News
Selective Enrollment High School Cut Off Scores Rise
High School Entrance Exam scores are on the rise for 8th-grade students applying to Selective Enrollment High Schools. CPS recently released their Selective Enrollment cut-off scores for the 2023-2024 school year which details an increase in average point totals and minimum scores required for eligibility. This increase will affect applicants of all Tiers across the board.
According to the information provided by CPS, Tier 4 students must achieve a perfect 900 points to place into Walter Payton College Prep or Northside College Prep. This cut-off score remains stagnant for Payton while it has increased by 4 points at Northside in the last year. Similarly, Whitney Young has seen an increase across the board from Tier 1 to Tier 4 students. Tier 1 students must score a minimum of 834 points to be eligible which is up dramatically from 816.5 the year prior. Tier 4 students must score a minimum of 893, up 9 points from last year’s cut-off of 884. Other Selective Enrollment high schools such as Jones College Prep and Lane Tech College Prep have also seen surges in cutoff scores, though their Tier 4 eligibility requirement leaves a small margin for error.
Tier 4 cut-off scores have soared the most rapidly at King Jr. College Prep, Lindblom Math and Science Academy, South Shore International College Prep, and Brooks College Prep with some schools seeing as much as a 21% increase. Previously requiring 529 points for eligibility at Lindblom, the school now demands a score of 643, a 114-point difference. King’s requirement was raised from 501.5 to 600, followed by Southshore which now requires 613 points as opposed to last year’s 529. Lastly, Brooks’ Tier 4 cutoff has increased 46 points this testing season with a new standard of 718 points required. Because of the increasing demand for applicants to achieve higher scores, students who score under 600 points on the High School Admissions Test will not be permitted on the waitlist, making it more difficult than ever for students to test into the school of their choice.
Kayley Horton, Tutoring Coordinator
kayley@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266
9th Grade Admissions Screenings
Admission screenings are required for a plethora of high schools in Chicago. As the CPS website states, “these consist of admissions exams, auditions/portfolio reviews, information sessions, and interviews, as well as the submission of essays and teacher recommendations.” Parents generally schedule these screenings online through the RSVP function of their GoCPS account after their student has applied online. For admission into selective enrollment high schools, this means parents will need to schedule their student’s SEHS (Selective Enrollment High School) exam.
Selective Enrollment High School exams are administered at five high schools: King, Lane Tech, Lindblom, Westinghouse, and Whitney Young. You can sign up to test at one of these sites on any of the dates CPS will announce in the fall. Typically, there are about 7-8 dates beginning in November and ending in January. However, spots will fill up, so be sure to submit an application and sign up for a date as soon as you can to ensure the date and location you prefer. On the day of the exam, you may be asked to enter the testing site through a specific door. To see your site’s specific day-of directions, visit https://go.cps.edu/high-school/admissions-screenings, and click on “Selective Enrollment Admissions Exams.”
For all testing sites, CPS has provided a few general rules and guidelines for the day of testing, and they are listed below.
Food and water are not allowed in testing rooms. There are water fountains located in the hallways that students can access. There are no scheduled breaks, but if students need to use the restroom or get water between sections, they are allowed to do so.
Students should not take snacks to the admissions exam unless they have an IEP or 504 Plan which designates that they are to be allowed snacks for medical reasons.
Students who receive extended time (50% or greater) on the exam due to accommodations will receive a short break. If they take a snack, they can consume it at that time.
Arrive at the test site 20 minutes before the time of the test.
The test is approximately three and a half hours long (unless the student has a public school 504 with testing accommodations or a public school IEP that allows for testing accommodations under section 10c).
Students are assigned to test rooms as they arrive; early arrivals may begin testing before the scheduled test time.
Students with public school 504s with testing accommodations, or public school IEPs with testing accommodations under section 10c, have pre-assigned rooms and will not start before the scheduled appointment time.
Parents should be available for student pick-up from the test site three and a half hours after the scheduled test time.
Students who arrive late may not be allowed to take the examination.
Students should take two #2 pencils to the exam. No other items or materials will be allowed on the desk during the testing process (unless the student has a public school IEP [section 10c] or 504 Plan that allows for other materials).
No iPods, MP3 players or other electronic devices are allowed in the testing room.
If the student has a cell phone or watch, it must be secured as directed by the examiner. Cell phones must be turned off. If, during the examination period, the student’s cell phone rings, or the student’s watch emits an alarm, they will be disqualified from testing and they will not be allowed to reschedule the test.
If the student is ill, or the parent is facing other extenuating circumstances, the student’s exam should be rescheduled via their GoCPS account or by contacting the Office of Access and Enrollment at 773-553-2060, weekdays between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. The Office of Access and Enrollment is not open on Saturdays and Sundays. Students should not be taken to test if they are ill.
CPS has not yet released any information regarding SEHS testing and Covid-19, and if the pandemic will affect these procedures in any way. Test Prep Chicago will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as CPS makes it available. Be sure to subscribe to our website on our homepage to receive email updates about selective enrollment admissions in Chicago.
For additional information on admission screenings for IB programs, AVID programs, or art schools in Chicago, visit https://go.cps.edu/high-school/admissions-screenings.
Lauren Lynch, Tutoring Coordinator
lauren@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266
CPS Strike Ends
After 11 missed school days, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and the Office of Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that the strike was over on October 31st, 2019 with students heading back to class beginning the following day, November 1st, 2019.
This announcement came after days of grueling negotiation between the CTU and the Mayor’s Office, and much pressure from the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and CPS families to get students back to school as soon as possible. Finally compromising on the list of demands, CTU, CPS, and the Mayor’s Office agreed to, among other provisions, a 16% raise for teachers, smaller class sizes, full-time nurses and social workers, and more staffing for special education and English learners. Additionally, they notably agreed that CPS buildings and property would be declared immigration sanctuary spaces for students and those at CPS on school-related business.
Some of these demands will take effect immediately, while others will have to be phased in by year. For example, while CPS has promised $35 million annually to help with class-size caps, new limits can’t be enforced until the 2020-2021 school year. In addition, CPS says all schools will have at least one full-time nurse and social worker every day by July 2023 with the goal of beginning to match schools with nurses and social workers on an as-needed basis prior to 2023.
As part of the last portion of their agreement, CPS is allowing teachers and students to make up five of the eleven instructional days missed. Today (11/5/19), they proposed the following make-up dates, Wednesday, November 27th; Thursday, January 2nd; Friday, January 3rd; Wednesday, June 17th; and Thursday, June 18th. CPS commented in a tweet, “The make-up days must be scheduled on days on which teachers would not otherwise be paid, which severely limited the district’s options.”
The Board of Education will vote on the official budget, updated calendar, and agreements put forth by the CTU and CPS at their meeting on November 20th, 2019.
Lauren Lynch, Tutoring Coordinator
lauren@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266
CPS Announces Selective Enrollment High School Entrance Exam (SEHS) Test Dates
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has announced the test dates for the Selective Enrollment High School Entrance Exam (SEHS). This year, the SEHS will be offered 7 times. The 7 dates are listed below.
SEHS Test Dates
Saturday, November 16
Saturday, December 7
Saturday, December 14
Sunday, December 15
Saturday, January 18
Sunday, January 19
Saturday, January 25
The SEHS will be offered at five sites: King College Preparatory High School, Lane Tech High School, Lindblom Math and Science Academy, Westinghouse College Preparatory High School, and Whitney Young Magnet High School.
Applicants who apply using the GoCPS online application will schedule their exam after they submit their application. Applicants who apply using a paper application will have their test scheduled by the Office of Access and Enrollment and will be notified of their test date, time, and location via U.S. mail.
The application process for the 2019-2020 school year opens September 30 and ends December 6th.
Lauren Lynch, Tutoring Coordinator
lauren@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266
New Point Calculators for Selective Enrollment High Schools and Academic Centers
Are you tired of manually attempting to calculate the necessary scores your child needs to get into the school of their choice? Well, good news is about to come your way. Test Prep Chicago recently unveiled a new feature: a free point calculator for both selective enrollment high schools and academic centers. You can find this easy-to-use feature on our homepage. To try it, click the point calculator button for either selective enrollment high schools or academic centers, and the website will redirect you to our calculation page.
Once on the calculation page, you can enter your student’s percentiles for both math and reading on the NWEA MAP test. After that, you can enter your student’s 5th or 7th grade grades and select which socio-economic tier in which you live. Once that information is entered, click the “calculate” button.
The calculator will then show you the points your student has earned based on their MAP score and their 5th or 7th grade grades. Underneath your student’s points earned, you can access their points needed based on the above scores, your tier neighborhood, and the scores required for different selective enrollment high schools or academic centers based on last year’s cutoff scores. This includes a breakdown of the minimum score required, exam points needed, as well as the exam score needed (on the AC exam or SEHS).
To try Test Prep Chicago’s point calculator now, visit our website’s homepage at www.testprepchicago.com.
Lauren Lynch, Tutoring Coordinator
lauren@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266
An Overview of Northside College Preparatory High School
Founded in 1999, Northside College Preparatory High School (also commonly referred to as Northside) is a selective enrollment high school located in the North Park neighborhood of Chicago, IL. Northside is ranked as the 23rd best public school in the nation and the 2nd best public school in the state of Illinois. The total enrollment of Northside is 1,069 students with a student to teacher ratio of 18:1. Of that enrollment, 70% of students are people of color and 41% of students receive free or reduced-price lunch. Northside also boasts an impressive graduation rate of 98%.
All of Northside’s classes are either honors or AP level, with the most unique departmental offerings found in math. The math department uses “IMP” or “Interactive Mathematics Program” as its core curriculum. IMP is a more writing-based understanding of math where students write and create portfolios and projects in addition to the standard solving of mathematical equations. Its math college prep program was one of five 9-12 mathematics curricula in the country to receive the highest rating of Exemplary from the U.S. Board of Education.
In addition to math, Northside offers a great variety of courses in English, science, social studies, and computer science. Each offers typical coursework in its respective subject as well as varied elective courses such as Philosophy in Literature, Experimental Literature, Creative Writing, Drama and Performance, Astronomy, Organismal Biology, Environmental Science, Anthropology, Sociology, Web Page and Mobile App Design, and Design and SQL Programming, respectively.
Languages offered at Northside include Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, French, and Latin. Fine arts classes offered encompass both music and visual arts with classes in choir, orchestra, band, and jazz as well as ceramics, digital imaging, painting, drawing, and sculpture. The physical education department also uniquely offers dance classes as well as weight training in addition to their more typical PE classes.
Athletes who would like to attend Northside will also enjoy a range of sports including soccer, swimming, volleyball, basketball, baseball, lacrosse, cheerleading, water polo, track, and dance among others. For a full list of athletics as well as courses offered at Northside, visit their website at www.northsideprep.org.
Lauren Lynch, Tutoring Coordinator
lauren@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266
An Overview of Walter Payton College Prep High School
One of Chicago’s youngest but most prestigious public high schools, Walter Payton College Prep High School, was founded in 2000 and named after the late Chicago Bears football legend, Walter Payton. Boasting impressive stats, Walter Payton College Prep High School (also known simply as “Payton”) is ranked as the 9th best public school in the nation, and the 1st best public school in the state of Illinois.
Payton’s enrollment is 977 with a student to teacher ratio of 18:1. Of their total enrollment, 57% of students are people of color, and 33% of students eat free or reduced-price lunches. Among other stats, Payton has a notable U.S. News Scorecard of 99.95%. The Scorecard is measured using the percentage of students who are proficient in math (97%) and reading (98%), took at least one AP exam (98%), passed at least one AP exam (93%), as well as their graduation rate (99%).
The school offers a massive array of classes. Something that really stands out among other schools, however, is their seminar menu. Payton offers seminars in everything from Game Theory, Coding, Neuroscience, and Financial Investments to Film, Special Olympic Coaching, Skateboarding, Poetry, and Painting. For a full list of seminar offerings, visit https://www.wpcp.org/StudentLife/Seminars.aspx. In addition, Payton also has an exchange program for students in Melbourne, Australia and Paris, France as well as trips to Italy, Belize, and China.
Payton also offers specialized classes in English, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Technology in addition to more standard classes. Additionally, most upper level courses offered at Payton are either honors or AP with the idea that more rigorous coursework will help to better prepare students for college. Payton is also recognized as a World Language Academy offering courses in French, Spanish, Chinese, and Latin. Most students at Payton take four years of World Languages, studying both the language itself as well as the culture, technology, and global challenges of the country. The school also offers classes in theater, band, visual arts, and choir. Furthermore, the choir often travels internationally to compete or perform and will be going to China in 2020.
In addition to excellent class offerings, the school has a range of athletics with over 20 sports including water polo, sailing, ultimate frisbee, as well as more common sports like track and field, baseball, and soccer. For more information on athletics, academic curricula, or seminars, visit the school’s website:https://www.wpcp.org/StudentLife/Athletics/Teams.aspx.
Lauren Lynch, Tutoring Coordinator
lauren@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266