Test Dates

HSPT test dates 2026 by school

There is no single national HSPT date. Each Catholic high school — or, in a few dioceses, a coordinated admissions office — sets its own 2026-cycle sitting, usually between mid-November and mid-January of 8th grade. This page publishes only current-cycle dates already verified against a school source. Confirm the day with that school’s admissions office, take the free HSPT practice test, then start with 3 days free.

Page updated October 17, 2026. Each row below shows the date we last checked the school’s site (latest source check October 17, 2026). We do not invent HSPT dates.

What this page is for

Use this page as the sourced list of current-cycle HSPT sittings we have already verified against a school website. It is not a national calendar, a registration portal, or a complete roster of every Catholic high school that uses the exam. If a school is missing, treat the day as unpublished here and ask that school’s admissions office.

Families typically land here after they have a shortlist. The job of the table is to show which of those schools already have a citable day, so you can work backward from the earliest verified sitting — then confirm that day on the school site before you register or reprint it.

How to use the list

1. Open each school on your list. If it appears below, note the published sitting and the as-of date. If it does not appear, do not guess a day.
2. Follow the source link in that row to the school’s own admissions page. Quote the school, not this table, when you tell another parent the date.
3. Plan prep around the earliest verified sitting you can confirm. A later school on the list does not override an earlier one you still need.
4. After you have a real day, take the free HSPT practice test to set a baseline, then choose a study window that fits the calendar.

Oakland Diocese 2026–27 (STS registration)

Per STS Oakland registration (as of September 20, 2026):

Archdiocese of Philadelphia 2026–27 (sittings have passed)

Per STS Philadelphia registration (as of September 20, 2026):

Archdiocese of Baltimore 2026–27 (STS registration)

Per STS Baltimore registration (as of September 20, 2026):

Archdiocese of Cincinnati 2026–27 (STS registration)

Per STS Cincinnati registration (as of September 20, 2026):

Archdiocese of Boston 2026–27 (STS registration)

Per STS Boston registration (as of October 17, 2026):

Archdiocese of Detroit 2026–27 (STS registration)

Per STS Detroit registration (as of October 17, 2026):

Diocese of Wilmington 2026–27 (STS registration)

Per STS Wilmington registration (as of September 20, 2026):

Diocese of Camden 2026–27 (STS registration)

Per STS Camden registration (as of September 20, 2026):

Verified current-cycle sittings

These 83 schools have an upcoming verified 2026–27 HSPT sitting in our records. The source column opens the official URL we cited — school admissions pages, or the live STS registration page for Diocese of Oakland, Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Archdiocese of Baltimore, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Archdiocese of Boston, Archdiocese of Detroit, Diocese of Wilmington, and Diocese of Camden sittings. Always reconfirm before you register.

Dates we do not publish

Most Catholic high schools have not yet earned a verified current-cycle row. We omit a day when the record is unverified, last-cycle (2025 or January 2026), conflicting, or a scrape fragment. That includes:

• Denver. Arrupe Jesuit, Bishop Machebeuf, and Mullen have no verified current-cycle sitting. See the Denver Catholic high school directory and confirm with each admissions office.
• Kansas City. No verified current-cycle sitting. A Bishop Miege scrape fragment is not a published date. Compare schools on the Kansas City Catholic high schools page, then ask each school.
• Chicago-area listings still unverified. St. Ignatius College Prep and Loyola Academy are not yet verified for this cycle, so we omit the day. Fenwick, DePaul College Prep, Nazareth Academy, and Marmion Academy each publish a December 5, 2026 sitting, listed in the table above.
• Last-cycle calendars (unsourced “most recent cycle” notes) stay off this page. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia 2026 sittings, which have now passed, are cited from STS in the block above — not from last-year school pages.

For the full HSPT school directory — without invented days — start at verified HSPT schools or the free HSPT practice test.

What a good HSPT score means for these dates

A 50th-percentile score is the national midpoint. Whether a score is “good” depends on the school that set the date: some use the HSPT only for placement, and some consider it for merit aid. We do not publish school-specific cutoffs unless the school has already stated them. See what is a good HSPT score, and how scholarships work, plus the verified 2026–2027 scholarship-deadline calendar.

School hubs with a verified sitting

Use these hubs to compare nearby schools, then return here for the sourced date.

• San Francisco Bay Area — St. Ignatius and Sacred Heart Cathedral (December 5), Archbishop Mitty, Bishop O’Dowd, and San Jose January sittings
• Los Angeles — Loyola High School January sittings
• Chicago — Fenwick, DePaul Prep, Nazareth Academy, and Marmion publish December 5, 2026
• Cincinnati — Archbishop McNicholas / archdiocesan November sitting
• Seattle — Bishop Blanchet November sittings
• Archdiocese of Philadelphia — September 21–October 10, 2026 (all sittings have passed); results are emailed November 25th, by end of day
• Archdiocese of Baltimore — November 14–21, 2026 (STS registration)
• Archdiocese of Cincinnati — November 21, 2026 (STS registration)
• Archdiocese of Boston — October 24, 2026 / November 7, 2026 / November 21, 2026 / December 5, 2026 / December 12, 2026 (STS registration)
• Archdiocese of Detroit — November 7, 2026 / November 21, 2026 / December 5, 2026 (STS registration)
• Diocese of Wilmington — November 7, 2026 / November 8, 2026 (STS registration)
• Diocese of Camden — October 31, 2026 (STS registration)

Common questions about HSPT dates

Plan backward from the date