figure Matrices, Paper Folding, Figure Classification.

  • No penalty for wrong answers. Only correct answers count, so a student should answer every question.
  • No going back. Once a sub-test is submitted, it is closed.
  • A calculator inside the test, new in 2026. A basic 4-function calculator is available during eligible portions. Personal calculators are not allowed.
  • Scratch paper for Reading, Written Expression and Mathematics only, discarded after the Mathematics sub-test.

The office publishes no full practice test, only a few sample questions at the back of the Handbook. We wrote free TACHS-style practice questions for each part, marked on screen.

Test day

Online, at home, on your diocese’s day

The computer

A laptop, desktop or Chromebook with a webcam and a microphone, the Chrome browser and the Proctorio extension. iPads and phones are not supported. Set it up at least a day before.

The session

The email of November 4 gives the date, the time (8:30 AM or 10:00 AM, assigned at random; extended time always tests at 8:30) and the session code. Without the code, a student cannot enter the test.

If something goes wrong

No session code by November 4 evening? Look it up on tachsinfo.com or call 1-866-61TACHS (1-866-618-2247). A student who is ill on the day is moved to a make-up session, posted on November 11; approved make-ups for technical problems are posted on November 18.

After the test

How the high schools use the score

The score is one part of the file. The results go, with school records, to the principals of the three high schools your child chose, to help them make admission decisions; each school decides on its own admissions and its own scholarships and financial aid. Questions about scholarships go to the schools, not to the TACHS office.

The rest of the file is the Applicant Record: final grades for sixth and seventh grade, the first quarter or trimester of eighth grade, any standardized test results, and conduct, effort and attendance. A Catholic elementary school completes it online (by December 10). For a public or private school student, the parent fills in Section A and the school sends a copy to each of the three high schools, to arrive by December 11.

The Home Report families see on January 22 gives local and national percentile ranks, the same ones the high schools receive. Results are final: no review, no rescoring, no retest.

Three different tests

TACHS, SHSAT or ISEE?

Many New York families apply to more than one kind of school. Each kind has its own test, its own registration and its own calendar; one never stands in for another.

TACHSSHSATISEE
SchoolsCatholic high schools of the Archdiocese of New York, Brooklyn/Queens and Rockville CentreThe eight NYC specialized high schools that admit by testIndependent (private) schools
Who sits itEighth graders, onceNYC residents in eighth grade, or in ninth grade for the first timeStudents applying to grades 2–12, at the level of the grade they apply to
Cost$78Free$130 to $250, by site and format
Register byWednesday, October 28, 2026Friday, October 30, 2026, in MySchoolsNo national deadline: 21 days before a paper test for the standard fee
Test dayNovember 6 or November 7, online at homeSaturday/Sunday, November 14/15, 2026; Wednesday, November 18, 2026; Saturday, November 21, 2026Chosen by the family; the fall season ends Monday, November 30, 2026
What it testsReading, Written Expression, Mathematics, Ability (figure reasoning)English Language Arts and Mathematics, 50 questions each, 180 minutesVerbal and Quantitative Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics Achievement, an unscored essay

Details: SHSAT test dates, ISEE test dates and ISEE registration and fees.

New York City

Catholic high schools in the 2026 TACHS Handbook

The five boroughs only, with the TACHS code printed in the Handbook. A school printed with “N/A” instead of a code has no TACHS code: check its own admissions page for the test it asks for. You do not need the codes to enter your choices; the TACHS site has a drop-down list.

Manhattan

Archdiocese of New York

  • Convent of the Sacred Heart (Girls)N/A
  • Cristo Rey NY High School (Coed)N/A
  • Dominican Academy (Girls)204
  • La Salle Academy (Boys)107
  • Loyola School (Coed)N/A
  • Marymount School (Girls)N/A
  • Notre Dame School (Girls)209
  • Regis High School (Boys)N/A
  • St. George Academy (Coed)301
  • St. Jean Baptiste High School (Girls)206
  • St. Vincent Ferrer High School (Girls)212
  • Xavier High School (Boys)110

Bronx

Archdiocese of New York

  • Academy of Mount St. Ursula (Girls)217
  • Cardinal Hayes High School (Boys)112
  • Cardinal Spellman High School (Coed)303
  • Fordham Preparatory School (Boys)113
  • Monsignor Scanlan High School (Coed)304
  • Mount St. Michael Academy (Boys)114
  • Preston High School (Girls)219
  • St. Catharine Academy (Girls)215
  • St. Raymond Academy (Girls)220
  • St. Raymond High School for Boys (Boys)115

Staten Island

Archdiocese of New York

  • Monsignor Farrell High School (Boys)116
  • Moore Catholic High School (Coed)306
  • Notre Dame Academy (Girls)224
  • St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School (Coed)328
  • St. Joseph Hill Academy (Girls)223
  • St. Peter’s High School for Boys (Boys)117

Brooklyn

Diocese of Brooklyn/Queens

  • Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School (Coed)003
  • Cristo Rey Brooklyn High School (Coed)096
  • Fontbonne Hall (Girls)005
  • Nazareth Regional High School (Coed)006
  • St. Edmund Preparatory High School (Coed)008
  • St. Saviour High School (Girls)010
  • Xaverian High School (Coed)011

Queens

Diocese of Brooklyn/Queens

  • Archbishop Molloy High School (Coed)012
  • Cathedral Preparatory School and Seminary (Boys)013
  • Christ the King High School (Coed)014
  • Holy Cross High School (Coed)015
  • Monsignor McClancy Memorial High School (Coed)017
  • St. Francis Preparatory School (Coed)019
  • St. John’s Preparatory School (Coed)020
  • The Mary Louis Academy (Girls)016

TACHS questions parents ask

When is the TACHS in 2026?

Online, at home, on Friday, November 6, 2026 for students in the Archdiocese of New York (Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island, Westchester and the upper counties), and on Saturday, November 7, 2026 for the Diocese of Brooklyn/Queens and the Diocese of Rockville Centre. Each student is assigned at random to a 8:30 AM or a 10:00 AM session, sent by email on November 4.

What is the TACHS registration deadline?

Wednesday, October 28, 2026 at 11:00 PM ET, online or by phone at 1-866-61TACHS (1-866-618-2247). The TACHS office writes that there are no exceptions. Register once only: a duplicate registration can be charged a processing fee.

How much does the TACHS cost?

$78. It covers the test, score reports to three high schools, and online access to the Home Report. Refund requests close on October 28 at 5:00 PM ET.

What is on the TACHS?

Reading, Written Expression, Mathematics and an Ability section of figure-based reasoning, in six timed sub-tests of about 2 hours 10 minutes in all, plus short breaks. The Student Handbook shows three kinds of Ability questions: Figure Matrices, Paper Folding, Figure Classification. Wrong answers are not penalized.

Can you use a calculator on the TACHS?

Since 2026, a basic 4-function calculator is built into the test and available during eligible portions. Personal calculators are not allowed, and a student found using one is disqualified.

When do TACHS results come out?

Your three high school choices receive the scores on or before December 7. Families see the Home Report online after 3:00 PM ET on Friday, January 22, 2027, with local and national percentile ranks. Results are final: no rescoring and no retest.

Can my child take the TACHS and the SHSAT?

They are separate tests with separate registrations. The TACHS closes on October 28; SHSAT registration closes on Friday, October 30, 2026. The TACHS is taken at home in early November; the SHSAT sittings run from Saturday/Sunday, November 14/15, 2026 to Saturday, November 21, 2026.

Questions about your child’s high school tests?

Genius Prep is a test-prep and tutoring center at 928 Broadway in Manhattan. Tell us where your child stands and we will call you back.

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Sources

Read on . The TACHS is run for the dioceses by Riverside Assessments; its site is the reference. Genius Prep is not affiliated with the TACHS, the Archdiocese of New York or the Diocese of Brooklyn/Queens.

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