TACHS scores: what the report shows and who decides
The TACHS has no published cutoff score and no passing score. Scores are reported as percentile ranks, and they go to the three high schools a student lists. Each high school makes its own admission and scholarship decisions. The Student Handbook gives no score a student needs for any school.
Facts checked October 11, 2026 against the publisher's own pages, listed at the bottom. Prepwick is not affiliated with the test's publisher.
What does a TACHS score look like?
The handbook describes one kind of score for families: percentile ranks. It does not publish a score scale, a number of questions or a way to work out a score at home.
| National percentile rank | Shown on the Home Report, the same as reported to the student's high school choices |
|---|---|
| Local percentile rank | Also shown on the Home Report |
| Wrong answers | No penalty. Credit is given only for correct answers |
| Attempts | One. A student may take the TACHS only once |
| Review or rescoring | None. The handbook says all results are final, with no reviewing, rescoring or retesting |
Is there a TACHS cutoff or passing score?
- No number is published. The handbook says admission and scholarship decisions are the responsibility of the individual high schools.
- Schools see more than the test. Each of the three high schools a student lists also gets the Applicant Record, which the student's current school completes.
- A few schools say what they look for. Dominican Academy says its committee strongly considers girls who typically score in the top 15 percent in every section of the TACHS, HSPT or ISEE, with a B or B+ average or better. That is one school's description of a typical strong applicant, not a cutoff.
- A cutoff number for a named school on another website did not come from TACHS. The way to learn how a school reads scores is to ask its admissions office.
What do families get, and when?
- High schools see the scores first. For the fall 2026 test, scores went to each student's three high school choices on or before Dec 7, 2026.
- Families see them last. The Home Report opened online after 3:00 PM on Jan 22, 2027, and the handbook says results cannot be given out earlier.
- That is after the first admission notices. High schools could send them from Jan 13, 2027 in Brooklyn and Queens and on Long Island, and from Jan 20, 2027 in the Archdiocese of New York.
TACHS score dates for the fall 2026 test
| Scores sent to three high schools | On or before Dec 7, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Applicant Record open to high schools | From Dec 10, 2026 |
| Paper Applicant Record, public school students | Due at the three high schools by Dec 11, 2026 |
| Earliest admission notices | Jan 13, 2027 (Brooklyn and Queens, Long Island) or Jan 20, 2027 (Archdiocese of New York) |
| Home Report for families | Jan 22, 2027, after 3:00 PM |
TACHS score questions parents ask
What is a passing score on the TACHS?
There is none. The TACHS reports percentile ranks to the three high schools a student lists, and each school decides whom to admit. The Student Handbook publishes no passing score and no cutoff.
What does the TACHS Home Report show?
The student's local and national percentile ranks, the same ones reported to the student's high school choices.
When do TACHS scores come out?
For the fall 2026 test, high schools received scores on or before Dec 7, 2026. Families could open the Home Report after 3:00 PM on Jan 22, 2027.
Do families see TACHS scores before admission decisions?
No. For the fall 2026 test, high schools could send admission notices from Jan 13 or Jan 20, 2027, depending on the diocese. The Home Report opened on Jan 22, 2027.
Can a TACHS score be reviewed or rescored?
No. The handbook says all TACHS test results are final and that no reviewing, rescoring or retesting will be done.
Who gets my child's TACHS scores?
The three high schools the student lists. The $78 fee for the fall 2026 test covered reporting to those three schools.
Do high schools look only at the TACHS score?
The handbook does not say how schools weigh it. It does say each listed high school also receives the student's Applicant Record, and that admission and scholarship decisions belong to each high school.
Sources
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Scores on other tests: SHSAT cutoffs, HSPT, ISEE, SSAT