HSPT common mistakes
HSPT · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Spending the same amount of time on every analogy item, including ones where no answer choice seems to fit, instead of ranking the choices and moving on.
Analogy items feel solvable with more staring, so candidates keep re-reading the stem and burn time that later quantitative sections need; the section is strictly timed and every item is worth the same.
What to do instead
Practice a fixed decision rule: build a one-sentence bridge between the stem pair, test each choice against it, pick the best remaining option within about 30 seconds, flag nothing, and move on. Do timed analogy sets of 20 items to build the habit.
Choosing an analogy answer that matches the stem's topic (both about music, both about weather) rather than matching the relationship between the words.
Surface topic similarity creates a false feeling of correctness, and the test writers deliberately include a same-topic distractor to catch this.
What to do instead
Before looking at choices, state the relationship in words ('a ___ is a type of ', ' lacks ___'). Eliminate any choice that does not satisfy that exact sentence, even if the topic matches.
Solving quantitative comparison or multi-step word problems by estimating and picking the closest-looking number instead of setting up the arithmetic.
Answer choices are often close together and include traps built from common partial calculations; mental estimation feels fast and usually lands near a wrong choice.
What to do instead
Write the operation or equation before computing, and check the final answer against the question asked (e.g., 'per person' vs. 'total'). For each practice problem, write one line of setup so the habit transfers under time pressure.
Losing track of units and labels (minutes vs. hours, cents vs. dollars, square units vs. linear units) inside multi-step problems.
The arithmetic is done correctly but the final conversion step is skipped, and answer choices include the unconverted value as a trap.
What to do instead
Annotate every number with its unit as it is written down, and circle the unit the question asks for. Do a final unit check before selecting an answer.
Reading the passage once, then answering detail questions from memory without returning to the text.
Passages contain several similar-sounding details, and memory blends them; the reading section rewards locating exact supporting text.
What to do instead
For each detail or inference question, locate and underline the specific sentence that supports the answer before choosing. Treat the passage as open-book even when it feels familiar.
Selecting a reading answer that is true in real life or generally reasonable but not stated or implied in the passage.
Prior knowledge feels authoritative, and distractors are written to sound plausible to a knowledgeable reader.
What to do instead
Apply the 'prove it' test: point to the words in the passage that justify the choice. If no line supports it, eliminate it regardless of whether it is true.
Rushing the final computation step on fraction, decimal, and percent problems, such as forgetting to simplify or misplacing the decimal point.
These items look easy, so candidates skip writing intermediate steps and make place-value or simplification slips under time pressure.
What to do instead
Write each conversion as a separate line (e.g., percent to decimal to multiplication) and simplify at the end. Build a short drill set of mixed fraction/decimal/percent items done with full written work.
Guessing on geometry items without checking whether the needed formula (area, perimeter, volume, angle relationships) applies to the shape described.
Formulas blur together under time pressure, and candidates grab the most familiar one instead of matching it to the figure described in words.
What to do instead
Before computing, name the quantity requested and write the matching formula from memory. Maintain a one-page formula sheet and rehearse it until it can be reproduced without notes.
Choosing the answer that sounds most formal or sophisticated on usage and sentence-correction items rather than the one that is grammatically correct.
Formal phrasing is associated with 'correct' writing, but the language section tests agreement, pronoun case, modifiers, and punctuation, which formal-sounding distractors often violate.
What to do instead
Check each choice against specific rules: subject-verb agreement, pronoun case, dangling modifiers, comma splices. Eliminate by rule violation rather than by tone.
Failing to eliminate answer choices in verbal and reading sections, instead reading all options and picking the first one that seems plausible.
The first plausible choice is often a near-miss distractor, and without elimination the candidate never compares the remaining options.
What to do instead
Use a two-pass method: cross out choices that clearly violate the stated relationship or lack textual support, then compare only the survivors against the stem. Practice on short sets and track how often the first plausible choice was wrong.