What the TACHS is and who takes it

The TACHS is the Test for Admission into Catholic High Schools. Participating Catholic high schools in the New York City area use it when considering students for ninth grade. It is an entrance exam, not a class final, and taking it does not by itself complete a high school’s application.

For a family beginning the process, the first useful task is to identify the schools the student may want to attend. Confirm that each school uses TACHS and read its admissions page. Then use the official TACHS website for registration and testing instructions.

Who takes the TACHS

The official Student Handbook describes TACHS for eighth graders applying to participating Catholic high schools. Students can come from Catholic, public, or independent elementary and middle schools. Attending a Catholic elementary school is not a condition for considering the exam.

The participating regions include the Archdiocese of New York, the Diocese of Brooklyn/Queens, and the Diocese of Rockville Centre on Long Island. A school being Catholic does not establish that it uses this particular exam. A family considering a school outside these regions should ask the school which admissions process applies.

If the student is applying to a grade other than ninth grade, start with the school’s own transfer or admissions instructions. Do not assume that the eighth-grade TACHS process covers that application. The same caution applies to a school with an additional interview, separate assessment, or scholarship application.

What the test asks students to do

The handbook groups content into Reading, Written Expression, Mathematics, and Ability. Its Ability examples include Figure Matrices, Paper Folding, and Figure Classification. The Parent Guide describes six timed subtests. Our guide to the six parts of the TACHS explains the tasks in more detail.

Reading asks students to understand passages and use evidence from them. Written Expression concerns how sentences and passages work. Mathematics draws on school mathematics. The three picture-puzzle parts ask students to reason about relationships, folded paper, and shared properties of figures.

A student who reads well may still need to learn what a paper-folding diagram means. A student who enjoys visual puzzles may need more practice with revising sentences. Treat familiarity with directions and mastery of content as separate needs when deciding what to study.

How testing at home works

The Parent Guide describes remote testing from home with a supported computer, Chrome, and the required proctoring setup. Families should read the current device requirements before relying on a school-issued laptop. An administrator’s installation restrictions can prevent setup even when the machine seems suitable for ordinary homework.

Complete the official pre-check ahead of testing. Use the actual device and testing space, rather than assuming that a successful practice session on another computer proves readiness. Check power, internet, sound, and the required camera and microphone functions through the official instructions.

A parent can help with setup and technical problems under the published rules. That permission does not include explaining questions or helping choose answers. During preparation, give the student chances to read directions and work independently so ordinary uncertainty does not become a request for adult help during testing.

Keep registration and school applications separate

Create two lists. One contains TACHS tasks, such as registration, keeping the student’s identification information, reviewing session details, and entering school choices. The other contains each school’s application tasks. This makes it harder to mistake one completed form for the entire admissions process.

Use the current official site for dates and the instructions for your aligned diocese. Do not reuse a sibling’s old deadline or assume the school-choice deadline matches the registration deadline. When a date is unclear, confirm it with the official program or school before relying on it.

For each school, record which materials the family sends and which materials a counselor or school official must send. Give the counselor the correct forms and enough time to respond. Keep a copy of confirmations and submitted materials in a place the adult managing the application can find.

What a TACHS result means

The official Home Report provides national and local percentile ranks. A percentile rank describes a comparison with a group of students; it is not the percentage of questions answered correctly. A practice percentage therefore cannot be substituted for the rank on the official report.

Schools make their own admissions and scholarship decisions. A practice result cannot promise either outcome. Ask each school how it uses the materials it requests, and read our guide to TACHS score reporting before comparing numbers from different practice products.

For studying, a more useful question is often smaller: which mistakes can the student explain and avoid next time? That question can be answered with the student’s own work, even when no trustworthy conversion to an official rank exists.

How to begin preparation

Read the official handbook’s directions and samples together once. Then let the student try unfamiliar tasks independently. Keep the first review focused on understanding the work, rather than attaching an admissions prediction to an initial result.

For a missed reading question, ask where the passage supports the answer. For mathematics, ask the student to identify the requested quantity and show the steps. For a figure problem, ask for the rule and check that it explains all of the displayed information.

Build a weekly routine around those observations. A session can include a short set, review of the missed step, and another attempt at a different question using the same skill. Full practice tests can then help reveal pacing and stamina issues that short sets do not show.

TACHS Prep practice covers all six parts with standard time, time and a half, or untimed study mode. Its per-part counts and times are estimates based on public information, not an official blueprint. Use the study plan to combine practice with review and the practical tasks required for test day.