HSPT Test Prep
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Expert HSPT Test Prep in Los Angeles

Applying to a Catholic or private high school in Los Angeles almost always means sitting for the HSPT. For most students, it’s the single biggest academic test they’ve taken so far — and for many schools, it’s a major factor in admission, course placement, and scholarship decisions. Groza Learning Center provides one-on-one HSPT tutoring designed around each student’s strengths, timeline, and target schools, so they walk into test day prepared instead of guessing.

HSPT Test Structure: Sections, Timing, and What’s Tested

Section	Question	Time	What It Tests
Verbal Skills	60	16 min	Synonyms, logic, analogies
Quantitative Skills	52	30 min	Number concepts and problem solving
Reading	62	25 min	Comprehension and vocabulary in context
Mathematics	64	45 min	Applied arithmetic through pre-algebra
Language	60	25 min	Grammar, punctuation, capitalisation

In total, the HSPT contains 298 multiple-choice questions across five sections, taking roughly 2 hours and 21 minutes of testing time, plus short breaks between sections. Some schools also administer optional sections — Mechanical Aptitude, Science, or Catholic Religion — though these are scored separately and don’t factor into the core HSPT percentile ranking most schools use for admissions.

What HSPT Score Do Catholic High Schools Require?

There’s no single “passing” HSPT score — requirements vary by school, and some schools weigh the test more heavily than others. Scores are reported on a scale of 200–800, and most competitive Catholic high schools in Los Angeles look for students scoring in at least the 70th–85th percentile nationally, with the most selective schools favoring the 90th percentile and above. Scholarship consideration, such as merit awards tied to top HSPT scorers, typically requires scores well above a school’s baseline admission threshold.

Because each school sets its own benchmarks and uses the score differently — for admission, placement, or both — families should confirm expectations directly with their target schools rather than assume one score fits all. For a full breakdown of score benchmarks by school, see our HSPT Score Guide.

Which Catholic High Schools in LA Require the HSPT?

The HSPT is the standard entrance exam for most Catholic high schools across the Los Angeles area. Schools that use it as part of admissions include:

1. Loyola High School of Los Angeles — an all-boys Jesuit school and one of the most selective Catholic high schools in Southern California.
2. Notre Dame High School (Sherman Oaks) — a coeducational Holy Cross school in the San Fernando Valley.
3. Bishop Alemany High School (Mission Hills) — accepts HSPT scores from any testing site, including other Catholic schools.
4. Chaminade College Preparatory (West Hills) — a Marianist school known for strong academics and Mission League athletics.
5. Crespi Carmelite High School (Encino) — an all-boys Carmelite school serving the Valley.
6. St. Francis High School (La Cañada Flintridge) — offers Capuchin Scholar merit scholarships to top HSPT scorers.
7. Bishop Montgomery High School (Torrance) — allows students to send HSPT scores taken at their campus to other schools.
8. St. Bernard College Preparatory — administers the HSPT as part of its admissions and course-placement process.

Each school sets its own testing dates, fees, and score requirements, so it’s worth confirming details directly with your target schools well before application deadlines. Most Los Angeles-area Catholic high schools administer the HSPT once a year, typically in December or January, and students generally only get one attempt — some schools use the lower of two scores if a student tests more than once. That makes early, focused preparation especially important.

Our HSPT Prep Approach

Groza Learning Center builds every HSPT program around the individual student rather than a fixed curriculum. Our process typically follows these steps:

1. Diagnostic assessment. We start with a full-length practice HSPT to identify a student’s current baseline across all five sections and pinpoint specific strengths and gaps.
2. Personalized study plan. Based on the diagnostic, we build a plan that prioritizes the sections and question types with the greatest impact on the student’s score.
3. One-on-one tutoring sessions. Students work directly with an HSPT-specialized tutor, not a generic test-prep instructor, with pacing adjusted to the student’s schedule and school calendar.
4. Section-specific strategy training. We teach the specific tactics the HSPT rewards — vocabulary-in-context techniques for Reading, mental math shortcuts for Quantitative Skills, and grammar pattern recognition for Language.
5. Timed practice tests. Students take full-length, timed practice exams under real test conditions to build stamina and pacing for the 2-hour-plus test.
6. Review and refinement. After each practice test, we review results together, adjust the study plan, and continue targeting remaining weak areas until test day.

Getting Ready for Test Day

Beyond content review, the HSPT rewards students who are comfortable with its pacing. With five sections and 298 questions packed into roughly two and a half hours, students who haven’t practiced under timed conditions often run out of time on sections like Mathematics or Reading before they run out of knowledge. Building familiarity with the test’s rhythm — knowing when to move on from a hard question, how to pace the Quantitative Skills section, and how to manage the mental fatigue of a long multi-section exam — is as much a part of preparation as reviewing grammar rules or math concepts.

We also encourage families to treat the HSPT as one part of a broader application timeline rather than an isolated event. Application deadlines, school visits, interviews, and the HSPT itself often overlap in the fall of 8th grade, so students who begin their prep early tend to feel less rushed and less anxious heading into test day. A calm, well-rested student who has taken several full-length practice tests generally outperforms one who is cramming content in the final week.

Results

Groza Learning Center’s HSPT students consistently test into their top-choice Catholic and private high schools across Los Angeles. 95% of our students are accepted into their top 3 school choices, and many go on to qualify for merit-based scholarships tied to strong HSPT performance. Because our tutoring is one-on-one rather than a fixed classroom course, students spend their prep time on the sections that actually move their score, rather than reviewing material they’ve already mastered.

Families come to us at different stages of the process — some start a full summer ahead of test day with time to build skills gradually, others come to us just weeks out and need a focused, high-intensity plan. In both cases, the diagnostic-first approach means we’re never guessing at what a student needs to work on. Parents also receive regular updates on progress between the diagnostic and follow-up practice tests, so there are no surprises about where a student stands heading into test day.