How did we begin?

In 2011, Charlie Howard was studying for the GMAT with the plan to begin business school in the fall of 2012. To make some extra money, he began tutoring middle school students for the different high school entrance exams in Chicago.

Having grown up in St. Louis, he wasn’t familiar with the high school admissions landscape in Chicago. He quickly learned, however, how competitive and stressful it was for 8th graders to get accepted to the best public (selective enrollment), parochial and private high schools in Chicago. He also noticed how many families felt overwhelmed with the process.

Instead of moving forward with his plan to attend business school, he decided to launch Test Prep Chicago with the goal of not only helping students prepare for the different high school entrance exams but also to help parents navigate the high school admissions process. This desire to help families remains a cornerstone of Test Prep Chicago today.

Where are we today?

Today, Test Prep Chicago provides test preparation and academic tutoring services to thousands of students both in-person and online. We offer individual tutoring for elementary and high school subjects and summer academic enrichment courses for rising 6th and 7th graders. We offer individual and group test prep programming for the following exams:

• ACEE (for Academic Centers)

• CPS HSAT (for Selective Enrollment High School Schools and IB and Double Honors programs with Chicago Public High Schools)

• HSPT (for Parochial High Schools)

• ISEE (for Independent High Schools)

• Algebra Exit Exam

• Digital SAT

• Digital ACT

The teaching philosophy for our test prep programs consists of three pillars:

1. Teach, Practice, Apply

2. Building Blocks

3. Practice Makes Perfect

To read more about our teaching philosophy, please click here.