HSPT case studies
HSPT · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The HSPT (High School Placement Test) is a standardized admissions exam used by many Catholic and other private high schools as one part of their application file. It is typically taken by eighth graders applying to ninth grade, though schools set their own testing schedules and may admit students at other grade levels. The test is designed to measure academic readiness for a college-preparatory high school curriculum, so it samples broadly rather than testing a single subject in depth. Its sections cover verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, reading comprehension, mathematics, and language conventions, with a separate cognitive-abilities portion that schools may or may not use depending on the version they administer. Topics on this exam: Verbal Skills, Quantitative Skills, Reading, Mathematics, Language, and Cognitive Skills. The HSPT case studies are 5 cases and about 1,448 words.
1The Cafeteria Line Balance
A school cafeteria serves 240 students in a 30-minute lunch period. There are 3 serving lines. Each student takes an average of 20 seconds at a line once they reach the front. Students arrive at a steady rate of 8 per minute across the whole period.
319 words, about 2 min2The Word-Root Shortcut
A student is working through an analogy section and encounters the pair: fractious : agreeable . She does not know the word fractious . She notices the second word, agreeable , means pleasant or easy to get along with. She also knows the root fract- appears in fracture and fraction .
286 words, about 1 min3The Reading Passage Inference
A passage describes a town that built a new bridge in 1998. Traffic across the old bridge had doubled between 1990 and 1997, and the old bridge was rated 'structurally deficient' in 1996. After the new bridge opened, traffic on the old bridge dropped by 70 percent, and the town's accident rate at the river crossing fell from 14 per year to 4 per year. The passage never states why the accident rate fell.
310 words, about 2 min4The Discount Stack
A jacket has a list price of 80. A store offers a 25 percent discount on the jacket. Separately, a coupon gives 10 off any purchase over $50, applied after the percentage discount. A customer also has a store loyalty card that gives 5 percent off the final price after all other discounts.
244 words, about 1 min5The Persuasive Paragraph Revision
A student writes: 'Our school should start later because teenagers need more sleep. Studies show teens need about 9 hours. Many students are tired in first period. Also, buses would need to be rescheduled, but that is a minor issue.
289 words, about 1 min