Like many New York City public school parents, I spend a fair amount of time thinking about schools and anticipating the next move. To avoid stressing out my seventh-grader needlessly, though, I decided to put a moratorium on the conversation about high schools until absolutely necessary – like maybe next fall, when it’s time to sign up for tours.

All that came to an end this weekend when a friend had to cancel a planned activity because his son was busy preparing for the city’s specialized high school exams, which carry the ominous moniker SSHAT.

“Wait, you started test prep already?’’ I asked? Turns out, lots of seventh-graders are already in weekend preparation classes. I’m sure in some parts of the city it started last year or earlier. Others are making summer plans around test prep courses or lining uptutorsalready.

I broke the moratorium and asked my seventh-grader how he would like to prepare for the exams, which can be a ticket, if the scores are high enough, to some of the city’s finest high schools –like Stuyvesant and Brooklyn Tech. The schools have a rich menu of advanced classes, sports and activities and a tremendous track record when it comes to getting students into highly selective colleges.

“I’m not planning to take the test because I don’t want to go to any of those schools,’’ he replied evenly.<!--more-->

I told him it seemed a bit harsh to make that judgment before taking a tour of the schools, which offer amazing opportunities in math and science (along with humanities) but are very large and admittedly are not for everyone.

And it doesn’t hurt to prepare for the test just in case, right? After all, I know plenty of parents whose children just missed the cut-off scores for admission and wish they had spent more time in preparation or taken a different approach.

There are lots of different options for preparing for these exams, which include studying on one’s own with a book. Some children qualify, starting in 6th grade, for the Specialized High School Institute and spend 1.5 years preparing. 

Insideschools would like to ask parents and students for some insight. What is the best way to prepare and when is the time to start? How expensive is it? Is it possible to do well on these tests without preparing? And finally, should parents insist that their children take the exams even if they don’t want to attend a specialized high school?

Specialized high  schools are not for everyone. Does anyone regret choosing a specialized high school?