The short version
HSAT (High School Admissions Test): used by Chicago Public Schools — Selective Enrollment High Schools (Walter Payton, Northside, Whitney Young, Jones, Lane Tech, Lindblom, Westinghouse, King, etc.) and most CPS choice programs. Required of every CPS 8th-grader and any non-CPS 8th-grader applying to a CPS school.
SSAT (Secondary School Admission Test): used by private secular schools — Latin School of Chicago, University of Chicago Lab Schools, Francis Parker, North Shore Country Day, Roycemore, etc. Optional unless your target school requires it.
HSPT (High School Placement Test): used by most Chicago-area Catholic high schools — Loyola Academy, Saint Ignatius, Mount Carmel, Marist, DePaul College Prep, Resurrection, Trinity, etc. Required to apply to a Catholic high school in the archdiocese.
If you are only applying to CPS public schools, the HSAT is the only one that matters. Do not pay for SSAT or HSPT prep unless your child is also applying to private or Catholic schools.
Why this gets confused
Search Google for 'Chicago HSAT prep' and you will see paid ads from C2 Educate (which sells SSAT prep), Princeton Review (broad test prep), Study.com (HSPT prep), and Varsity Tutors (HSPT tutoring). They are bidding on HSAT-related queries because the search volume is real, but they are selling adjacent products. This is not malicious — it just reflects that 'HSAT,' 'SSAT,' and 'HSPT' are three letters apart and easy to mistype.
Worse, some legacy test-prep companies still call the HSAT the 'NWEA' or 'Selective Enrollment Test' — those names are obsolete. CPS replaced the NWEA-based admissions exam with the HSAT for the 2024-25 cycle and standardized the brand for 2025-26.
Side-by-side: what to expect
Test format. HSAT is 60 minutes total, computer-based, two sections (Reading 30 min, Math 30 min). SSAT is 2 hours 35 minutes, available on paper or computer, four scored sections plus an unscored writing sample. HSPT is 2 hours 30 minutes, paper-based, five sections (Verbal, Quantitative, Reading, Math, Language).
When you take it. HSAT: October of 8th grade, once. SSAT: any of 8 nationwide test dates from October to April; can take it multiple times. HSPT: a single Saturday in early January, taken at your top-choice Catholic high school; can take it only once.
Score scale. HSAT: percentiles converted to a 450-point HSAT subscore (combined with 7th-grade grades for a 900-point total). SSAT: 1500-2400 scaled total across three sections. HSPT: standard scores 200-800 per section plus a composite percentile.
What it costs to register. HSAT: free for CPS students, free for non-CPS students who use the GoCPS portal. SSAT: about $175 per administration. HSPT: about $30, paid to the host Catholic school.
Practical decisions for parents
If your only target is CPS — and that is the modal case in Chicago — you should be preparing exclusively for the HSAT. Do not let a test-prep salesperson sell you on 'foundational SSAT skills' or 'HSPT crossover practice.' The HSAT has its own format, its own pacing, and its own quirks (no calculator, computer-based, two 30-minute sections, percentile-based scoring). Time spent on SSAT or HSPT material is mostly wasted.
If you are applying to BOTH CPS and a Catholic school, you will sit two tests. The HSPT is in early January, the HSAT in early October — three months apart, with no overlap in test dates. You can prep for the HSAT first (October), then HSPT (January) without conflict. The skills overlap moderately on math; reading style is somewhat different.
If you are applying to BOTH CPS and a private school, the SSAT can be taken on weekends from October through April, so you can fit it in around the HSAT. SSAT prep is a separate investment — plan for it explicitly.
Bottom line
For 90 percent of Chicago 8th-graders, the answer is HSAT only. Build your prep around the HSAT format, take the test in October, and apply through GoCPS. The HSAT is the most important standardized test of your child's life so far, but it is also one of the most prep-friendly: 60 minutes, two sections, predictable content, and a free application portal.
If you are in the 10 percent applying outside CPS, double up only on the test that the target school actually requires. Treat each test as its own project with its own timeline.